conspicuous through using water even for the holy Eucharist. For a long time Tatian's Diatessaron was the official version used by the East Syrian Church. But the memory of the author's bad end was always an argument against it; eventually the Syrians conformed to common Christian use and changed back to the Gospels as they were written, in four separate narratives. The official Syriac Bible, still used by all Syriac-speaking Christians, is the Peshitto.[1] Mr. Burkitt thinks this was introduced by Rabbulâ of Edessa (411–435; see p. 77).[2]
After Nicæa (325, at which Aitallâhâ, Bishop of Edessa, was present), the chief figure at Edessa is St. Ephrem. Ephrem[3] the Syrian is the best-known of the "Eastern" (neither Greek nor Latin) fathers. He was born at Nisibis (then still a city of the Empire) under Constantine (306–337). He is said to have had Christian parents, to have been the pupil and friend of James, Bishop of Nisibis, and to have accompanied him to Nicæa in 325. During the Persian sieges of Nisibis (338, 346, 350) he encouraged his fellow-citizens; afterwards he wrote poetic accounts of these troubles.[4] When Nisibis became Persian territory (363), Ephrem, with many other Christians, took refuge in Edessa. He lived as a monk on a mountain near the city, had many disciples, and came frequently to preach in the churches. About the year 370 he came to Cæsarea in Cappadocia to see St. Basil (†379), whose fame had spread over all the East. Basil ordained him deacon; he was not a priest. He died, the most famous theologian, orator and poet of the Syrian Church, in 373. St. Ephrem left an enormous amount of writings, commentaries on the Bible, sermons (in metre), hymns and poems, all in the dialect of Edessa.[5] All Syrian Christians count him as their greatest father; his works were an important factor in determining the classical form of the Christian Syriac language. The Arians had already disturbed the peace of the Edessene Church during St.
- ↑ Mafaḳtâ pšīṭṭâ ("simple version").
- ↑ Early Eastern Christianity, Lecture II.: "The Bible in Syriac," 39–78.
- ↑ Afrem.
- ↑ Carmina Nisibena, published by G. Bickell (Leipzig, 1866).
- ↑ Chief edition by the Assemanis in six folio volumes (Rome, 1732–1746). For further literature see Bardenhewer: Patrologie (Freiburg, 1894), 364–366.
