1.
Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)
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The Kingdom of Armenia, also the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, or simply Greater Armenia, was a monarchy in the Ancient Near East which existed from 321 BC to 428 AD. Its history is divided into successive reigns by three dynasties, Orontid, Artaxiad and Arsacid. It is widely believed to be the region with which all Armenians descend from and it was one of the largest empires in the history of the Middle East. Under the Seleucid Empire, the Armenian throne was divided in two – Armenia Maior and Sophene – both of which passed to members of the Artaxiad dynasty in 189 BC. The remaining Artaxiad kings ruled as clients of Rome until they were overthrown in 12 AD due to their allegiance to Romes main rival in the region. During the Roman–Parthian Wars, the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia was founded when Tiridates I, throughout most of its history during this period, Armenia was heavily contested between Rome and Parthia, and the Armenian nobility was divided among pro-Roman, pro-Parthian or neutrals. From 114 to 118, Armenia briefly became a province of the Roman Empire under Emperor Trajan, the Kingdom of Armenia often served as a client state or vassal at the frontier of the two large empires and their successors, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires. In 301, Tiridates III proclaimed Christianity as the religion of Armenia. During the Byzantine–Sasanian wars, Armenia was ultimately partitioned into Byzantine Armenia in 387, the Kingdoms symbol and most famous icon was Mount Ararat, arguably the tallest mountain in the kingdom. The geographic Armenian Highlands, then known as the highlands of Ararat, was inhabited by Proto-Armenian tribes which did not yet constitute a unitary state or nation. The highlands were first united by tribes in the vicinity of Lake Van into the Kingdom of Van, the kingdom competed with Assyria over supremacy in the highlands of Ararat and the Fertile Crescent. Both kingdoms fell to Iranian invaders from the neighbouring East in the 6th century BC and its territory was reorganized into a satrapy called Armenia. The Orontid dynasty ruled as satraps of the Achaemenid Empire for three centuries until the defeat against Alexander the Greats Macedonian Empire at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. After Alexanders death in 323 BC, a Macedonian general named Neoptolemus obtained Armenia until he died in 321 BC and the Orontids returned, not as satraps, Orontes III also defeated the Thessalian commander Menon, who wanted to capture Spers gold mines. The Seleucid Empires influence over Armenia had weakened after it was defeated by the Romans in the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, a Hellenistic Armenian state was thus founded in the same year by Artaxias I alongside the Armenian kingdom of Sophene led by Zariadres. Artaxias seized Yervandashat, united the Armenian Highlands at the expense of neighboring tribes, according to Strabo and Plutarch, Hannibal Barca received hospitality at the Armenian court of Artaxias I. The authors add a story of how Hannibal planned and supervised the building of Artaxata. The new city was laid on a position at the juncture of trade routes that connected the Ancient Greek world with Bactria, India
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Armenian Apostolic Church
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The Armenian Apostolic Church is the national church of the Armenian people. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christian communities, Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion, in the early 4th century. The church claims to have originated in the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and it is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Orthodox Church or Gregorian Church. It is also known as the Armenian Church. The Armenian Church believes apostolic succession through the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus, according to legend, the latter of the two apostles is said to have cured Abgar V of Edessa of leprosy with the Image of Edessa, leading to his conversion in 30 AD. After this, Bartholomew came to Armenia, bringing a portrait of the virgin Mary, Bartholomew then converted the sister of Sanatruk, who once again martyred a female relative and the apostle who converted her. Both apostles ordained native bishops before their execution, and some other Armenians had been ordained outside of Armenia by James the Just. According to Eusebius and Tertullian, Armenian Christians were persecuted by kings Axidares, Khosrov I, and Tiridates III, ancient Armenias adoption of Christianity as a state religion has been referred to by Nina Garsoïan as probably the most crucial step in its history. This conversion distinguished it from its Iranian and Mazdean roots and protected it from further Parthian influence, other scholars as well have stated that the acceptance of Christianity by the Arsacid-Armenian rulers was partly in defiance of the Sassanids. When King Trdat IV made Christianity the state religion of Armenia between 301 and 314, it was not a new religion there. It had penetrated the country from at least the third century, Tiridates declared Gregory to be the first Catholicos of the Armenian Church and sent him to Caesarea to be consecrated. Upon his return, Gregory tore down shrines to idols, built churches and monasteries, while meditating in the old capital city of Vagharshapat, Gregory had a vision of Christ descending to the earth and striking it with a hammer. From that spot arose a great Christian temple with a huge cross and he was convinced that God intended him to build the main Armenian church there. With the kings help he did so in accord with his vision and he renamed the city Etchmiadzin, which means the place of the descent of the only-begotten. Initially the Armenian church participated in the church world. Its Catholicos was represented at the First Council of Nicea and the First Council of Constantinople, although unable to attend the Council of Ephesus, the Catholicos Isaac Parthiev sent a message agreeing with its decisions. Christianity was strengthened in Armenia in the 5th century by the translation of the Bible into the Armenian language by the theologian, monk. Before the 5th century, Armenians had a language
3.
Oriental Orthodoxy
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Oriental Orthodoxy has approximately 84 million adherents worldwide. Oriental Orthodox Churches uphold their own ancient ecclesiastic traditions of apostolic succession and these Churches rejected the definition of the two natures of Christ, known as the Chalcedonian Definition, which was issued by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Eastern Orthodox maintain numerous theological and ecclesiological similarities with the Oriental Orthodox, the Oriental Orthodox Churches are in full communion with each other, but not with the Eastern Orthodox Church, despite the similar name. The schism between Oriental Orthodoxy and the Great Church was based on differences in Christology, the First Council of Nicaea, in 325, declared that Jesus Christ is God, that is to say, consubstantial with the Father. Later, the ecumenical council, the Council of Ephesus, declared that Jesus Christ, though divine as well as human, is only one being. Thus, the Council of Ephesus explicitly rejected Nestorianism, the Christological doctrine that Christ was two distinct beings, one divine and one human, who happened to inhabit the same body. The Churches that later became Oriental Orthodoxy were firmly anti-Nestorian, and those who opposed Chalcedon saw this as a concession to Nestorianism, or even as a conspiracy to convert the Church to Nestorianism by stealth. As a result, over the decades, they gradually separated from communion with the Great Church. Monophysitism was condemned as heretical alongside Nestorianism, and to accuse a church of being Monophysite is to accuse it of falling into the opposite extreme from Nestorianism, however, the Oriental Orthodox themselves reject this description as inaccurate, having officially condemned the teachings of both Nestorius and Eutyches. They define themselves as Miaphysite instead, holding that Christ has one nature, the schism between the Oriental Orthodox and the rest of Christendom occurred in the 5th century. They would accept only of or from two natures but not in two natures and it is not entirely clear that Nestorius himself was a Nestorian. The Oriental Orthodox churches were often called Monophysite, although they reject this label, as it is associated with Eutychian Monophysitism. It was not until 518 that the new Byzantine Emperor, Justin I, Justin ordered the replacement of all non-Chalcedonian bishops, including the patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria. The extent of the influence of the Bishop of Rome in this demand has been a matter of debate, Justinian I also attempted to bring those monks who still rejected the decision of the Council of Chalcedon into communion with the greater church. The exact time of event is unknown, but it is believed to have been between 535 and 548. St Abraham of Farshut was summoned to Constantinople and he chose to bring with him four monks, upon arrival, Justinian summoned them and informed them that they would either accept the decision of the Council or lose their positions. Abraham refused to entertain the idea, theodora tried to persuade Justinian to change his mind, seemingly to no avail. Abraham himself stated in a letter to his monks that he preferred to remain in exile rather than subscribe to a faith which he believed to be contrary to that of Athanasius of Alexandria
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Eastern Orthodox Church
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The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
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Anglican Communion
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The Anglican Communion is an international association of autonomous churches consisting of the Church of England and national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with it. Full participation in the life of each church is available to all communicant Anglicans. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England, has a place of honour among the bishops of the Anglican churches and he is recognised as primus inter pares. The archbishop does not exercise authority in the provinces outside England, the churches of the Anglican Communion considers themselves to be part of the nicos one, holy, catholic and apostolic church and to be both Catholic and Reformed. For some adherents, Anglicanism represents a non-papal Catholicism, for others a form of Protestantism though without a dominant guiding figure such as Luther, Knox, Calvin, for others, their self-identity represents some combination of the two. The communion encompasses a spectrum of belief and practice including evangelical, liberal. With a membership estimated at around 85 million members, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion in the world, after the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Some of these churches are known as Anglican, such as the Anglican Church of Canada, some, for example the Church of Ireland, the Scottish and American Episcopal churches, and some other associated churches have a separate name. The Anglican Communion has no legal existence nor any governing structure which might exercise authority over the member churches. There is an Anglican Communion Office in London, under the aegis of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Communion is held together by a shared history, expressed in its ecclesiology, polity and ethos and also by participation in international consultative bodies. Early in its development, Anglicanism developed a vernacular prayer book, unlike other traditions, Anglicanism has never been governed by a magisterium nor by appeal to one founding theologian, nor by an extra-credal summary of doctrine. Instead, Anglicans have typically appealed to the Book of Common Prayer and its offshoots as a guide to Anglican theology and this had the effect of inculcating the principle of Lex orandi, lex credendi as the foundation of Anglican identity and confession. These parameters were most clearly articulated in the rubrics of the successive prayer books. With the expansion of the British Empire, and hence the growth of Anglicanism outside Great Britain and Ireland, the first major expression of this were the Lambeth Conferences of the communions bishops, first convened by Archbishop of Canterbury Charles Longley in 1869. One of the influential early resolutions of the conference was the so-called Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888. Its intent was to provide the basis for discussions of reunion with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Apostles Creed, as the Baptismal Symbol, and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. The two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself - Baptism and the Supper of the Lord - ministered with unfailing use of Christs Words of Institution, and of the elements ordained by Him. The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the needs of the nations
6.
Calendar of saints
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The word feast in this context does not mean a large meal, typically a celebratory one, but instead an annual religious celebration, a day dedicated to a particular saint. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, a calendar of saints is called a Menologion, Menologion may also mean a set of icons on which saints are depicted in the order of the dates of their feasts, often made in two panels. As the number of recognized saints increased during Late Antiquity and the first half of the Middle Ages, eventually every day of the year had at least one saint who was commemorated on that date. To deal with this increase, some saints were moved to days in some traditions or completely removed. For example, St. Perpetua and Felicity died on 7 March, when the 1969 reform of the Catholic calendar moved him to 28 January, they were moved back to 7 March. Both days can thus be said to be their feast day, the Roman Catholic calendars of saints in their various forms, which list those saints celebrated in the entire church, contains only a selection of the saints for each of its days. A fuller list is found in the Roman Martyrology, and some of the saints there may be celebrated locally, Saint Martin of Tours is said to be the first or at least one of the first non-martyrs to be venerated as a saint. The title confessor was used for saints, who had confessed their faith in Christ by their lives rather than by their deaths. Martyrs are regarded as dying in the service of the Lord, a broader range of titles was used later, such as, Virgin, Pastor, Bishop, Monk, Priest, Founder, Abbot, Apostle, Doctor of the Church. Pope Pius XII added a common formula for Popes, the 1962 Roman Missal of Pope John XXIII omitted the common of Apostles, assigning a proper Mass to every feast day of an Apostle. The present Roman Missal has common formulas for the Dedication of Churches, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Martyrs, Pastors, Doctors of the Church, Virgins, some Christians continue the tradition of dating by saints days, their works may appear dated as The Feast of Saint Martin. Poets such as John Keats commemorate the importance of The Eve of Saint Agnes, as different Christian jurisdictions parted ways theologically, differing lists of saints began to develop. In the present ordinary form of the Roman Rite, feast days are ranked as solemnities and those who use even earlier forms of the Roman Rite rank feast days as Doubles, Semidoubles, and Simples. See Ranking of liturgical days in the Roman Rite, in the Eastern Orthodox Church the ranking of feasts varies from church to church. In the Russian Orthodox Church they are, Great Feasts, middle, each portion of such feasts may also be called feasts as follows, All-Night Vigils, Polyeleos, Great Doxology, Sextuple. There are also distinctions between Simple feasts and Double, in Double Feasts the order of hymns and readings for each feast are rigidly instructed in Typikon, the liturgy book. In the Church of England, there are Principal Feasts and Principal Holy Days, Festivals, Lesser Festivals, and Commemorations. com
7.
Patron saint
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Catholics believe that patron saints, having already transcended to the metaphysical, are able to intercede effectively for the needs of their special charges. Historically, a practice has also occurred in many Islamic lands. With regard to the omnipresence of this belief, the late Martin Lings wrote. Traditionally, it has been understood that the saint of a particular place prays for that places wellbeing and for the health. Saints often become the patrons of places where they were born or had been active, professions sometimes have a patron saint owing to that individual being involved somewhat with it, although some of the connections were tenuous. Lacking such a saint, an occupation would have a patron whose acts or miracles in some way recall the profession and it is, however, generally discouraged in some Protestant branches such as Calvinism, where the practice is considered a form of idolatry. In Islam, the veneration or commemoration and recognition of saints is found in many branches of traditional Sunnism
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Armenia
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Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a sovereign state in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. The Republic of Armenia constitutes only one-tenth of historical Armenia, Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. Urartu was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia, in the 1st century BC the Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion, in between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became the first Christian nation. The official date of adoption of Christianity is 301 AD. The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century, under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the fell in 1045. An Armenian principality and later a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, during World War I, Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian Genocide. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, in 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Armenia recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the worlds oldest national church, as the countrys primary religious establishment. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD, Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which was proclaimed in 1991, the native Armenian name for the country is Հայք. The name in the Middle Ages was extended to Հայաստան, by addition of the Persian suffix -stan, the further origin of the name is uncertain. It is also postulated that the name Hay comes from one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states—the Ḫayaša-Azzi. The exonym Armenia is attested in the Old Persian Behistun Inscription as Armina, the ancient Greek terms Ἀρμενία and Ἀρμένιοι are first mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus. Xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and he relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians. According to the histories of both Moses of Chorene and Michael Chamchian, Armenia derives from the name of Aram, a descendant of Hayk
9.
Catholicos of All Armenians
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The Catholicos of All Armenians is the chief bishop and spiritual leader of Armenias national church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the worldwide Armenian diaspora. According to tradition, the apostles Saint Thaddeus and Saint Bartholomew brought Christianity to Armenia in the first century, Saint Gregory the Illuminator became the first Catholicos of All Armenians following the nations adoption of Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD. The seat of the Catholicos, and the spiritual and administrative headquarters of the Armenian Church, is the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Armenian Apostolic Church is part of the Oriental Orthodox communion that do not subscribe to the Christological formulas of the Council of Chalcedon. The current Catholicos is Karekin II, seats of the Catholicos of Armenians List of Catholicoi of Armenia Holy See of Cilicia List of Armenian Catholicoi of Cilicia Official site of The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
10.
Armenians
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Armenians are an ethnic group native to the Armenian Highlands. Armenians constitute the population of Armenia and the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. There is a diaspora of around 5 million people of full or partial Armenian ancestry living outside of modern Armenia. The largest Armenian populations today exist in Russia, the United States, France, Georgia, Iran, Germany, Ukraine, Lebanon, Brazil and Syria. With the exceptions of Iran and the former Soviet states, the present-day Armenian diaspora was formed mainly as a result of the Armenian Genocide, most Armenians adhere to the Armenian Apostolic Church, a non-Chalcedonian church, which is also the worlds oldest national church. Christianity began to spread in Armenia soon after Jesus death, due to the efforts of two of his apostles, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew, in the early 4th century, the Kingdom of Armenia became the first state to adopt Christianity as a state religion. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented in 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots, historically, the name Armenian has come to internationally designate this group of people. It was first used by neighbouring countries of ancient Armenia, the earliest attestations of the exonym Armenia date around the 6th century BC. In his trilingual Behistun Inscription dated to 517 BC, Darius I the Great of Persia refers to Urashtu as Armina (in Old Persian, Armina and Harminuya. In Greek, Αρμένιοι Armenians is attested from about the same time, xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BC. He relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians and it is also further postulated that the name Hay comes from one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states—the Ḫayaša-Azzi. Movses Khorenatsi, the important early medieval Armenian historian, wrote that the word Armenian originated from the name Armenak or Aram, the Armenian Highland lies in the highlands surrounding Mount Ararat, the highest peak of the region. In the Bronze Age, several states flourished in the area of Greater Armenia, including the Hittite Empire, Mitanni, soon after Hayasa-Azzi were Arme-Shupria, the Nairi and the Kingdom of Urartu, who successively established their sovereignty over the Armenian Highland. Each of the nations and tribes participated in the ethnogenesis of the Armenian people. Under Ashurbanipal, the Assyrian empire reached the Caucasus Mountains, yerevan, the modern capital of Armenia, was founded in 782 BC by king Argishti I. T. Gamkrelidze and V. Ivanov proposed the Indo-European homeland around the Armenian Highland, eric P. Hamp in his 2012 Indo-European family tree, groups the Armenian language along with Greek and Ancient Macedonian in the Pontic Indo-European subgroup. In Hamps view the homeland of this subgroup is the northeast coast of the Black Sea and he assumes that they migrated from there southeast through the Caucasus with the Armenians remaining after Batumi while the pre-Greeks proceeded westwards along the southern coast of the Black Sea. However, fresh genetics studies explain Armenian diversity by several mixtures of Eurasian populations that occurred between ~3,000 and ~2,000 b. c
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Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
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The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the largest Christian Church in Egypt, Northeast Africa and the Middle East. According to tradition, the Church was established by Saint Mark, the head of the Church and the See of Alexandria is the Patriarch of Alexandria on the Holy See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Coptic Pope. The See of Alexandria is titular, and today the Coptic Pope presides from Saint Marks Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The precise Christological differences that caused the split with the Coptic Christians are still disputed, highly technical, the foundational roots of the Coptic Church are based in Egypt, but it has a worldwide following. Isaiah the prophet, in Chapter 19, Verse 19 says In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, the first Christians in Egypt were common people who spoke Egyptian Coptic. There were also Alexandrian Jews such as Theophilus, whom Saint Luke the Evangelist addresses in the chapter of his gospel. When the church was founded by Saint Mark during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, in the 2nd century, Christianity began to spread to the rural areas, and scriptures were translated into the local languages, namely Coptic. The Catechetical School of Alexandria is the oldest catechetical school in the world, St. Jerome records that the Christian School of Alexandria was founded by Saint Mark himself. Origen wrote over 6,000 commentaries of the Bible in addition to his famous Hexapla, many scholars such as Jerome visited the school of Alexandria to exchange ideas and to communicate directly with its scholars. The scope of this school was not limited to subjects, science, mathematics. The question-and-answer method of commentary began there, and 15 centuries before Braille, wood-carving techniques were in use there by blind scholars to read, the Theological college of the catechetical school was re-established in 1893. Many Egyptian Christians went to the desert during the 3rd century, by the end of the 5th century, there were hundreds of monasteries, and thousands of cells and caves scattered throughout the Egyptian desert. A great number of these monasteries are still flourishing and have new vocations to this day, countless pilgrims have visited the Desert Fathers to emulate their spiritual, disciplined lives. In the 4th century, an Alexandrian presbyter named Arius began a dispute about the nature of Christ that spread throughout the Christian world and is now known as Arianism. We confess one Baptism for the remission of sins and we look for the resurrection of the dead, as a consequence of this, he denied the title Mother of God to the Virgin Mary, declaring her instead to be Mother of Christ Christotokos. When reports of this reached the Apostolic Throne of Saint Mark, Pope Saint Cyril I of Alexandria acted quickly to correct this breach with orthodoxy, when he would not, the Synod of Alexandria met in an emergency session and a unanimous agreement was reached. Pope Cyril I of Alexandria, supported by the entire See and this epistle drew heavily on the established Patristic Constitutions and contained the most famous article of Alexandrian Orthodoxy, The Twelve Anathemas of Saint Cyril. In these anathemas, Cyril excommunicated anyone who followed the teachings of Nestorius, for example, Anyone who dares to deny the Holy Virgin the title Theotokos is Anathema
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Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
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The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Christian Churches. Ethiopia is the country only after Armenia to have officially proclaimed Christianity as state religion though some argue it may even be the first. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is a member of the World Council of Churches. Tewahedo is a Geez word meaning being made one and this word refers to the Oriental Orthodox belief in the one perfectly unified Nature of Christ, i. e. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to a Miaphysitic Christological view followed by Cyril of Alexandria, according to these, both natures in Christ are perfectly preserved after the union in mia physis - One Nature, yet, not resulting in a distinct third Nature. Many traditions claim that Christian teachings were introduced to the immediately after Pentecost. John Chrysostom speaks of the Ethiopians present in Jerusalem as being able to understand the preaching of Saint Peter in Acts,2,38, possible missions of some of the Apostles in the lands now called Ethiopia is also reported as early as the 4th century. Ethiopian Church tradition tells that Bartholomew accompanied Matthew in a mission which lasted for at least 3 months, paintings depicting these missions are available in the Church of St. Matthew found in the Province of Pisa, in northern Italy portrayed by Francesco Trevisan and Marco Benefial. The earliest account of an Ethiopian converted to the faith in the New Testament books is a royal official baptized by Philip the Evangelist, then the angel of the Lord said to Philip, Start out and go south to the road that leads down from Jerusalem to Gaza. So he set out and was on his way when he caught sight of an Ethiopian and this man was a eunuch, a high official of the Kandake Queen of Ethiopia in charge of all her treasure. The passage continues by describing how Philip helped the Ethiopian treasurer understand a passage from Isaiah that the Ethiopian was reading, after Philip interpreted the passage as prophecy referring to Jesus Christ, the Ethiopian requested that Philip baptize him, and Philip did so. The Ethiopic version of this verse reads Hendeke, Queen Gersamot Hendeke VII was the Queen of Ethiopia from c.42 to 52, the same kind of witness is shared by 3rd and 4th century writers such as Eusebius of Caesarea and Origen of Alexandria. As a youth, Frumentius had been shipwrecked with his brother Aedesius on the Eritrean coast, the brothers managed to be brought to the royal court, where they rose to positions of influence and baptized Emperor Ezana. Ezana sent Frumentius to Alexandria to ask the Patriarch, St. Athanasius, Athanasius appointed Frumentius, who returned to Ethiopia as Bishop with the name of Abune Selama. From then on, until 1959, the Pope of Alexandria, as Patriarch of All Africa, union with the Coptic Orthodox Church continued after the Arab conquest of Egypt. Abu Saleh records in the 12th century that the patriarch sent letters twice a year to the kings of Abyssinia and Nubia. Cyril, 67th patriarch, sent Severus as bishop, with orders to put down polygamy and these examples show the close relations of the two churches throughout the Middle Ages. In 1439, in the reign of Zara Yaqob, a discussion between Abba Giyorgis and a French visitor led to the dispatch of an embassy from Ethiopia to the Vatican
13.
Syriac Orthodox Church
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The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, or Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean. Employing the Divine Liturgy of Saint James with Syriac as its official and liturgical language, the church is led by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Aphrem II since 2014, seated in Bab Tuma, Damascus, Syria. The Syriac Orthodox Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodoxy, a full communion of churches since the schism following the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Around 825, many Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India, affirmed allegiance to the Syriac Orthodox Church, however, another part of clergy gained permission from the Ottoman authorities in Istanbul to reestablish the Syriac Orthodox Church soon after. The churchs present circa 5 million members are divided in 26 archdioceses and its original area is present-day Syria, Turkey, or Iraq. The churchs Levantine ethno-religious identity has been a matter of controversy since the 20th century, many refer to these as ethnic Syriacs or Assyrians, while other advocate the term Arameans. The Syriac Orthodox Church participates in discussions, being a member of the World Council of Churches since 1960. Due mainly to persecution throughout the centuries, a diaspora has spread from the Levant throughout the world, notably in Sweden, Germany, United States, Canada, Guatemala, Brazil, and Australia. The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch claims the status as the most ancient Christian church in the world, according to Saint Luke, The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. As Jewish Christianity originated at Jerusalem, so gentile Christianity started at Antioch, then the center of the Hellenistic East, with Peter. 70 and 130, were out from Jerusalem and Palestine into Syria. When Saint Peter left Antioch, Evodios and Ignatius presided over the Patriarchate of Antioch, because of the significance attributed to Saint Ignatius in the Syriac Orthodox Church, almost all of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs since 1293 have been named Ignatius. Until 498, this church accepted the authority of the Patriarch of Antioch. The church also maintained a smaller church under a Catholicos, known by the title Maphryono. The Christological controversies that followed the Council of Chalcedon in 451 resulted in a struggle for the Patriarchate between those who accepted and those who rejected the Council. In 518, Patriarch Severus of Antioch was exiled from the city of Antioch, on account of many historical upheavals and consequent hardships which the church had to undergo, the Patriarchate was transferred to different monasteries in Mesopotamia for centuries. In about 1160 its seat was transferred from Antioch to the Mor Hananyo Monastery, in southeastern Turkey near Mardin and they reestablished themselves in Homs, Syria due to an adverse political situation in Turkey. In 1959 it was transferred to Damascus, where it currently resides
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Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
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The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria after Eritrea gained its independence in 1993, tewaḥido is a Geez word meaning being made one, cognate to Arabic tawhid. This separate Christian communion came to be known as Oriental Orthodoxy and these Churches themselves describe their Christology as miaphysite, but outsiders often incorrectly describe them as monophysite. Tewahedo Orthodoxy is an ethnoreligious group in Eritrea and the largest Christian group there. Christianity has been the majority religion since the 4th century and remains still the largest population, historically, they spoke Geez, which belongs to the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. However, the language is now almost extinct, and has been limited to liturgical use since the 10th century. Most also adhere to the Tewahdo Orthodox Church, Tewahdo is an identity and a religion as well for the adherent of Eritrean Tewahdos. The Eritrean Orthodox Church claims its origins from Philip the Evangelist and it became the state church of the Kingdom of Aksum under Ezana in the 4th century through the efforts of a Syrian Greek named Frumentius, known in the church as Abba Selama, Kesate Birhan. As a boy, Frumentius had been shipwrecked with his brother Aedesius on the Eritrean coast, the brothers managed to be brought to the royal court, where they rose to positions of influence and converted Emperor Ezana to Christianity, causing him to be baptised. Ezana sent Frumentius to Alexandria to ask the Patriarch, Athanasius of Alexandria, Athanasius appointed Frumentius himself, who returned to Axum as Bishop with the name of Abune Selama. For fifteen centuries afterward, the pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria always named a Copt to be Abuna metropolitan bishop of the Ethiopian Church, little else is known of church history down to the period of Jesuit influence, which broke the connection with Egypt. Union with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria continued even after Arab conquests in Egypt, abu Saleh records in the 12th century that the patriarch sent letters twice a year to the kings of Abyssinia and Nubia, until Al Hakim stopped the practice. Coptic patriarch Cyril II sent Severus as bishop, with orders to suppress the practice of polygamy and these examples show the close relations of the two churches concurrent with the Middle Ages. Early in the 16th century the church was brought under the influence of a Portuguese mission, in 1507 Matthew, an Armenian, had been sent as Ethiopian envoy to Portugal to ask aid against the Adal Sultanate. In 1520 an embassy under Rodrigo de Lima landed in Ethiopia, an account of the Portuguese mission, which remained for several years, was written by the chaplain, Francisco Álvares. Later, Ignatius of Loyola wished to essay the task of conversion, instead, the pope sent out João Nunes Barreto as Patriarch of the East Indies, with Andrés de Oviedo as bishop, and from Goa envoys went to Ethiopia. After repeated failures, some measure of success was achieved under Susenyos I and he then expelled the Society of Jesus in 1633, and in 1665 Fasilides ordered all Jesuit books be burned. In the 1920s the Italian colonial power in Eritrea started the first attempts to found a separate Eritrean Orthodox Church
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Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
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The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church also known as Indian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church centered in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the churches of Indias Saint Thomas Christian community, the church is headed by the autocephalous Catholicos of the East and the Malankara Metropolitan, presently Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose II. It is believed that Saint Thomas Christians of Malabar were in communion with the Church of the East from 496 to 1599. They got episcopal support from Persian bishops, who traveled to Kerala in merchant ships through spice route and ruled by a hereditary local chief called an Archdeacon from Pakalomattam family. Saint Thomas Christians were administratively under the single native dynastic leadership of an Archdeacon and were in communion with the Church of the East, centered in Persia, the indigenous Church of Malabar/Malankara followed the faith and traditions handed over by the Apostle St. Thomas. During 16th century, the Portuguese Jesuits began deliberate attempts to annex the native Christians to the Catholic Church, and in 1599 they succeeded through the Synod of Diamper. Resentment against these measures led the majority of the community under the Archdeacon Thomas to swear an oath never to submit to the Portuguese, known as the Coonan Cross Oath. The Malankara Church consolidated under Mar Thoma I welcomed Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, meanwhile, the Dutch East India Company defeated the Portuguese in supremacy of the spice trade in Malabar in 1663. The Malankara church used this opportunity to escape from Catholic persecution with the Dutch East India Companys help, at the request of the Malankara Church, the Dutch brought Gregorios Abdal Jaleel of Jerusalem, a Syrian Orthodox Church Bishop, in their trading vessel in 1665. Mar Thoma I forged a relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Church and gradually adopted West Syrian liturgy, while the spread of Christianity around the Mediterranean was led by apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, St. Thomas spread its message in the East. He preached in south India to a community of Jewish diaspora, native Dravidian majority, small groups of Jains, Buddhists. This Nasrani faith it is claimed had many similarities to ancient Judaism, Malankara Nazranies formulated a script to write Syriac-Malayalam after making certain changes in Syriac script. Despite many competing faiths, St. Thomas Christians held to their creed until the arrival of Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century, in 1601, Menezes consecrated Fr. Francis Roz as bishop of Angamaly, which marked the beginning of Roman Catholic hierarchy in Malankara. In 1652 Mar Ahatallah, a prelate from Syria, reached Mylapore near present-day Chennai, in 1653, under the leadership of, Nazranis gathered at Mattancherry church in Mattancherry, Cochin on 3 January 1653, and swore an oath known as the Coonen Cross Oath. As large number people were holding the rope, the cross bent a little and they wanted to combat the aggressive Portuguese padroado rule and regain spiritual and administrative autonomy for the Church. Hence later on 22 May 1653 at St Marys Church Alangad,12 elderly priests laid hands on Archdeacon Thomas and they appealed to several eastern Christian churches to defend their faith from Latin intrusion. Mar Gregorios of Jerusalem regularized Mar Thoma I as the Metropolitan, due to widespread complaints against Jesuits in Malankara, Rome sent Carmelites in two groups from the Propagation of the Faith to Malabar headed by Fr. They gradually gained support, especially with the help of Palliveettil Mar Chandy Kathanar, according to Jesuit reports they succeeded in wooing three of the four advisors of Mar Thoma I
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Holy See of Cilicia
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The Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia is a hierarchal see of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Since 1930, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia has been headquartered in Antelias, aram I is the Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church since 1995. First Sis era, 267-301, According to the order of Catholicoi, in 485 AD, the Catholicosate was transferred to the new capital of Armenia Dvin. The origin of the Armenian Church dates back to the Apostolic age and according to the ancient tradition was established by St. Thaddeus, in 301 AD, Christianity was officially accepted by the Armenians as the state religion. St. St. Gregory the Illuminator became the organizer of the Armenian Church hierarchy, from that time, the heads of the Armenian Church have been called Catholicos and still hold the same title. St. Gregory chose as the site of the Catholicosate then the city of Vagharshapat. He built the residence next to the church called Holy Mother of God. In 485 AD, the Catholicosate was transferred to the new capital Dvin, in the 10th century it moved from Dvin to Dzoravank and then to Aghtamar, to Arghina and to Ani. After the fall of Ani and the Armenian Kingdom of Bagradits in 1045, the Catholicosate, together with the people, settled there. The seat of the church was first established in Sivas moving to Tavbloor, then to Dzamendav, Dzovk, Hromgla, and finally in Sis, the capital of the Cilician Kingdom. After the fall of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, in 1375, the Church also assumed the role of leadership. This national responsibility considerably broadened the scope of the Churchs mission, in 1441, a new Catholicos of All Armenians was elected in Holy Etchmiadzin in the person of Kirakos I Virapetsi of Armenia. At the same time the retiring Catholicos in Sis Gregory IX Mousabegian remained as the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians resides in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. The city of Sis was the center of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia for more than six centuries, the monastery of St. Sophia of Sis, home of the Catholicosate, dominates the town in early 20th-century photographs. During the Armenian Genocide, in 1915, the Armenian population in Cilicia was mostly destroyed, the last Catholicos to reside in Sis was Sahak II. In 1921, after renewed massacres of Armenians in Cilicia by Kemalist Turkey, Sahak II, with the surviving Armenian population, Sahak II after leaving the premises of the Catholicosate in Sis stayed at various locations in Northern Syria and in Lebanon, running the affairs of the Catholicosate. In 1922 the American Committee for Relief in the Near East established an orphanage in Antilias for survivors of the genocide, the foundation also agreed to contribute $6000-$7000 yearly towards running costs. The first mass in the Catholicosates seminary at Antelias took place on Sunday, using donations from Simon and Mathilde Kayekjian, the Catholicosate eventually purchased the property and land that housed the Catholicosate in Antelias
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Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
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The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople is an autonomous See which recognizes the primacy of the Catholicos of All Armenians, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople is the Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchal Church in the Kumkapı neighborhood of Istanbul, the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul is today head of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. During the Byzantine period, the Armenian Apostolic Church had not been allowed to operate in Constantinople because the two churches mutually regarded each other as heretical, after conquering Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire allowed the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople to stay in the city. But Sultan Mehmed II asked the Armenians to establish their own church in the new Ottoman capital, from then on the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople acted as superior religious institution in the Ottoman Empire, even standing over the Armenian Catholicos. For a short period, the Syriac Orthodox Church was also placed under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarchate, the first Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople was Hovakim I, who was at the time the Metropolitan of Bursa. In 1461, he was brought to Constantinople by Sultan Mehmed II, Hovakim I was recognized as the religious and secular leader of all Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, and carried the title of milletbaşı or ethnarch as well as patriarch. However like the Greek Patriarchate, the Armenians suffered severely from intervention by the state in their internal affairs, although there have been 115 pontificates since 1461, there have only been 84 individual Patriarchs. In 1861, a constitution was granted to Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Abdülaziz. In 1896 Patriarch Madteos III was deposed and exiled to Jerusalem by Sultan Abdülhamid II for boldly denouncing the 1896 massacre, the constitution governing the Armenians was suspended by the Sultan. The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Madteos III was permitted to return to Istanbul in 1908 when Sultan Abdulhamid II was deposed by the Young Turks, the new Turkish administration also restored the constitution. In the initial period of the reign of the Young Turks, the Armenian community of Turkey in 1915 was accordingly decimated by mass deportations and killings. The inability of Turkey to acknowledge these events has been a source of significant angst among Armenians worldwide for the past hundred years, prior to 1915, almost two million Armenians lived in Turkey, today less than 100,000 reside there. With this backdrop of turmoil for Armenians, the post of the Patriarch remained vacant from 1915 to 1919 and it was restored for a brief period from 1919 to 1922 with Patriarch Zaven I Der Yeghiayan residing. Four Armenian Patriarchs served under the rule of the Young Turks, despite a huge diminution in the number of its faithful during the Armenian Genocide, the patriarchate remains the spiritual head of the largest Christian community presently living in Turkey. Today, the Armenian Patriarchs are recognized as the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Turkey, five Armenian Patriarchs have served after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. The synod of the Patriarchate has designated, with the votes of 25 of its 26 members, some members of the Armenian community of Turkey criticised this move and asked for the election of a new Patriarch by universal suffrage instead. At last, the decided to retire the Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan on October 26,2016. The Patriarchate publishes a review in Armenian called Shoghagat, containing theological, liturgical, historical and cultural articles
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Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
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The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem also known as the Armenian Patriarchate of Sts. James is located in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem, the Armenian Apostolic Church is officially recognised under Israels confessional system, for the self-regulation of status issues, such as marriage and divorce. Manougian succeeded Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, who died on October 12,2012 after serving 22 years in the office, the Patriarch, along with a Synod of seven clergymen elected by the St. James Brotherhood, oversees the Patriarchates operations. As a result of the Genocide on Armenians by Turkey during World War I, the Armenian population of Jerusalem reached at that time 25,000 people. But political and economic instability in the region have reduced the Armenian population, most Armenians in Jerusalem live in and around the Patriarchate at the Sts. James Monastery, which occupies most of the Armenian Quarter of the Old City, apart from Jerusalem, there are Armenian Communities in Jaffa, Haifa and Nazareth, and in the Palestinian Territories. The Jerusalem Armenian community uses the Julian calendar, unlike the rest of the Armenian Church which use the Gregorian calendar, in 638, after Saint Sophronius died and the Greeks did not appoint another bishop for Jerusalem, the Armenian Apostolic Church began appointing its own bishops for Jerusalem. The office has continued, with interruptions, down to this day. The Bishops were later elevated in stature and became Patriarchs, the Armenian Patriarch is independent and self-governing. The Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem is therefore not under the authority of the Catholicos of Armenia. After the end of the Crusader period, the Armenian Patriarchs sought to establish relations with the Muslim rulers. The Armenian Patriarch Sarkis I met the Mamluk governor in Egypt and subsequently returned to his community in Jerusalem, in the 1340s the Armenians were permitted to build a wall around their quarter. The Mamluk government also engraved a protective declaration in Arabic on the entrance to the quarter. The Armenian quarter in this period kept creating facts on the ground by the constant small expansions and consolidations, in the 1380s Patriarch Krikor IV built a priests dining room across from the St. James Cathedral. Around 1415 the olive grove near the Garden of Gethsemane was purchased, in 1439, Armenians were removed from the Golgotha chapel, but the Patriarch Mardiros I purchased the “opposite area” and named it second Golgotha. This remains in the Patriarchs possession to this day, at times, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem became politicized by struggles within the Armenian Church. Significantly Bishop Eghiazar assumed the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and in 1644 declared himself for a period of time as Catholicos of all the Armenian church. In the 17th century, the Armenians were allowed after much pleading to enlarge the St. James Monastery, at the same time the Armenian Patriarch Hovhannes VII purchased a large parcel of land south of the St. James Cathedral, called “Cham Tagh”
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Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church
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The Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, officially known as Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, is an integral branch of the Syriac Orthodox Church centered in Kerala, India. It recognizes the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch, currently Ignatius Aphrem II and it functions as a largely autonomous unit within the church, under the authority of the Catholicos of India, currently Baselios Thomas I. Its members are part of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. Thomas the Apostle reached India in AD52 and got followers from prominent families in Kerala, in AD345 Knai Thoma along with 72 Syrian Families and Clergymen arrived Kerala and mark the beginning of Knanaya Syrian Ethnicity in Kerala. In AD825 arrival of two bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Aproth enhanced the relationship between Saint Thomas Christians and the Church of the East, the local administration of the early Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala was done by archdeacons in the absence of a bishop. Archdeacons used to request for prelates from the Church of the East, from the 16th century the Portuguese Jesuits attempted to forcefully bring the community into the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. In 1653, Mar Ahatallah came to Malankara and he was a Syrian Bishop who had converted to Catholicism. He was captured by the Portuguese enroute and was taken to Madras, resentment of these measures lead a part of the community to join the Archdeacon, Thomas, in swearing never to submit to the Portuguese in the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653. The part of the church that resists the Latin power is known as the Malankara Syrian Church, the decisions taken by the Synod of Mulamthuruthy known as Mulanthuruthy Padiyola, is the most important historical document and the early constitution of the Malankara Syrian Church. In 1934 after the death of Mar Divanyasious VI Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs Ignatius Elias III consecrated Paulose Mar Athanasius as the Malankara Metropolitan. At the same time Mar Themothiose Augen I left that faction, the headquarters of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church in India is situated near the St. Peters and St. Pauls Jacobite Syrian church Puthencruz. As part of the Syriac Orthodox communion, the uses the West Syrian liturgy and is part of the Oriental Orthodox group of churches. It has dioceses in most parts of India as well as in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Western Europe, in 2003 it was estimated that the church has 1,200,000 members globally. The Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church has been known by several names during its existence, other variants include Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, and Jacobite Syrian Church. Puthencruz is the headquarters of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church in India, the headquarters is situated near the St. Peters and St. Pauls Jacobite Syrian church. Its headquarters is named after the illustrious Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, the Catholicossate chapel is named after Poulose Mar Athanasius of Aluva and under the chapel is situated the space for tombs for the use of future Catholicos of the church. An Arts and Science college named after Mar Athanasius of Aluva is also run in the premises of the Zakka centre. It is the place where Akhila Malankara Suvisesha Yogam, the official gospel convention of the community, Thomas the Apostle is credited by tradition for founding the Indian Church in 52 AD
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History of Oriental Orthodoxy
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They reject the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon. Hence, these Churches are also called Old Oriental Churches or Non-Chalcedonian Churches, the history of all Oriental Orthodox Churches goes back to the very beginnings of Christianity. They were founded by the apostles or by their earliest disciples, the Oriental Orthodox Churches had a great missionary role during the early stages of Christianity and played a great role in the history of Egypt. The schism between Oriental Orthodoxy and the rest of the Church occurred in the 5th century and this was not because Chalcedon stated that Christ has two natures, but because the councils declaration did not confess the two natures as inseparable and united. Pope Dioscorus would accept only of or from two natures but not in two natures, to the hierarchs who would lead the Oriental Orthodox, this was tantamount to accepting Nestorianism, which expressed itself in a terminology incompatible with their understanding of Christology. Founded in the Alexandrine School of Theology it advocated a formula stressing the unity of the Incarnation over all other considerations, Oriental Orthodox Churches reject what they consider to be the heretical Monophysite teachings of Eutyches and of Nestorius as well as the Dyophysite definition of the Council of Chalcedon. It was not until 518 that the new Byzantine Emperor, Justin I, Justin ordered the replacement of all non-Chalcedonian bishops, including the patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria. The extent of the influence of the Bishop of Rome in this has been a matter of debate, one of the most salient features of the history of Oriental Orthodoxy has been the ceaseless persecution and massacres suffered under Byzantine, Persian, Muslim and Ottoman powers. The Oriental Orthodox communion comprises six groups, Coptic Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Armenian Apostolic churches
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Coptic history
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Many of the historic items related to Coptic Christianity are on display in many museums around the world and a large number is in the Coptic Museum in Coptic Cairo. The Egyptian Church, which is now more than nineteen centuries old, regards itself as the subject of many prophecies in the Old Testament. Isaiah the prophet, in Chapter 19, Verse 19 says In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. The first Christians in Egypt were mainly Alexandrian Jews such as Theophilus, when the Church of Alexandria was founded by Saint Mark during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, a great multitude of native Egyptians embraced the Christian faith. In the 2nd century, Christianity began to spread to the rural areas, the Catechetical School of Alexandria is the oldest catechetical school in the world. St. Jerome records that the Christian School of Alexandria was founded by St. Mark himself, origen wrote over 6,000 commentaries of the Bible in addition to his famous Hexapla. Many scholars such as Jerome visited the school of Alexandria to exchange ideas, the scope of this school was not limited to theological subjects, science, mathematics and humanities were also taught there. The question-and-answer method of commentary began there, and 15 centuries before Braille, wood-carving techniques were in use there by blind scholars to read and write. Many Egyptian Christians went to the desert during the 3rd century, by the end of the 5th century, there were hundreds of monasteries, and thousands of cells and caves scattered throughout the Egyptian desert. A great number of these monasteries are still flourishing and have new vocations to this day, countless pilgrims have visited the Desert Fathers to emulate their spiritual, disciplined lives. In the 4th century, an Alexandrian presbyter named Arius began a dispute about the nature of Christ that spread throughout the Christian world and is now known as Arianism. We confess one Baptism for the remission of sins and we look for the resurrection of the dead, as a consequence of this, he denied the title Mother of God to the Virgin Mary, declaring her instead to be Mother of Christ Christotokos. When reports of this reached the Apostolic Throne of Saint Mark, Pope Saint Cyril I of Alexandria acted quickly to correct this breach with orthodoxy, when he would not, the Synod of Alexandria met in an emergency session and a unanimous agreement was reached. Pope Cyril I of Alexandria, supported by the entire See and this epistle drew heavily on the established Patristic Constitutions and contained the most famous article of Alexandrian Orthodoxy, The Twelve Anathemas of Saint Cyril. In these anathemas, Cyril excommunicated anyone who followed the teachings of Nestorius, for example, Anyone who dares to deny the Holy Virgin the title Theotokos is Anathema. Nestorius however, still would not repent and so led to the convening of the First Ecumenical Council of Ephesus. The First Ecumenical Council of Ephesus confirmed the teachings of Saint Athanasius and it also clearly stated that anyone who separated Christ into two hypostases was anathema, as Cyril had said that there is One Nature for God the Word Incarnate. Glory to you O our Master and King, Christ, the pride of the Apostles, the crown of the martyrs, the rejoicing of the righteous, firmness of the churches and the forgiveness of sins
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Orthodox Tewahedo
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Orthodox Tewahedo is the common and historical name of two Oriental Orthodox churches within the Christian Church. These are the predominant Orthodox denominations in Eritrea and Ethiopia, until 1959, the Orthodox Tewahedo churches were administratively part of the Coptic Church. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was granted autocephaly and its own Patriarch that year by Coptic Orthodox Pope Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria, Tewahedo is a Geez word meaning being made one or unified. This is in contrast to the two Natures of Christ belief which is held by the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church and it is known as non-Chalcedonian, and, sometimes by outsiders as monophysite. However, these Churches themselves describe their Christology as miaphysite, so he set out and was on his way when he caught sight of an Ethiopian. This man was a eunuch, an official of the Kandake Queen of Ethiopia in charge of all her treasure. The passage continues by describing how Philip helped the Ethiopian treasurer understand a passage from Isaiah that the Ethiopian was reading, after the Ethiopian received an explanation of the passage, he requested that Philip baptize him, and Philip did so. The Ethiopic version of this verse reads Hendeke, Queen Gersamot Hendeke VII was the Queen of Ethiopia from ca.42 to 52, as a youth, Frumentius had been shipwrecked with his brother Aedesius on the Eritrean coast. The brothers managed to be brought to the court, where they rose to positions of influence and converted Emperor Ezana to Christianity. Ezana sent Frumentius to Alexandria to ask the Patriarch, Athanasius of Alexandria, Athanasius appointed Frumentius himself, who returned to Ethiopia as Bishop with the name Abune Selama. From then on, until 1959, the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria, as Patriarch of All Africa, union with the Coptic Church continued after the Arab conquest of Egypt. Patriarch Cyril II of Alexandria, the 67th patriarch, sent Severus as bishop, with orders to put down polygamy and these examples show the close relations of the two churches concurrent with the Middle Ages. In 1439, in the reign of Zara Yaqob, a discussion between Abba Giyorgis and a French visitor had led to the dispatch of an embassy from Ethiopia to the Vatican. The period of Jesuit influence, which broke the connection with Egypt, in 1507 Mateus, an Armenian, had been sent as an Ethiopian envoy to Portugal to ask for aid against the Adal Sultanate. In 1520 an embassy under Dom Rodrigo de Lima landed in Ethiopia, an interesting account of the Portuguese mission, which lasted for several years, was written by Francisco Álvares, the chaplain. Later, Ignatius of Loyola wished to take up the task of conversion, after repeated failures some measure of success was achieved under Emperor Susenyos I, but not until 1624 did the Emperor make formal submission to the pope. He then expelled the Jesuits in 1633, and in 1665, in the 1920s the Italian colonial power in Eritrea started the first attempts to found a separate Eritrean Orthodox Church. Until then, the Orthodox Church in Eritrea was practically part of the Ethiopian Church, the separate Eritrean Church was short-lived
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Syriac Christianity
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With a history going back to the 1st century AD, Syriac Christianity is, in modern times, represented by denominations primarily in the Middle East, Asia Minor and in Kerala, India. Christianity began in the Middle East in Jerusalem among Jewish Aramaic-speaking Semitic peoples of Judah and it quickly spread, initially to other Semitic peoples, in Parthian-ruled Assyria and Mesopotamia, Roman-ruled Syria, Phoenicia, southern and eastern Asia Minor, and northwestern Persia and Malta. Adherents sometimes identify as Syriacs or Syrians, Syriac Christian heritage is transmitted through various Neo Aramaic dialects of old Aramaic. Unlike the Greek Christian culture, Assyrian Christian culture borrowed much from early Rabbinic Judaism, Antioch was the political capital of this culture, and was the seat of the Patriarchs of the church. However, Antioch was heavily Hellenized, and the Assyrian cities of Edessa, Nisibis and this split owed just as much to the politics of the day as it did to theological orthodoxy. Ctesiphon, which was at the also the Sassanid capital. After the Council of Chalcedon in 451, many Syriac Christians within the Roman Empire rebelled against its decisions, the Patriarchate of Antioch was then divided between a Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian communion. The Chalcedonians were often labelled Melkites, while their opponents were labelled as Monophysites and Jacobites, the Maronite Church found itself caught between the two, but claims to have always remained faithful to the Catholic Church and in communion with the bishop of Rome, the Pope. The church has persisted as an entity under Islamic rule. The community was one of those granted autonomy in governing itself in religious, in the 19th century many left for other parts of Christendom, creating a substantial diaspora. Over time, some groups within each of these branches have entered into communion with the Church of Rome, when they lost Assyria itself to the Parthian Empire, they retained the name Syria but only applied it to what had been Aramea, which they still retained. The Neo-Assyrian kingdom of Osroene was the first Christian kingdom in history, in 431 A. D. the Council of Ephesus declared Nestorianism to be a heresy. The Nestorian priests, who were persecuted in the Byzantine Empire, sought refuge in Mesopotamia where the Church of the East was dominant, there was a synthesis between the Assyrian Church and Nestorian doctrine. From there they spread Christianity to Persia, India, China and this was the beginning of the Nestorian Church, the eastern branch of Syrian Christianity. The western branch, the Jacobite Church, appeared after the Council of Chalcedon condemned Monophysitism in 451 A. D and these people are in fact ethnic Assyrians originating from the Assyrian homeland in northern Iraq. The older Assyrian designation has almost completely replaced the word Nestorian, however, the word Nestorian continues to be used in some Western academic literature. The word Syrian has become ambiguous in English since it can refer now to a citizen of Syria regardless of ethnicity, in Arabic, however, the word for a citizen of Syria has a different form from the traditional word for an ethnic Assyrian/Syrian. The Maronites in Lebanon are divided between those who claim Lebanese-Phoenician national identity and those who claim Arab national identity, the Maronite Church, a West Syrian Rite Eastern Catholic Church
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Saint Thomas Christians
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Historically, the Saint Thomas Christian community was part of the Church of the East, centered in Persia. They were organised as the Province of India in the 8th century, served by Nestorian bishops, Saint Thomas Christians represent a multi ethnic group. Their language is Malayalam, the language of Kerala, and Syriac is used for liturgical purposes, the Saint Thomas Christians are so called due to their reverence for Saint Thomas the Apostle, who is said to have brought Christianity to India. The name dates to the period of Portuguese colonization and they are also known, especially locally, as the Nasrani or Nasrani Mappila. Nasrani is a term meaning Christian, it appears to be derived from Nazareth, Mappila is an honorific applied to members of non-Indian faiths, including Muslims and Jews. Some Syrian Christians of Travancore continue to attach this honorific title to their names, the term Syrian relates not to their ethnicity but to their historical, religious and liturgical connection to the Church of the East, or East Syrian Church. According to tradition, St. Thomas, one of the 12 apostles, came to Muziris on the Kerala coast in AD52 which is in the present day Pattanam, Kerala. The Cochin Jews are known to have existed in Kerala in the 1st century AD, the earliest known source connecting the apostle to India is the Acts of Thomas, likely written in the early 3rd century, perhaps in Edessa. The tradition of origin of the Christians in Kerala is found in a version of the Songs of Thomas or Thomma Parvam, written in 1601 believed to be a summary of a larger and older work. As per legend, the community began with Thomass conversion of Brahmin Gramams or families, the four clans Pakalomattam, Sankarapuri, Pattamukkil at Niranam Church, Kalli, and Kaliyankal were considered the most preeminent. Claims of descent from the various legendary gramams were used as a basis of a system within the community in the Middle Ages. After the 9th century A. D. such as the wearing of the sacred thread, the medieval historian Pius Malekandathil believes these were customs adopted and privileges won during the beginning of the Brahmin dominance of medieval Kerala. An organised Christian presence in India dates to the arrival of East Syrian settlers and missionaries from Persia, members of what would become the Church of the East, in around the 3rd century. As the community grew and immigration by East Syrians increased, the connection with the Church of the East, centred in the Persian capital of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, strengthened. In the 8th century Patriarch Timothy I organised the community as the Ecclesiastical Province of India, after this point the Province of India was headed by a metropolitan bishop, dispatched from Persia, the Metropolitan-Bishop of the Seat of Saint Thomas and the Whole Christian Church of India. His metropolitan see was probably in Cranganore, or in Mylapore, under him were a varying number of bishops, as well as a native Archdeacon, who had authority over the clergy and who wielded a great amount of secular power. Some contact and transmission of knowledge of the Saint Thomas Christians managed to reach the Christian West, byzantine traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes wrote of East Syrian Christians he met in India and Sri Lanka in the 6th century. In 883 the English king Alfred the Great reportedly sent a mission, during the Crusades, distorted accounts of the Saint Thomas Christians and the Nestorian Church gave rise to the European legend of Prester John
25.
First Council of Nicaea
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The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD325. Constantine I organized the Council along the lines of the Roman Senate and presided over it and this ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the Church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. Hosius of Cordoba, who was one of the Papal legates. The First Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council of the Church, St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position, the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arianism comes, took the second. The council decided against the Arians overwhelmingly, through it a precedent was set for subsequent general councils to adopt creeds and canons. This council is considered the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils in the History of Christianity. The First Council of Nicaea was convened by Emperor Constantine the Great upon the recommendations of a synod led by Hosius of Córdoba in the Eastertide of 325 and this synod had been charged with investigation of the trouble brought about by the Arian controversy in the Greek-speaking east. To most bishops, the teachings of Arius were heretical and dangerous to the salvation of souls and this was the first general council in the history of the Church summoned by emperor Constantine I. In the Council of Nicaea, The Church had taken her first great step to define revealed doctrine more precisely in response to a challenge from a heretical theology. Constantine had invited all 1,800 bishops of the Christian church within the Roman Empire, Eusebius of Caesarea counted more than 250, Athanasius of Alexandria counted 318, and Eustathius of Antioch estimated about 270. Later, Socrates Scholasticus recorded more than 300, and Evagrius, Hilary of Poitiers, Jerome, Dionysius Exiguus and this number 318 is preserved in the liturgies of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Delegates came from every region of the Roman Empire, including Britain, the participating bishops were given free travel to and from their episcopal sees to the council, as well as lodging. These bishops did not travel alone, each one had permission to bring him two priests and three deacons, so the total number of attendees could have been above 1,800. Eusebius speaks of an almost innumerable host of accompanying priests, deacons, the Eastern bishops formed the great majority. Of these, the first rank was held by the three patriarchs, Alexander of Alexandria, Eustathius of Antioch, and Macarius of Jerusalem and this position is supported by patristic scholar Timothy Barnes in his book Constantine and Eusebius. Historically, the influence of these marred confessors has been seen as substantial, Athanasius of Alexandria, a young deacon and companion of Bishop Alexander of Alexandria, was among the assistants. Athanasius eventually spent most of his life battling against Arianism, Alexander of Constantinople, then a presbyter, was also present as representative of his aged bishop. The supporters of Arius included Secundus of Ptolemais, Theonus of Marmarica, Zphyrius, other supporters included Eusebius of Nicomedia, Paulinus of Tyrus, Actius of Lydda, Menophantus of Ephesus, and Theognus of Nicaea
26.
First Council of Constantinople
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The First Council of Constantinople was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople in AD381 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. It met from May to July 381 in the Church of Hagia Irene and was affirmed as ecumenical in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon, when Theodosius ascended to the imperial throne in 380, he began on a campaign to bring the Eastern Church back to Nicene Christianity. Theodosius wanted to unify the entire empire behind the orthodox position and decided to convene a church council to resolve matters of faith. Gregory Nazianzus was of similar mind, wishing to unify Christianity, in the spring of 381 they convened the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople. The Council of Nicaea in 325 had not ended the Arian controversy which it had called to clarify. Arius and his sympathizers, e. g. Eusebius of Nicomedia were admitted back into the church after ostensibly accepting the Nicene creed, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, the most vocal opponent of Arianism, was ultimately exiled through the machinations of Eusebius of Nicomedia. After the death of Constantine I in 337 and the accession of his Arian-leaning son Constantius II, up until about 360, theological debates mainly dealt with the divinity of the Son, the second person of the Trinity. However, because the Council of Nicaea had not clarified the divinity of the Holy Spirit, the Macedonians denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. This was also known as Pneumatomachianism, Nicene Christianity also had its defenders, apart from Athanasius, the Cappadocian Fathers Trinitarian discourse was influential in the council at Constantinople. Apollinaris of Laodicea, another theologian, proved controversial. Possibly in an over-reaction to Arianism and its teaching that Christ was not God, he taught that Christ consisted of a human body and he was charged with confounding the persons of the Godhead, and with giving into the heretical ways of Sabellius. Basil of Caesarea accused him of abandoning the literal sense of the scripture, Theodosius strong commitment to Nicene Christianity involved a calculated risk because Constantinople, the imperial capital of the Eastern Empire, was solidly Arian. To complicate matters, the two leading factions of Nicene Christianity in the East, the Alexandrians and the supporters of Meletius in Antioch, were bitterly divided, almost to the point of complete animosity. The bishops of Alexandria and Rome had worked over a number of years to keep the see of Constantinople from stabilizing, thus, when Gregory was selected as a candidate for the bishopric of Constantinople, both Alexandria and Rome opposed him because of his Antiochene background. The incumbent bishop of Constantinople was Demophilus, a Homoian Arian, there ensued a contest to control the newly recovered see. A group led by Maximus the Cynic gained the support of Patriarch Peter of Alexandria by playing on his jealousy of the newly created see of Constantinople. They conceived a plan to install a cleric subservient to Peter as bishop of Constantinople so that Alexandria would retain the leadership of the Eastern Churches, many commentators characterize Maximus as having been proud, arrogant and ambitious. However, it is not clear the extent to which Maximus sought this position due to his own ambition or if he was merely a pawn in the power struggle
27.
Council of Ephesus
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The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus in AD431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. It met in June and July 431 at the Church of Mary in Ephesus in Anatolia, Nestorius himself had requested the Emperor to convene the council, hoping that it would prove his orthodoxy, the council in fact condemned his teachings as heresy. The council declared Mary as Theotokos, Nestorius dispute with Cyril had led the latter to seek validation from Pope Celestine I, who authorized Cyril to request that Nestorius recant his position or face excommunication. Nestorius pleaded with the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II to call a council in which all grievances could be aired, hoping that he would be vindicated, the proceedings were conducted in a heated atmosphere of confrontation and recriminations and created severe tensions between Cyril and Theodosius II. Nestorius was decisively outplayed by Cyril and removed from his see, Nestorius himself retired to a monastery, always asserting his orthodoxy. McGuckin cites the innate rivalry between Alexandria and Constantinople as an important factor in the controversy between Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorius, according to McGuckin, Cyril viewed the elevated intellectual argument about christology as ultimately one and the same as the validity and security of the simple Christian life. Even within Constantinople, some supported the Roman-Alexandrian and others supported the Nestorian factions, for example, Pulcheria supported the Roman-Alexandrian popes while the emperor and his wife supported Nestorius. Contention over Nestorius teachings, which he developed during his studies at the School of Antioch, shortly after his arrival in Constantinople, Nestorius became involved in the disputes of two theological factions, which differed in their Christology. Nestorius was greatly surprised that what he had taught in Antioch without any controversy whatsoever should prove to be so objectionable to the Christians of Constantinople. Nestorius suggested the title Christotokos, but this proposal did not gain acceptance on either side. Nestorius tried to answer a question considered unsolved, How can Jesus Christ, being part man, not be partially a sinner as well, since man is by definition a sinner since the Fall. To solve that he taught that Mary, the mother of Jesus gave birth to the incarnate Christ, not the divine Logos who existed before Mary, the Logos occupied the part of the human soul. But wouldnt the absence of a human soul make Jesus less human, consequently, Nestorius argued that the Virgin Mary should be called Christotokos, Greek for Birth Giver of Christ, and not Theotokos, Greek for Birth Giver of God. Nestorius believed that no union between the human and divine was possible, nestoriuss opponents charged him with detaching Christs divinity and humanity into two persons existing in one body, thereby denying the reality of the Incarnation. Eusebius, a layman who later became the bishop of the neighbouring Dorylaeum was the first to accuse Nestorius of heresy, Cyril argued that Nestorianism split Jesus in half and denied that he was both human and divine. Cyril appealed to Pope Celestine I, charging Nestorius with heresy, the Pope agreed and gave Cyril his authority to serve a notice to Nestorius to recant his views within ten days or else be excommunicated. Before acting on the Popes commission, Cyril convened a synod of Egyptian bishops which condemned Nestorius as well, Cyril then sent four suffragan bishops to deliver both the Popes commission as well as the synodal letter of the Egyptian bishops. Cyril sent a letter to Nestorius known as The Third Epistle of Saint Cyril to Nestorius and this epistle drew heavily on the established Patristic Constitutions and contained the most famous article of Alexandrian Orthodoxy, The Twelve Anathemas of Saint Cyril
28.
Peshitta
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The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition. This New Testament, originally excluding certain disputed books, had become a standard by the early 5th century, the five excluded books were added in the Harklean Version of Thomas of Harqel. However, the 1905 United Bible Society Peshitta used new editions prepared by the Irish Syriacist John Gwynn for the missing books, the name Peshitta is derived from the Syriac mappaqtâ pšîṭtâ, literally meaning simple version. However, it is possible to translate pšîṭtâ as common, or straight. Syriac is a dialect, or group of dialects, of Eastern Aramaic and it is written in the Syriac alphabet, and is transliterated into the Latin script in a number of ways, Peshitta, Peshittâ, Pshitta, Pšittâ, Pshitto, Fshitto. All of these are acceptable, but Peshitta is the most conventional spelling in English, there is no full and clear knowledge of the circumstances under which the Peshitta was produced and came into circulation. Whereas the authorship of the Latin Vulgate has never been in dispute, almost every assertion regarding the authorship of the Peshitta and its time, the chief ground of analogy between the Vulgate and the Peshitta is that both came into existence as the result of a revision. This, indeed, has strenuously denied, but since Dr. The very designation, Peshito, has given rise to dispute and it has been applied to the Syriac as the version in common use, and regarded as equivalent to the Greek koiné and the Latin Vulgate. The word itself is a form, meaning simple, as in easy to be understood. It seems to have used to distinguish the version from others which are encumbered with marks. However, the term as a designation of the version has not been found in any Syriac author earlier than the 9th or 10th century, as regards the Old Testament, the antiquity of the version is admitted on all hands. The tradition, however, that part of it was translated from Hebrew into Syriac for the benefit of Hiram in the days of Solomon is surely a myth. That a translation was made by a priest named Assa, or Ezra and that the translation of the Old Testament and New Testament was made in connection with the visit of Thaddaeus to Abgar at Edessa belongs also to unreliable tradition. Mark has even been credited in ancient Syriac tradition with translating his own Gospel, F. Crawford Burkitt concluded that the translation of the Old Testament was probably the work of Jews, of whom there was a colony in Edessa about the commencement of the Christian era. The older view was that the translators were Christians, and that the work was late in the 1st century or early in the 2nd. The Old Testament known to the early Syrian church was substantially that of the Palestinian Jews and it contained the same number of books but it arranged them in a different order. Most of the Deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament are found in the Syriac, of the New Testament, attempts at translation must have been made very early, and among the ancient versions of New Testament Scripture the Syriac in all likelihood is the earliest
29.
Tur Abdin
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Tur Abdin is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the border with Syria. The name Tur Abdin is derived from Syriac, meaning mountain of the servants, Tur Abdin is of great importance to Syriac Orthodox Christians, for whom the region used to be a monastic and cultural heartland. Hah has the ancient Idto dYoldath-Aloho, the Church of the Mother of God, in the 9th century BCE the Assyrian King Ashurnasirpal II described crossing the plateau of Tur Abdin on his way to attack the region of Nairi. Assyrian source from the 9th century BC, where it is called Kashyari, in 586 B. C. the prophet Ezekiel mentions the famed wine of Izlo, on the southern edge of the plateau of Tur Abdin, in his prophecy against Tyre. The Mor Gabriel Monastery, the oldest Syriac church in the world, was founded in 397 by the ascetic Mor Shmuel and his student Mor Shemun. According to tradition, Shemun had a dream in which an Angel commanded him to build a House of Prayer in a located marked with three stone blocks. When they Shemun awoke, he took his teacher to the place, at this spot Mor Gabriel Monastery built. During World War I,500,000 Assyrian Christians were killed in the Ottoman Empires Assyrian Genocide, in the last few decades, caught between Turkish assimilation policies against Kurds, and Kurdish resistance, many Assyrians have fled the region or been killed. Today there are only 5,000, a quarter of the Christian population thirty years ago, most have fled to Syria, Europe, Australia and the United States. In the past few years, a few families have returned to Tur Abdin, on 10 February 2006 and the following day, large demonstrations took place in the city of Midyat in Tur Abdin. Muslims angry about the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons gathered in Estel, the new part of the city, and started to march towards the old part of Midyat, the mob was stopped by the police before reaching old Midyat. In 2008 a series of challenges were made against the monastery of Mor Gabriel. Some local Kurdish villages sought to land on which the monastery had paid taxes since the 1930s as belonging to the villages. This led to diplomatic and Human Rights action throughout Europe. The most important Syriac Orthodox centre in Tur Abdin is the monastery of Dayro d-Mor Hananyo,6 km south east of Mardin, in the west of the region. Built from yellow rock, the monastery is known as Dayro d Kurkmo in Syriac, Dayr al-Zafaran in Arabic, or Deyrülzafarân in Turkish. Founded in AD493, the monastery was the residence of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch from 1160 to 1932, although the patriarch now lives in Damascus the monastery still contains the patriarchal throne and tombs of seven patriarchs and metropolitans. Today the monastery is led by a bishop and a monk and some lay assistants, the bishop of Mor Hananyo is also the patriarchal vicar of Mardin
30.
First Council of Dvin
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The First Council of Dvin was a church council held in 506 in the Armenian city of Dvin. It convened to discuss the Henotikon, a document issued by Byzantine emperor Zeno in an attempt to resolve theological disputes that had arisen from the Council of Chalcedon. The Council was convoked by the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church Babgen I Umtsetsi, besides the Armenians, delegates from the Georgian and Albanian churches were present. According to the Book of Epistles,20 bishops,14 laymen and this was the doctrine of the Armenian Church among others. The Henotikon, Emperor Zenos attempt at conciliation, was published in 482 and it reminded bishops of the condemnation of Nestorian doctrine, which emphasized the human nature of Christ, and did not mention the Chalcedonian diaphysitic creed. The Council stopped short of formally rejecting the Chalcedonian Definition of the nature of Christ. Such a step, which formalized the Armenian break from the Roman church, the Acts of the Council were discovered by Karapet Ter Mkrtchian and published by him in 1901
31.
Coonan Cross Oath
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The Saint Thomas Christians remain in communion with the Church of the East. It is believed that Malabar Church was in communion with the Church of the East from CE496 to CE1599. With the establishment of Portuguese power in parts of India, clergy of that empire, in members of the Society of Jesus. A series of synods, including the 1585 Synod of Goa, were held, in 1599 Aleixo de Menezes, Archbishop of Goa, led the Synod of Diamper, which finally brought the Saint Thomas Christians fully under the authority of the Latin Archdiocese of Goa. The independence of the ancient Church of Malankara was rescinded, in 1653, Ahatallah of Antioch visited Malankara and was captured by the Portuguese. He was taken on board a Portuguese ship at Madras bound for Goa and en route, the Syrian Christians heard of the arrival of the ship at Cochin. Due to the staunch and intransigent opposition of the Archbishop Garcia, the Archbishop even refused to meet the Christians, who wanted to discuss the matter with him. What happened to Mar Ahatallah in the midst of Arabian Sea is still a mystery, further resentment of these measures led a part of the community to take the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653 swearing never to submit to the Portuguese. Ahatallah claimed to be the Patriarch of Antioch and hence was often called himself Ignatius Aloho which was the name of the Patriarch Ignatius Hidayat Aloho. According to some writing on 1980s, Metropolitan Mar Ahatalla is said to have landed at Surat in 1652 and thence came to Mylapore, when you have read this letter diligently send me two priests and forty men. If however, you wish to send them from your place, send them cautiously, quickly and soon, I came to the city of Mylapore thinking that many people come here, and that priests would get me to your place of the Indias. In the year 1652 of our Lord, in the month of August, on Monday, in the same monastery I stay, and they help me very much, may their reward increase here and there. Peace be with them, with you, and with us now, I, Ignatius, Patriarch of All India and China. Later when the ship carrying Mar Ahatallah reached Goa, he was handed over to the inquisition and he was sent to Portugal on the ship Nosa Senhora da Graca from Goa and reached Lisbon on 14 July 1653. The king of Portugal decided to send him to Rome, accordingly, while he was on his way to Rome, he died at Paris on 26 March 1654 and is buried at the Jerusalem Chapel of the Cordeliena Church. They say he is the Patriarch of Antioch, be that it may, he is alone and has no mark of prelacy. Seeing that the Archbishop thus turned an ear to their insistent pleas. A rumor also was spread at this time that Mar Ahatallah was drowned by the Portuguese, therefore, they held on to ropes tied to the Cross in all directions
32.
Coptic monasticism
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St. Anthonys Monastery is now the oldest monastery in the world. Institutional Christian monasticism seems to have begun in the deserts in AD 4th century Egypt as a kind of living martyrdom. Little attribute the rise of monasticism at this time to the changes in the church that had been brought about by Constantines acceptance of Christianity as the main Roman religion. This ended the position of Christians as a group that believed itself to be the godly elite. In response a new more advanced form of dedication was developed to preserve a nucleus of the dedicated, the end of persecution also meant that martyrdom was no longer an option to prove ones piety. Instead the long-term martyrdom of the ascetic became common, many Egyptian Christians went to the desert during the 3rd century, and remained there to pray and work and dedicate their lives to seclusion and worship of God. Pachomius spent most of his time at his Pabau monastery, from his initial monastery, demand quickly grew and, by the time of his death in 345, one count estimates there were 3000 monasteries dotting Egypt from north to south. Within a generation after his death, this grew to 7000 and then moved out of Egypt into Palestine. By the end of the century, there were hundreds of monasteries. Countless pilgrims have visited the Desert Fathers to emulate their spiritual, all of the Coptic bishops are chosen from monks, although this was not necessary traditionally. There are currently 33 monasteries in Egypt and in the lands of the immigration with a total of more than 1,000 monks, the largest monasteries, and most famous, are at Wadi Natrun, about 60 miles northwest of Cairo. They are the four of the ancient fortified self-sufficient monasteries which have survived out of many that were in the Wadi Natroun valley. Coptic Monasteries List of Coptic Monasteries Members of the covenant Desert Fathers The Daughters of St. Mary Gruber, sacrifice In the Desert, A Study of an Egyptian Minority Through the Lens of Coptic Monasticism
33.
Coptic saints
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Egypt was one of the first countries to know Christianity, with Saint Mark the Evangelist bringing Christianity to the country around 42 AD. Early church historians, writers, and fathers testified to the numerous Egyptian martyrs, despite periods of martyrdom and persecution the number of believers continued to grow and the lives of the martyrs inspired many to the Christian faith. The following is not meant to be a complete list of Coptic saints, abulak Copts List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria List of Copts
34.
Debtera
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A debtera will claim an ecclesiastical identity and behave as in minor orders. They may in fact be officially ordained as deacons, or may act outside the Church hierarchy and they are usually feared by the local population, who often mistake them for madmen. Debteras are usually chosen from families of other debteras, and are trained from childhood as scribes and they are often taught traditional medicine and lay religious rites as well. While studying, they live by begging, retailing, or practicing traditional medicine. The main purpose for their studies, however, is written and oral lore pertaining to religious functions, before services, they bathe and don white clothing, turbans, and a loose striped over-garment called a shamma. Debteras carry prayer sticks to the service, where they sing, dance, among the Beta Israel, the status of debtera is a milestone in the study to become Kahen. Unlike fully-fledged Kahens, debteras are closer to the laypeople, often serving as intermediaries between them and the clergy, a Kahen who gives up his position or is deposed may serve as a debtera. Kahens and debteras are two separate professions, though it is possible to both roles. The Ethiopian Church sees the division as following the model used by the ancient Israelites, during Lenten services, debteras tap prayer sticks to keep the rhythm. The Ethiopian Church condones the performances of debteras, citing the story in 2 Kings of King David dancing at the temple, Debteras participate in liturgy as singers and musicians and, outside the Church religio-magical healers by performing as herbalists, astrologers, fortune-tellers etc. Some Ethiopian authors consider these healers as ‘spiritual healers’ whereas, they are purely religio-magical healers, not all duties taken on by Debteras are condoned by the Ethiopian Church. Many distribute contraceptive herbs to women and perform magic meant to perform contraceptive functions, some are also reputed to study black magic invoking demons alongside their more benevolent official learning. Some Debteras manufacture apotropaic amulets meant to protect the wearer from evil spirits and these amulets are often made of silver and are noted for their use against the legendary budas, zār spirits, and the evil eye. They may also study a variety of anti-magic invocations, prayers and these exorcisms may include prayers, blessing of holy water, burning of roots, and incantations from a Magic Star Book. Some amulets may take the form of small scrolls kept in pouches or similar containers, some practice astrology, by giving unlucky people new stars by changing their names. This may be considered cheating by the locals, however, some Debteras have also been noted to use Datura stramonium to cause hallucinations. A debtera may charge a fee for his charms, exorcisms, and astrological practices, not all of the Debteras duties and cures are supernatural. Debteras place scarecrows in farm fields to protect them and shave heads to prevent lice outbreaks, before the 1974 revolution, nobles would often hire Debteras to educate their children
35.
Fast of Nineveh
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Fast of Nineveh, is a three-day fast commemorating the repentance of the Ninevites at the hands of prophet Jonah according to the bible. The fast is observed for three days starting Monday three weeks before Clean Monday, the fast originated in the Church of the East and later spread to the Oriental Orthodox churches, including the Coptic and Armenian Churches. Jonah appears in 2 Kings aka 4 Kings and is thought to have been active around 786–746 BC. These documented events suggest that Jonahs words were given credibility and adhered to, with everyone allegedly cutting off food and drinks, including animals. As the patriarch Joseph had been deposed, Ezekiel had been selected to replace him, much to the joy of the king Khusrow Anushirwan who loved him, following its success, the tradition has been strictly adhered to every year by the members of the Church of the East
36.
Holy Qurbana
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Holy Qurbana or Holy Qurbono, the Holy Offering or Holy Sacrifice, refers to the Eucharist as celebrated according to the East Syrian and the West Syrian traditions of Syriac Christianity. The main Anaphora of the East Syrian tradition is the Holy Qurbana of Addai and Mari, the East Syriac word Qurbana and the West Syriac word Qurbono are derived from the Aramaic term Qurbana. When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, and sacrifices were offered and it comes from a Hebrew root, karav, meaning to draw close or near. A required Korban was offered morning and evening daily and on holidays, the Holy Qurbana is referred to as complete worship, since it is performed for the benefit of all members of the Church. The other sacraments are celebrated for individual members, thus the Holy Qurbana is believed to be the sacrament that completes all the others. Hence it is called the sacrament of perfection or the queen of sacraments, the East Syriac or Chaldean rite was associated with the historical Church of the East, centered in the Persian capital of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. This liturgy is traditionally attributed to Saint Addai and Saint Mari, in the form given in the oldest manuscripts, all of the High Middle Ages, this anaphora does not include the Words of Institution, a matter that raised ecumenical concerns. West Syrian liturgical rite is developed out of the ancient Antiochene Rite of the Patriarchate of Antioch, adapting the old Greek liturgy into Syriac, the language of the Syrian countryside. West Syrian liturgies represent one of the strains in Syriac Christianity, the other being the East Syrian Rite. An independent West Syrian community that grew around the monastery of Saint Maron eventually developed into the Maronite Church, a variant of the West Syrian Rite, the Malankara Rite, developed in the ancient Malankara Church of India and is still used in its descendant churches. They are the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, the Malabar Independent Syrian Church. The Liturgy is based on the traditions of the ancient rite of the Early Christian Church of Jerusalem, the Liturgy is associated with the name of James the Just, the brother of Jesus and patriarch among the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem. Saint James was martyred at the hands of a mob incensed at his preaching about Jesus and his transgression of the Law - an accusation made by the Jewish High Priest of the time, Hanan ben Hanan. Among the Eastern liturgies, the Liturgy of Saint James is one of the Antiochene group of liturgies, those ascribed to Saint James, to Saint Basil, the Liturgy of Saint James is considered to be the oldest surviving liturgy developed for general use in the Church. Its date of composition is disputed with some authorities proposing an early date. Divine Liturgy Holy Leaven Explanation about the Holy Qurbana - St. Marys Malankara Orthodox Cathedral of Philadelphia
37.
Tabot
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Tabot, is a Geez word referring to a replica of the Tablets of Law, onto which the Biblical Ten Commandments were inscribed, used in the practices of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Tabot can also refer to a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, the word tsellat refers only to a replica of the Tablets, but is less commonly used. According to Edward Ullendorff, the Geez word tabot is derived from the Aramaic word tebuta, the concept and function of the tabot represent one of the most remarkable areas of agreement with Old Testament forms of worship. A tabot is usually six inches square, and may be made from alabaster, marble and it is always kept in ornate coverings to hide it from public view. As it appeared in the doorway the women raised the ilil, when the tabot goes out of the Bete Meqdes ቤተ መቅደስ, everyone goes down to the floor and says a prayer. The dancing over, a procession formed up, headed by the tabot, finally the tabot was carried back into the sanctuary, all was over and the assembly broke up. During the looting of the Ethiopian capital of Magdala in 1868, the return in February 2002 of one of these, discovered in the storage of St. Johns Episcopal Church in Edinburgh, was a cause of public rejoicing in Addis Ababa. Another was returned in 2003 after Dr. Ian McLennan recognised the ancient tabot at an auction in London and he bought it and donated it to the government of Ethiopia. Huntingford, Appendix III, The Tabot in their translation of Francisco Alvarez, The Prester John of the Indies, pilot Guides Axum and the Ark
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"Gregory, St.". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.