J.F. COAKLEY
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267447
- eISBN:
- 9780191683268
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267447.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Church History
This chapter begins with a description of the Church of the East. The Church of the East is simply the church of the ancient Persian Empire with a history dating back to the planting of anonymous ...
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This chapter begins with a description of the Church of the East. The Church of the East is simply the church of the ancient Persian Empire with a history dating back to the planting of anonymous merchants or prisoners from the Roman empire from the 2nd century onwards. The chapter then discusses the earliest stirrings of interest in England for an acquaintance with the Church of the East in the 19th century and the mission of George Percy Badger.Less
This chapter begins with a description of the Church of the East. The Church of the East is simply the church of the ancient Persian Empire with a history dating back to the planting of anonymous merchants or prisoners from the Roman empire from the 2nd century onwards. The chapter then discusses the earliest stirrings of interest in England for an acquaintance with the Church of the East in the 19th century and the mission of George Percy Badger.
J. Rixey Ruffin
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195326512
- eISBN:
- 9780199870417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195326512.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
William Bentley began his tenure as assistant pastor of the East Church in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1783, and immediately came into conflict with the much older senior pastor. But within two years, ...
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William Bentley began his tenure as assistant pastor of the East Church in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1783, and immediately came into conflict with the much older senior pastor. But within two years, the senior pastor was gone, driven out by the church he had served for half a century. That minister, James Diman, was a Calvinist, but Bentley believed in a theology of salvation called Arminianism—in the benevolence of God and the possibility of salvation through moral behavior. The church's members picked Bentley's Arminianism over Diman's Calvinism. How and why they did so sheds light on the power of the sacraments (Communion and baptism) in New England Christianity, on the unique relationships in Congregationalism between members, parishioners, and pew proprietors, and on the liberating potential of the American Revolution, particularly in the economic power gained from privateering.Less
William Bentley began his tenure as assistant pastor of the East Church in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1783, and immediately came into conflict with the much older senior pastor. But within two years, the senior pastor was gone, driven out by the church he had served for half a century. That minister, James Diman, was a Calvinist, but Bentley believed in a theology of salvation called Arminianism—in the benevolence of God and the possibility of salvation through moral behavior. The church's members picked Bentley's Arminianism over Diman's Calvinism. How and why they did so sheds light on the power of the sacraments (Communion and baptism) in New England Christianity, on the unique relationships in Congregationalism between members, parishioners, and pew proprietors, and on the liberating potential of the American Revolution, particularly in the economic power gained from privateering.
J. Rixey Ruffin
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195326512
- eISBN:
- 9780199870417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195326512.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The prologue narrates both the formative years of Bentley's life before his call to the East Church in 1783 and also the history of that church before that date. Born the son of an artisan father in ...
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The prologue narrates both the formative years of Bentley's life before his call to the East Church in 1783 and also the history of that church before that date. Born the son of an artisan father in Boston's North End in 1759 but educated at Harvard thanks to his own intellectual skills and the financial largesse of his maternal grandfather, Bentley began and continued through his life straddling two social worlds, a tension that would later help drive his ideological changes. Meanwhile, members of the East Church were no longer satisfied with their pastor after the Revolutionary War. They wanted a corresponding change of leadership in their own spiritual community. They could not easily dismiss their existing pastor, but they could call an assistant pastor in order to bring the conflict to a head. In Bentley they found their man and in 1783 invited him up to Salem.Less
The prologue narrates both the formative years of Bentley's life before his call to the East Church in 1783 and also the history of that church before that date. Born the son of an artisan father in Boston's North End in 1759 but educated at Harvard thanks to his own intellectual skills and the financial largesse of his maternal grandfather, Bentley began and continued through his life straddling two social worlds, a tension that would later help drive his ideological changes. Meanwhile, members of the East Church were no longer satisfied with their pastor after the Revolutionary War. They wanted a corresponding change of leadership in their own spiritual community. They could not easily dismiss their existing pastor, but they could call an assistant pastor in order to bring the conflict to a head. In Bentley they found their man and in 1783 invited him up to Salem.
Jack Tannous
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691179094
- eISBN:
- 9780691184166
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691179094.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This chapter discusses theological speculation and theological literacy in late antique and medieval Middle East. In the period beginning with the controversy between Cyril and Nestorius in 428 and ...
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This chapter discusses theological speculation and theological literacy in late antique and medieval Middle East. In the period beginning with the controversy between Cyril and Nestorius in 428 and ending with the Third Council of Constantinople in 680–681, the Christian community of the Middle East splintered into separate and competing churches as a result of disagreements over theological speculation. There was chronic and irresolvable controversy as to how many natures, persons, energies, and wills there were in the Incarnate Christ. The variety of distinct and competing churches that developed include the Chalcedonians, the Miaphysites, and the Church of the East. The question of literacy complicates things further. An estimate of literacy among Christians in the first several centuries AD suggested that no more than 10 percent were able to “read, criticize, and interpret” Christian literature in this time.Less
This chapter discusses theological speculation and theological literacy in late antique and medieval Middle East. In the period beginning with the controversy between Cyril and Nestorius in 428 and ending with the Third Council of Constantinople in 680–681, the Christian community of the Middle East splintered into separate and competing churches as a result of disagreements over theological speculation. There was chronic and irresolvable controversy as to how many natures, persons, energies, and wills there were in the Incarnate Christ. The variety of distinct and competing churches that developed include the Chalcedonians, the Miaphysites, and the Church of the East. The question of literacy complicates things further. An estimate of literacy among Christians in the first several centuries AD suggested that no more than 10 percent were able to “read, criticize, and interpret” Christian literature in this time.
J. Rixey Ruffin
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195326512
- eISBN:
- 9780199870417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195326512.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Bentley's importance peaked in 1805. Never again would he assume such a public or intellectually significant role as he did between 1783 and 1805. Nor would he bridge the chasms separating him from ...
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Bentley's importance peaked in 1805. Never again would he assume such a public or intellectually significant role as he did between 1783 and 1805. Nor would he bridge the chasms separating him from his liberal peers and from his evangelical contemporaries. Although he remained the pastor of the East Church until his death in 1819, in every real sense of the word he died alone.Less
Bentley's importance peaked in 1805. Never again would he assume such a public or intellectually significant role as he did between 1783 and 1805. Nor would he bridge the chasms separating him from his liberal peers and from his evangelical contemporaries. Although he remained the pastor of the East Church until his death in 1819, in every real sense of the word he died alone.
J.F. COAKLEY
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267447
- eISBN:
- 9780191683268
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267447.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Church History
This chapter focuses on Archbishop Benson's interest in the Church of the East and the Assyrian mission. Riley's report of November 1884, Narrative of a Visit to the Assyrian Christians in Kurdistan, ...
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This chapter focuses on Archbishop Benson's interest in the Church of the East and the Assyrian mission. Riley's report of November 1884, Narrative of a Visit to the Assyrian Christians in Kurdistan, called for the establishment of two mission stations, one at Urmia which would house the printing-press, and the other at Kochanes where a seminary would be founded. Three priests would be required initially, with the head in particular ‘a theologian and a gentleman’. The task of finding personnel and money to carry out such plans was difficult. But the personal dedication of the Archbishop and of Riley, and the interest which they generated, were sufficient for it.Less
This chapter focuses on Archbishop Benson's interest in the Church of the East and the Assyrian mission. Riley's report of November 1884, Narrative of a Visit to the Assyrian Christians in Kurdistan, called for the establishment of two mission stations, one at Urmia which would house the printing-press, and the other at Kochanes where a seminary would be founded. Three priests would be required initially, with the head in particular ‘a theologian and a gentleman’. The task of finding personnel and money to carry out such plans was difficult. But the personal dedication of the Archbishop and of Riley, and the interest which they generated, were sufficient for it.
J.F. COAKLEY
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267447
- eISBN:
- 9780191683268
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267447.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Church History
This chapter discusses the movement in the Church of England to help the Church of the East between 1868 and 1884. It was 1868 before the movement began again to acquire momentum. Thereafter, ...
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This chapter discusses the movement in the Church of England to help the Church of the East between 1868 and 1884. It was 1868 before the movement began again to acquire momentum. Thereafter, although the pace of this movement was not exactly speedy, neither did it ever quite let up until a lasting mission was founded eighteen years later.Less
This chapter discusses the movement in the Church of England to help the Church of the East between 1868 and 1884. It was 1868 before the movement began again to acquire momentum. Thereafter, although the pace of this movement was not exactly speedy, neither did it ever quite let up until a lasting mission was founded eighteen years later.
Richard E. Payne
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780520286191
- eISBN:
- 9780520961531
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520286191.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This introductory chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to recover the social and political circumstances of worldly Christians and the perspectives of the Zoroastrian elites whose ...
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This introductory chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to recover the social and political circumstances of worldly Christians and the perspectives of the Zoroastrian elites whose positions were always supreme in Iranian political culture. It substitutes a triangular relationship among ecclesiastical leaders, Christian secular elites, and Zoroastrian authorities in place of the binaries that East Syrian texts rhetorically constructed. The goal is not to unmask the agendas of East Syrian authors and leaders but rather to demonstrate the interplay of their literary constructions with the shifting social and political structures and relationships in their communities. The remainder of the chapter discusses the empire known in Middle Persian as Ērānšahr, “the Iranian Empire,” the most enduring and territorially extensive imperial system in the ancient Near East; the Church of the East and its institutions; and Christian and Zoroastrian texts and their contexts.Less
This introductory chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to recover the social and political circumstances of worldly Christians and the perspectives of the Zoroastrian elites whose positions were always supreme in Iranian political culture. It substitutes a triangular relationship among ecclesiastical leaders, Christian secular elites, and Zoroastrian authorities in place of the binaries that East Syrian texts rhetorically constructed. The goal is not to unmask the agendas of East Syrian authors and leaders but rather to demonstrate the interplay of their literary constructions with the shifting social and political structures and relationships in their communities. The remainder of the chapter discusses the empire known in Middle Persian as Ērānšahr, “the Iranian Empire,” the most enduring and territorially extensive imperial system in the ancient Near East; the Church of the East and its institutions; and Christian and Zoroastrian texts and their contexts.
J.F. COAKLEY
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267447
- eISBN:
- 9780191683268
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267447.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Church History
This chapter discusses the growth and development of the Assyrian Mission from 1890–1896. The scale of the Mission as a whole increased little by little over the first ten years of its existence. At ...
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This chapter discusses the growth and development of the Assyrian Mission from 1890–1896. The scale of the Mission as a whole increased little by little over the first ten years of its existence. At the beginning of 1896 the staff numbered thirteen (six clergy, two laymen, five Sisters). As a result of new building year by year, the main mission compound then comprised two buildings with a total of 33 rooms, plus stables for nine horses and other outbuildings. Besides the two principal establishments in Urmia, the Mission owned the Neesans' house, the summer headquarters in Seir, and the premises of middle schools in Ardishai, Supergan, and Dizateka. Educational work continued to grow. Besides its own schools, in 1894—5 the Mission sponsored the Matran's deacons' school and 111 village schools.Less
This chapter discusses the growth and development of the Assyrian Mission from 1890–1896. The scale of the Mission as a whole increased little by little over the first ten years of its existence. At the beginning of 1896 the staff numbered thirteen (six clergy, two laymen, five Sisters). As a result of new building year by year, the main mission compound then comprised two buildings with a total of 33 rooms, plus stables for nine horses and other outbuildings. Besides the two principal establishments in Urmia, the Mission owned the Neesans' house, the summer headquarters in Seir, and the premises of middle schools in Ardishai, Supergan, and Dizateka. Educational work continued to grow. Besides its own schools, in 1894—5 the Mission sponsored the Matran's deacons' school and 111 village schools.
J.F. COAKLEY
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267447
- eISBN:
- 9780191683268
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267447.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Church History
This chapter details the second decade of the Assyrian Mission from 1896–1904. During this period, conditions for many of the Syrians in both Persia and Turkey became more troubled; Archbishop Benson ...
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This chapter details the second decade of the Assyrian Mission from 1896–1904. During this period, conditions for many of the Syrians in both Persia and Turkey became more troubled; Archbishop Benson died; and a Russian Orthodox mission arrived in Persia which looked likely to take away the Mission's clients and its reason for existence. The worst did not happen: the Mission remained in place and even its ideology and morale were largely undamaged. But the scale of its operations was sharply reduced.Less
This chapter details the second decade of the Assyrian Mission from 1896–1904. During this period, conditions for many of the Syrians in both Persia and Turkey became more troubled; Archbishop Benson died; and a Russian Orthodox mission arrived in Persia which looked likely to take away the Mission's clients and its reason for existence. The worst did not happen: the Mission remained in place and even its ideology and morale were largely undamaged. But the scale of its operations was sharply reduced.
Adam H. Becker
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226145280
- eISBN:
- 9780226145457
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226145457.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
This book examines how the presence of an American evangelical mission in the borderlands between Qajar Iran and the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century contributed to the development of a ...
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This book examines how the presence of an American evangelical mission in the borderlands between Qajar Iran and the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century contributed to the development of a secular nationalism among the indigenous Neo-Aramaic speaking Christian population of the region. The Americans aimed to “reform” the ancient Church of the East (East Syrians, or Syriac “Nestorians”) by establishing schools, publishing and distributing literature in the vernacular, and preaching a penitential return to “Biblical Christianity,” but their interventions in the region helped to lay the groundwork for the articulation of a new national identity and many East Syrians began to understand themselves as “Assyrians.” A particular evangelical configuration of modernity was cultivated at the mission in the antebellum period, one belonging to a visceral realm often unrecognized in characterizations of secularism and the Enlightenment. In the late nineteenth century liberalizing trends in American Protestantism provided further impetus to the emergence of a distinct Syrian identity as did the proliferation of foreign missions, which caused a fracture in the community resulting in new publicly expressed concerns about the unity of the “nation.” By the turn of the twentieth century some Syrian nationalists responded autoethnographically to the orientalist and biblical archeological knowledge, which the missions had disseminated in vernacular publications, by locating their origins historically in the ancient Near East: they linked the national consciousness that had been developing through the nineteenth century to the name and history of the Assyrians.Less
This book examines how the presence of an American evangelical mission in the borderlands between Qajar Iran and the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century contributed to the development of a secular nationalism among the indigenous Neo-Aramaic speaking Christian population of the region. The Americans aimed to “reform” the ancient Church of the East (East Syrians, or Syriac “Nestorians”) by establishing schools, publishing and distributing literature in the vernacular, and preaching a penitential return to “Biblical Christianity,” but their interventions in the region helped to lay the groundwork for the articulation of a new national identity and many East Syrians began to understand themselves as “Assyrians.” A particular evangelical configuration of modernity was cultivated at the mission in the antebellum period, one belonging to a visceral realm often unrecognized in characterizations of secularism and the Enlightenment. In the late nineteenth century liberalizing trends in American Protestantism provided further impetus to the emergence of a distinct Syrian identity as did the proliferation of foreign missions, which caused a fracture in the community resulting in new publicly expressed concerns about the unity of the “nation.” By the turn of the twentieth century some Syrian nationalists responded autoethnographically to the orientalist and biblical archeological knowledge, which the missions had disseminated in vernacular publications, by locating their origins historically in the ancient Near East: they linked the national consciousness that had been developing through the nineteenth century to the name and history of the Assyrians.
Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780520284968
- eISBN:
- 9780520960589
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520284968.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book analyzes the hagiographic traditions of six missionary saints in the Syriac tradition: Thomas, Addai, Mari, Simeon of Beth Arsham, Jacob Baradaeus, and Ahoudemmeh. Through studying these ...
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This book analyzes the hagiographic traditions of six missionary saints in the Syriac tradition: Thomas, Addai, Mari, Simeon of Beth Arsham, Jacob Baradaeus, and Ahoudemmeh. Through studying these saints’ lives, we gain an understanding of the development of the East and West Syriac ecclesiastical bodies: the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Church of the East. The lives of the missionaries encapsulate the concerns of the communities that wrote them.Less
This book analyzes the hagiographic traditions of six missionary saints in the Syriac tradition: Thomas, Addai, Mari, Simeon of Beth Arsham, Jacob Baradaeus, and Ahoudemmeh. Through studying these saints’ lives, we gain an understanding of the development of the East and West Syriac ecclesiastical bodies: the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Church of the East. The lives of the missionaries encapsulate the concerns of the communities that wrote them.
Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780520284968
- eISBN:
- 9780520960589
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520284968.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
In chapter 8, I analyze the hagiography of Ahoudemmeh, a Miaphysite missionary in northern Iraq who converted Arabic tribes. I show how his hagiography displays the unique concerns of the Miaphysites ...
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In chapter 8, I analyze the hagiography of Ahoudemmeh, a Miaphysite missionary in northern Iraq who converted Arabic tribes. I show how his hagiography displays the unique concerns of the Miaphysites living in the Sasanian Empire. I discuss how the story demonstrates the internal conflicts of the Church of the East and Miaphysite Church. The hagiography of Ahoudemmeh symbolizes the ambiguities of the religious and political affiliations of the Sasanian Miaphysites.Less
In chapter 8, I analyze the hagiography of Ahoudemmeh, a Miaphysite missionary in northern Iraq who converted Arabic tribes. I show how his hagiography displays the unique concerns of the Miaphysites living in the Sasanian Empire. I discuss how the story demonstrates the internal conflicts of the Church of the East and Miaphysite Church. The hagiography of Ahoudemmeh symbolizes the ambiguities of the religious and political affiliations of the Sasanian Miaphysites.
Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780520284968
- eISBN:
- 9780520960589
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520284968.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
In chapter 1, I lay out a methodology for studying the missionary stories of the Syriac churches. I discuss the image of the hagiographer, the missionary, and the monarch. I examine the theological ...
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In chapter 1, I lay out a methodology for studying the missionary stories of the Syriac churches. I discuss the image of the hagiographer, the missionary, and the monarch. I examine the theological disputes from the fourth through the sixth centuries that played a role in the separation of the Church of the East and the Syrian Orthodox Church from the Byzantine Chalcedonian Church. I show how I will use the missionary stories of the Syriac tradition to discuss the gradual process by which the Church of the East and the Syrian Orthodox Church became separate ecclesial bodies.Less
In chapter 1, I lay out a methodology for studying the missionary stories of the Syriac churches. I discuss the image of the hagiographer, the missionary, and the monarch. I examine the theological disputes from the fourth through the sixth centuries that played a role in the separation of the Church of the East and the Syrian Orthodox Church from the Byzantine Chalcedonian Church. I show how I will use the missionary stories of the Syriac tradition to discuss the gradual process by which the Church of the East and the Syrian Orthodox Church became separate ecclesial bodies.
Kyle Smith
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780520289604
- eISBN:
- 9780520964204
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520289604.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter examines the History of Blessed Simeon bar Sabba'e and two other texts from among the Syriac Acts of the Persian Martyrs: the Martyrdom of the Captives of Beth Zabdai and the Martyrdom ...
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This chapter examines the History of Blessed Simeon bar Sabba'e and two other texts from among the Syriac Acts of the Persian Martyrs: the Martyrdom of the Captives of Beth Zabdai and the Martyrdom of Pusai-Qarugbed. All three sources demonstrate a pronounced trend in the discourse of late fifth-and early sixth-century Syriac martyrdom narratives: the conceptualization of Persian Christians during Shapur II's reign as Roman captives. This chapter considers how and why these Syriac martyrdom narratives speak about Christians as Roman captives. It argues that these Syriac martyrdom narratives discuss “Roman captives” not only because of the Sasanian practice of taking hundreds if not thousands of prisoners of war, but also because of the history of the spread of Christianity in Persia; the two founding synods of the Church of the East, in 410 and 420; and the brief war between Rome and Persia that followed the Sasanian king Yazdgard I's death in 420.Less
This chapter examines the History of Blessed Simeon bar Sabba'e and two other texts from among the Syriac Acts of the Persian Martyrs: the Martyrdom of the Captives of Beth Zabdai and the Martyrdom of Pusai-Qarugbed. All three sources demonstrate a pronounced trend in the discourse of late fifth-and early sixth-century Syriac martyrdom narratives: the conceptualization of Persian Christians during Shapur II's reign as Roman captives. This chapter considers how and why these Syriac martyrdom narratives speak about Christians as Roman captives. It argues that these Syriac martyrdom narratives discuss “Roman captives” not only because of the Sasanian practice of taking hundreds if not thousands of prisoners of war, but also because of the history of the spread of Christianity in Persia; the two founding synods of the Church of the East, in 410 and 420; and the brief war between Rome and Persia that followed the Sasanian king Yazdgard I's death in 420.
