The Angelology in the treatise “The Cause of the Foundation of the Schools”

Authors

  • Mikhail V. Antonyuk St. Petersburg State University, 7–9, Universitetskaya nab., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1712-8244

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu28.2024.404

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the angelological concept in the Syriac treatise “The Cause of the Foundation of the Schools”, created by Barhadbshabba, the bishop of Hulwan. The purpose of this article is to consider the factors that influenced the emergence of the original teaching about angels described in the document under study. The creation of such a concept was directly influenced by the theology of Theodore of Mopsuestia, who, in his commentary on the book of Genesis, reflected the moment of teaching the angels. Barhadbshabba began to independently develop this idea, using the works of Pseudo-Dionysius and borrowing from him the hierarchy of angels in heaven in order to apply this concept to the pedagogical system he was building. Therefore, here we can also find very important traces of the influence of the Syrian pedagogical tradition in the person of at least Ephraim the Syrian and Narsai. The results of the study showed the dependence of the author of “The Reasons for the Founding of Schools” on the authors described above, which may suggest the usual perception of certain theological ideas. Nevertheless, it was revealed that Barhadbshabba developed the ideas of the above-mentioned Church figures and, on their basis, built his own angelological concept, which he presented in his treatise.

Keywords:

angelology, Barhadbshabba, Narsai, School of Nisibis, the world as a school, Syriac pedagogical system, Theodore of Mopsuestia

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
 

References


References

Averintsev S. S. (2004) Poetics of Early Byzantine Literature. St. Petersburg, Azbuka-klassika Publ. (In Russian)

Becker A. H. (2004) “Bringing the Heavenly Academy down to Earth”, in Heavenly realms and earthly realities in Late Antique religions. Ed. by R. S. Boustan, pp. 174–191. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Becker, A. H. (2006) Fear of God and beginning of wisdom. The School of Nisibis and Christian scholastic culture in Late Antique Mesopotamia. Philadelphia, PENN.

Brock S. (1992) The luminous eye. The spiritual world vision of Saint Ephraem. Kalamazoo, Cistercian Publ.

Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, saint (2010) Catechetical and secret teachings. Moscow, Blagovest Publ. (In Russian)

Dionysius the Areopagite. (1898) About the heavenly hierarchy. Moscow, Sinodalnaia tipografiia Publ. (In Russian)

Ephraem the Syrian, saint (2007) Selected works. Moscow, Sretenskii monastyr’ Publ. (In Russian)

Florovsky G. V. (1933) Byzantine Fathers 5th–8th centuries. Paris, Société Nouvelle d’Imprimerie et d’Édition. (In Russian)

Keck D. (1998) Angels and angelology in the Middle Ages. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Lagutin A. O., Antsupova V. D., Pischulina M. S. (2023) “The Number in teachings of the Pythagoreans (difference between ancient and modern concepts of number)”, in Nauchnyi aspekt, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 507–515. (In Russian)

Mar Barhadbshabba ‘Arbaya (1908) “Cause de la Foundation des Ecoles”, in Patrologia Orientalis, vol. VI, pp. 321–404. Paris, Librairie De Paris.

Markidonov A. V. (2014) “Neoplatonism and Christianity: Rapprochement and divergence”, in Khristianskoe chtenie, no. 5, pp. 30–41. (In Russian)

Pigulevskaya N. V. (2017) The Culture of Syria in the Middle Ages. Moscow, Lomonosov Publ. (In Russian)

Piotrovskiy M. B. (1991) “Iblis”, in Islam: entsiklopedicheskii slovar’, pp. 81–82. Moscow, Nauka Publ. (In Russian)

Reinink G. J. (1995) “‘Edessa grew dim and Nisibis shone forth’: The School of Nisibis at the Transition of the sixth-seventh century”, in Centres of Learning, pp. 77–89. Leiden, Brill.

Ryken L., Wilhoit D., Longman T., eds (2005) The Dictionary of Biblical images. St. Petersburg, Bibliia dlia vsekh Publ. (In Russian)

Seleznev N. N. (2002) Christology of the Assyrian Church of the East. Moscow, Euroasiatika Publ. (In Russian)

Semenova S. O. (2004) The problem of angelology in the teachings of the Eastern Church of the 4th — early 6th centuries. PhD Thesis in Philosophy. St. Petersburg, Gosudarstvennyi muzei istorii religii Publ. (In Russian)

Theodore of Mopsuestia. (1896) Fragments. Theodori Mopsuesteni Fragmenta Syriaca. Ver. E. Sachau. Lipsae, Sumptibus Guilelmi Engelmann.

Theodoret of Cyrus (2003) “About the devil and demons”, in Theodoret of Cyrus. Sokrashchennoe izlozhenie Bozhestvennykh dogmatov, pp. 30–33. Moscow, Palomnik Publ. (In Russian)

Vööbus A. (1965) History of the School of Nisibis. Louvain, Secrétariat du Corpus SCO.

Zabolotnyi E. A. (2020) Syriac Christianity between Byzantium and Iran. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ. (In Russian)

Published

2024-12-28

Issue

Section

Research