A Perfect Church on Earth – The New Discovery of an Ancient Church Site in Tangchao Dun, China

Archaeologists have recently announced the discovery of a 7-9th Century church site in Tangchao Dun, 115 km north of Turpan, Xinjiang, China. From the two site photos released, it is evident that the church was a rare and perfect bema church belonging to an episcopal or archiepiscopal see of the Church of the East in the region.

Circulation of St. Isaac of Nineveh’s Ascetical Homilies Outside the Church of the East. Part Two: Interpolation of Personal Names

Настоящая публикация является второй частью исследования, посвященного проблеме заимствования Первого собрания сочинений известного аскетического писателя Церкви Востока Исаака, епископа Ниневийского, христианами других конфессий. В данной части представлены результаты текстологического анализа разночтений имён авторитетных духовных писателей, цитируемых св. Исааком. Анализ был осуществлен по доступным автору сирийским манускриптам восточносирийского, западносирийского и сиро-халкидонского происхождения, которые в изначальном виде содержали полный текст Первого собрания св. Исаака Сирина, а также по греческому переводу и нескольким арабским рукописям. Задача исследования - восстановить историю филиации текста Первого собрания при пересечении конфессиональных границ. По результатам исследования удалось зафиксировать модификации текста во всех случаях употребления св. Исааком имён авторитетных для восточносирийской церковной традиции авторов: Диодора Тарсийского, Феодора Мопсуестийского и Евагрия Понтийского. При пересечении конфессиональных границ эти имена или относящиеся к ним эпитеты были заменены или пропущены с целью очищения исходного текста от нежелательных для переписчиков других конфессий элементов. При этом аутентичное чтение всегда засвидетельствовано списками восточносирийской редакции. В заключение автор исследования предлагает новую классификацию сирийских манускриптов, разделив их на четыре группы в зависимости от их происхождения и содержащихся в них чтений имён. В процессе исследования была установлена неизвестная доселе церковно-конфессиональная принадлежность нескольких манускриптов. Впервые удалось прояснить причины ряда текстуальных разночтений в восточносирийских списках, подвергшихся интерполяции со стороны сиро-ортодоксальных читателей. Isaac, bishop of Nineveh, belongs to the Church of the East’s most famous ascetic authors This three-part study explores the way how the First Part of his writings was adopted in other Syriac Christian communities. The second part analyzes variant readings of personal names of some important church figures in Isaac of Nineveh’s writings. Makarov uses all available Syriac manuscripts of East Syriac, West Syriac, and Chalcedonian Syriac origin, which initially contained the full text of the First Part, as well as its Greek and Arabic manuscripsts. Makarov seeks to reconstruct how the text changed as it crossed borders of different Christian communities. For that purpose, he explores variant readings of names of persons considered important in the Eastern Syriac tradition: Diodorus of Tarsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and Evagrius Ponticus. When Isaac’s writings were adopted in other Syriac Christian communities, the names or titles of those persons were intentionally removed or altered in order to purge the original text from the elements viewed as heterodox by the copyists and translators. In the East Syriac texts, however, the original reading is always preserved. Makarov proposes a new classification of the Syriac manuscripts based on their origin and on forms of personal names they contain. He also clarifies the origin of some previously unattributed manuscripts and explains variation in the East Syriac manuscripts, which, as he argued, is due to the later Jacobite readers.

Turfan: Connecting with Seleucia-Ctesiphon

Despite its linguistic and physical distance from the Mesopotamian heartland, the Church of the East maintained its spiritual and theological heritage amongst its Iranian-speaking communities at Turfan. Psalters written in a wide variety of languages and bilingual lectionaries attest the efforts that were made to ‘reach out’ to the local communities, but it was through the Syriac liturgy that the intrinsic connection with Seleucia-Ctesiphon was maintained. Using MIK III 45, the most complete liturgical text from Turfan, consisting of 61 folios with a C14 dating (771–884 CE), the paper explores the role of liturgy as a tool of community memory. Of prime significance was the commemoration of Mart Shir, the Sassanid queen who eschewed her royal connections to become the evangelist of Marv. Here, the liturgy offers a very different perspective to the ninth-century Arabic Chronicle of Se’ert, in which she was subordinated to Baršabbā, the alleged first bishop of Marv. The prayer of Bar Sauma, bishop of Nisibis, recited plene during the rite for the consecration of a new church (altar), also recalled the close association that had been forged with the Sassanid realms.

Chinese Buddhist Writings and the Bible

This essay examines the influence of Buddhist writings on the Bible. In the Tang dynasty, when the Church of the East reached China, they did not hold onto the idea of fixed Scripture in the form of an Old and a New Testament. The growing Buddhist canon had its impact on Tang Christians’ concept of authoritative text. As a result, the clergy produced a wide range of sūtras as their canon. They also appropriated many Buddhist terms, but managed to keep their Christian doctrines intact. Later Bible translations show little Buddhist influence, but we can still see traces of Buddhist vocabulary.