Posidonius et le traité d’Albinus Sur les incorporels

The reference to Albinus in a refutation of Bardesanes († c. 222) by Ephrem the Syrian († 373) is not unknown to modern commentators. This text, edited and translated into English since the beginning of the twentieth century, is regularly mentioned, albeit rather cursorily, by scholars of Middle Platonism. Although much has been clarified between the first publication of the book just over a century ago and the present day, the following pages aim to continue the exploration. The aim will be to better understand what has so far remained unnoticed: the dependence of Albinus’ work on Posidonius on three crucial points: (1) his classification of incorporeals, (2) his doctrine of comprehensive representation, and (3) the deep relationship between (1) and (2).

Syriac

The chapter presents a general overview of Syriac texts which were translated into Greek. From the fourth to the sixth century, one encounters primarily classics of Syriac patristic literature (such as Ephrem the Syrian) and various hagiographical texts. After the seventh century, Greek translations from Syriac were limited to a few texts: the mystical writings of Isaak the Syrian and an Apocalypse related to the rise of Islam, and pseudonymously attributed to Methodios bishop of Olympos.

Ephrem the Syrian’s Use of Beatitudes

The poetry of Ephrem the Syrian (ca. 306–373 C. E.) shows a marked predilection for composing beatitudes, usually in the form, “Blessed is the one who . . .” Careful study of these formulas, particularly when they predominate in certain madrāšē, shows that Ephrem uses the device deliberately and creatively to signal the creator-creature polarity, and in that context, the balancing of its tension via the transference of the creature to a medial or liminal state between God and humanity. They also signal creatures’ consequent ability to mediate between God and other creatures. Ephrem carefully limits the formula to created entities and distinguishes between the epithets and concepts brīḵā and ṭūḇānā, a subtlety that has not typically, but should be, respected in English translation, because it is integral to the dynamic they express. Ephrem’s beatitudes are often associated with personification and balance. Thus, when applied to biblical entities, they form a way in which he rhetorically brings the polarity between God and man to life in his own teaching, and seeks to dramatize the experience of closeness to God in his community’s present time. A complete reference list of Ephrem’s beatitudes in his extant madrāšē is included.

The ‘Letter to Publius’ of St. Ephrem the Syrian

Статья посвящена ранее не переводившемуся на русский язык «Посланию к Публию», принадлежащему перу выдающегося сирийского писателя IV в. прп. Ефрема Сирина (Мар Афрема Нисибинского) (ок. 306–373). «Послание к Публию» представляет собой размышление на тему Последнего Суда, ожидающего всякого человека, — размышление, изобилующее многочисленными образами, которые весьма часто встречаются и в других подлинных сочинениях прп. Ефрема. The article is devoted to Letter to Publius, which has not been previously translated into Russian. This Letter belongs to the pen of the Syrian writer and saint of 4 century Ephrem the Syrian (Mar Aphrem of Nisibis) (c. 306–373). The «Letter to Publius» is a reflection on the subject of the Last Judgment, which awaits every person — a reflection that is replete with numerous images that are very often found in other genuine writings of St. Ephrem.

Mār Aphrem’ Memra ‘On Solitaries’ and the Founders of the Messalian Movement in 4th Century Edessa. Part First: Context and Text (1-100)

Первая часть посвящена исследованию аскетических тем у Мар Афрема на основе сопоставления разных частей его корпуса. Сирийский аскетизм у него отражён в трёх основных формах: городские общины «обетников», странничество и разновидность последнего - «воскизм», связанный не только с отказом от стабильного местопребывания, но и с определённой диетой (питанием травой и листьями). Странничество (ˀksnayūṯā) в латинской и греческой традиции попало под подозрения, gyrovagi и «мессалиане» стали проклинаться и изгоняться. В сирийской традиции конкуренция между странничеством и киновией была более долгой. В IV в. этот вопрос для Мар Афрема ещё не имел остроты: он восхвалял Мар Юлиана Саббу и Мар Авраама Кидонского, которые практиковали радикальные формы отшельничества. В ряду аскетических сочинений Мар Афрема важное место занимает мемра (метризованная гомилия) «Об отшельниках». Она принадлежит к циклу сочинений и интересна прежде всего описанием форм местных особенностей аскетической жизни (īḥı̄ ḏayūṯā) в Верхней Месопотамии и Сирии. В ней описаны практики пустынного отшельничества и социальной самоизоляции, которые связываются с начальным этапом «мессалианского» движения (национального сирийского аскетизма). Статья сопровождается переводом стихов 1-100 мемры. The article (being the 1st part of the cycle) is dedicated to the ascetic themes in Mār Aphrem the of Nisibis (St. Ephrem the Syrian) treated in different parts of his corpus. Asceticism is reflecxted in mār Aphrem under three main forms: city asceticism, wandering asceticism (xeniteia) and the sub-form of the latter, boskoi-asceticism. The wandering tradition got strog criticism in the Latin and Greek tradition as gyrovagi and ‘messalians’. In the Syriac tradition, the competition between wanderinf and coenobion lasted much longer. Aphrem’s mêmrā (metrical homily) On the hermits and solitaries belongs to the ascetical cycle and is interesting, first of all, by its description of the local forms of asceticism (īḥıḏayūṯā) in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria. It describes the practices of desert hermitage and social self-isolation, which are associated with the initial stage of the ‘messalian’ movement which turns to be a form of the national Syrian asceticism. The translation of verses 1-100 of the memra accompanies the text.