Volume 7, issue 1 (summer 1999)
Volume 7, issue 1 (summer 1999)
Dit nummer van Gouden Hoorn verschijnt na een warme zomer met een enerverend bezoek aan de International Patristics Conference in Oxford. Maar de aardbeving in Turkije, gevolgd door één in Griekenland, ligt ons ook nog vers in het geheugen. Ondanks toenaderingspogingen van beide landen, is daar nog steeds veel religieuze tolerantie. We spreken de hoop uit dat de bewoners van die streken minder rampen, meer vrede zullen ontvangen.
Aan de orde komt in dit nummer een beschrijving door Gabriel Rabo van de inrichting van Syrisch-Orthodoxe kerken, door de eeuwen heen volgens traditie en symbolen onveranderd.
Verder Dirk Krausmüller met de datering van Johannes van Karpathus, een vrij onbekende monnik die hopelijk wat meer voor ons gaat leven als we weten in welke tijd hij leefde.
Schrijver dezes laat in haar artikel over Domnika de lezers kennis maken met een obscure heilige die een zeer actief leven heeft geleid in het Constantinopel van de 4de en 5de eeuw.
Tenslotte schreef Edip Aydın een verslag van de jaarlijkse bijeenkomst van Orthodoxe jeugd, de ‘Syndesmos’, in het Valamo klooster in Finland.
After a long hot summer with a visit to the enervating International Patristics Conference in Oxford, the earthquakes in Turkey and Greece are still fresh in our memory. We hope that disasters pass over that region, and peace will prevail where there is still a lot of religious intolerance.
In this issue, Gabriel Rabo gives a description of the inner structure of Syrian Orthodox churches as they have been furnished throughout the ages.
Dirk Krausmüller discusses a possible dating of John of Carpathus, a relatively unknown monk who might become more vivid to us if we know when he lived.
Writer of these words presents Domnika, an obscure saint who lived in 4th-5th-century Constantinople, to the reader.
Finally, Edip Aydın summarizes the yearly gathering of Orthodox youth, called ‘Syndesmos’ this year held at Valamo Monastery, Finland.
Volume 7, issue 1 (summer 1999)
Über den Bau und die innere Ausstattung der syrischen Kirchen berichten ab dem 3. Jh. als älteste Quellen die Didascalia Apostolorum, die Klementinische und Jakobos’ Liturgie.1 Die älteste bisher bekannte syrische Kirche wurde in Edessa in der um 550 entstandenen Edessanischen Chronik bezeugt. Diese “große Kirche (haiklo) der Christen” dürfte im Jahre 201 AD durch die Fluten des Flusses Daison beschädigt worden sein.2 Weitere früher erbaute Kirchen werden nach der syrischen Literatur in Mesopotamien erwähnt: eine in Ktesiphon gegründet durch Mari, einen Schüler von Addai, und zwei in Arbela aus der ersten Hälfte des 2. Jhs. und aus der Zeit zwischen 165-181.3 Die große Kirche’ (Mor Ja ‘qub?) in Nisibis dürfte wohl am Anfang des 4. Jhs. durch den Bischof Ja ‘qub von Nisibis (+338) erbaut worden sein.4 Archäologisch bewiesen sind ein christlicher Kultbau aus der zweiten Hälfte des 3. Jhs. in Dura-Europos am Euphrat und die älteste bis jetzt sicher datierte Kirche in Antiochien aus dem Jahre 372.5
Eine syrische Kirche ist meistens langgestreckt, nach Osten gerichtet und wird vom Bischof mit Myron konsekriert. Der Kirchenraum ist in drei wesentliche Teile gegliedert:
Der Altarraum (bet-qudshe oder qdush-qudshin, sanctum sanctorum) hat drei Fenster, die die Dreifaltigkeit symbolisieren, und trennt sich mit bis zu drei Treppen und einem Vorhang (setro) vom Chor- bzw. Gemeinderaum ab. In der Mitte befindet sich der Altar (foturo oder fotur haye, Tisch des Lebens, madbho, Schlacht[ort], und trunus thronos, Thron) aus wertvollem Holz oder Stein auf vier Säulen. Darauf steht eine Kuppel mit Sternchen als Sinnbild des Himmels und dem Bild einer Taube als Symbol für den Hl. Geist. Die heutige Form der Altarfront wird mit einem Trauben- und Weinstockbaum dekoriert, dort hängen die zwei liturgischen Fächer (marouhoto), das Ganze wird mit einem kleinen Vorhang (setro) zu bestimmten Zeiten verhüllt. Auf dem Altartisch liegt die Altartafel (tablito), auf die der Kelch und die Patenne bei der Feier der Eucharistie gelegt wird. Vor dem Altar gibt es eine Altarstufe, die nur vom Zelebranten betreten werden darf. Im Altarraum rechts befindet sich der Thron des Bischofs, in der Mitte des königlichen Tors (taro o malkoyo) das sakrale Buch, das Evangelium, das auf dem Evangeliarpult (gogulto) liegt. Rechts und links befinden sich die Geheimaltäre (gnize).
Der zweite Teil des Kircheninnenraums ist der Chorraum (qestrumo, katastrooma), der sich wiederum durch eine Stufe vom Kirchenschiff abtrennt. Rechts und links stehen die Chorpulte (gude), auf denen die Diakone gemeinsam die Stundengebete singen, und im Osten – vor dem königlichen Tor – das Absolutionspult (gudo d-husoyo), wo auch das Weihrauchfaß (firmo, pureion) hängt. Die Einführung der Chöre im syrischen Westen geht nach der syrischen Tradition auf Ignatius von Antiochien (+117) zurück, im syrischen Osten mit zwei Chören auf Shem’un Bar Sabo’e (+343).6 Vor dem königlichen Tor hängt ebenfalls die sogenannte qandilo (kandèla) mit weiteren kleineren Öllampen, die – seit dem 4. Jh. in Anlehnung an Ex 27, 20-22 – ausschließlich Olivenöl als Opfergabe der Gläubigen verbrennen soll.7 Auf der südlichen Seite des Chorraums liegt das mit einem Vorhang verhüllte Baptisterium (bet ma mudito).
Der dritte Hauptteil ist das Kirchenschiff (haiklo), das in Ost- und Westteil durch eine Holzbarriere – bekannt seit der Apostolischen Konstitution und Johannes Chrysostomus (+407) – für Männer und Frauen geteilt ist.8 Das Kirchenschiff hat drei Eingänge im Süden, Norden und Westen als Symbol für die Dreifaltigkeit. In der Mitte des Kirchenschiffes stand urprünglich das Bema (bima, bèma) für den Prediger, das heute in den syrischen Kirchen nicht mehr vorhanden ist. Eine Narthex oder ein Atrium mit einem Brunnen gibt es ebenfalls für gottesdienstliche Zwecke. Eine Kirchenglocke war auch von Anfang an von großer Bedeutung.9
Der Kirchenbau und die innere Ausstattung der syrischen Kirchen haben ohne Zweifel ältesten christlichen Ursprung, deren Vorbild auf die alttestamentlichen und altkirchlichen Traditionen zurückzuführen ist. Bei eventuellen archäologischen Vorhaben im sehr früh christianisierten Raum Edessa und Tur ‘Abdin dürften neue interessante Erkenntnisse über die Kirchenbauten gewonnen werden.
The earliest Syrian Orthodox church mentioned in the Edessene Chronicle was damaged in 201. Several other Syriac churches are known to have been built in the second and third centuries.
A Syrian Orthodox church is rectangular, pointed to the east and it is consacrated by a bishop with myrrh. The church is divided into three essential parts:
The altarspace (bet-qudshe/qdush-qudshin), which is closed off from the rest by a veil and steps, containing the altar with a dome, decorated with stars and a dove (symbolizing heaven and the Holy Spirit), the Holy Gospel in the middle, and the bishop’s throne om the right, and hidden altars (gnize) on the left and right. This space has three windows, in accordance with the Holy Trinity.
The choral space (qestrumo), divided from the ship by steps. The choir of deacons sits on the left and righthand side, and on the east side the pulpit for Absolution, and the incensory. In front of the gate of the altar space, oil lamps containing olive oil (in accordance with Ex. 27, 20-21) are hung. At the southern end of the choral space the baptistery (bet ma ‘mudito) is placed behind a veil.
The ship, which has three entries in accordance with the Holy Trinity: south, north, west. It is divided into west-side and east-side for for men and women. The bema for the priest used to be placed here, but it is not anymore in use.
The construction and interior of the Syriac churches originate most possibly in Old Testamental and ancient ecclesiastical traditions, and in planning archaeological surveys in the area of Edessa and Tur ‘Abdin, new interesting insights about church construction can be gained.
* Dies ist eine Zusammenfassung des Vortrags, der auf dem 27. Deutschen Orientalistentag am 2.10.1998 in Bonn gehalten wurde. Sie wurde auch im Supplement der Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (ZDMG), [1999], aufgenommen. Sehe auch: http://www.gwdg.de/~grabo/sok/kirchenbau.html
1 Funk, F. X., Didascalia et Constitutiones Apostolorum, Paderborn 1905, Torino (2) 1979, 1, 159 ff; Die Klementinische Liturgie, Hg. von Hans Lietzmann, Bonn 1910; ‘The Greek Anaphora of St. James’, in: Brightman, F. E., Liturgies Eastern and Western, 1, Oxford 1896, 31-68.
2 Vgl. Chronica Minora, ed. Guidi, I., (CSCO 1), Louvain 1907, 1 f; Edessanische Chronik, in: Assemani, J. S., (Bibliotheca Orientalis Clemento-Vaticana, Bd 1), Roma 1719, 387 ff.
3 Vgl. Barhebräus, Chronicon Ecclesiasticum, Bd. 3, ed. Abbeloos & Lamy, Paris/Louvain, 1877, 17 f; Saka, I., Suryoyuto: haimonuto wa-mdinoyuto, The History of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Bd. 5, Damascus 1986, 16.
4 Vgl. Barhebräus, Chronicon Ecclesiasticum, Bd. 3, 31.
5 Vgl. Brandenburg, H., ‘Kirchenbau I’, in: Theologische Realenzyklopädie 18, Berlin 1989, 422; Schneider, A. M., Liturgie und Kirchenbau in Syrien, Göttingen 1949, 56.
6 Vgl. Saka, I., Suryoyuto: haimonuto wa-mdinoyuto, 22, Barhebräus, Chronicon ecclesiasticum, Bd. 3, 33.
7 Vgl. Braun, J., Das christliche Altargerät in seinem Sein und seiner Entwicklung, München 1932, 601.
8 Vgl. Saka, I., Fu oq qurobo, Bagdad 1977, 21; Schneider, Liturgie und Kirchenbau in Syrien, 49.
9 Mehr über die innere Ausstattung einer syrischen Kirche und ihre Symbolik: Jean de Dara, Le de Oblatione, ed. Sader, J., (CSCO 308 ; Syr 132), Louvain, 1970; Mu e Bar Kipho, Fu oq (a)roz qurbono, Hg. von Iwannis Ephrem Bilgic, Mardin 1957; Dionysius Bar Salibi, Expositio Liturgiae, ed. Labourt, H., (CSCO 13), Louvain, 1955.
* See also: http://www.gwdg.de/~grabo/sok/kirchenbau.html
Volume 7, issue 1 (summer 1999)
John of Carpathus is the author of two religious texts, the Capita hortatoria and the Capita theologica et gnostica.1 Consisting of short statements about various spiritual topics which are arranged in a seemingly random fashion, these texts belong to the literary genre of “centuries”. The first one focusses on “practical” themes and envisages beginners as readers for whom it provides guidance in their fight against demons and passions whereas the second is more “theoretical” and addresses philosophical questions for the benefit of a highly educated and spiritually advanced readership.2
Despite the growing interest in Eastern spirituality the teachings of John of Carpathus have not been given much attention by scholars. The last in-depth analysis was undertaken by M. Th. Disdier in an article which was published in two instalments in 1932 and 1940/1942.3 Since then John’s appearance in secondary literature has been confined to dictionaries and handbooks.4 One of the reasons for this comparative neglect may be that the dating of John’s life has remained extremely vague and that it has therefore been impossible to interpret his writings within a clearly defined context. The only certain terminus post quem that has been established so far is the year 400 since the “century” as literary genre was only invented by Evagrius Ponticus in the late 4th century. Furthermore, it has been pointed out that John’s texts betray a strong dependence on Evagrian concepts.5 This has led to the surmise that they belong to the early, pre-Byzantine period of Eastern spirituality.6 Unfortunately, however, no proof has been found to substantiate this impression. John is not referred to by other authors before the 9th century when patriarch Photius mentions him in his Bibliotheca so that the year 800 must be regarded as the first incontrovertible terminus ante quem.7 Apart from this, only one further attempt has been made to date the author of the two “centuries”. It has been suggested that he might be identical with the bishop of Carpathus by the name of John who participated in the synod of 680/81.8 Although this has been reiterated by all scholars who have addressed the question it is evident that the mere identity of the very common Christian name cannot be regarded as proof that we are dealing with the same person.9 As a consequence, even in the most recent secondary literature John of Carpathus is still dated to the time between the 5th and the 8th century.10
The purpose of this article is to introduce new evidence through which this long timespan can be considerably narrowed. The argument will be based on a comparison between John’s Capita hortatoria and the Pandectes scripturae sacrae of Antiochus Strategius.11 Antiochus was a monk of St. Sabas who lived through the Persian occupation of Palestine which followed the conquest of Jerusalem in 614.12 During that time he compiled the Pandectes as a concise guidebook for monks in 130 chapters.13 Each chapter consists of a string of quotations from the Bible which are interspersed with borrowings from earlier spiritual texts as De oratione and De octo malignis spiritibus by Evagrius Ponticus (Ps-Nilus) and the Centuria gnostica by Diadochus of Photice.14 It must, however, be stressed that the list of Antiochus’ sources cannot be considered comprehensive since no systematic comparison with other texts has been undertaken so far.15 Therefore it is not surprising that a juxtaposition of the following two passages reveals a further textual parallel.
In homilia 22 of the Pandectes we read under the heading “On rashness” (peri propeteias):
The law says: ‘If they have testified against him and he does not kill him he shall pay.’ Sometimes at a party the vainglorious thought leaps forward and wants to speak when it is not the right time. The good thoughts beg you to destroy the thought that is fond of silly talk; if you do not destroy him in silence but allow him to come forward then you will pay the debt having been given over by the judgement either to a great sin. For when someone who is rash in word or in deeds is also confused he also very much likes to give laws.
Fèsin ho nomos: ean oosin diamemarturèmenoi autooi kai mè afanisèi auton apotisei: estin hote en sumposiooi prospèdai ho kenodoxos logismos lalèsai boulomenos para ton kairon: diamarturountai se hoi agathoi logismoi afanisai ton filofluaron logismon: ean toinun mè afanisès auton en sioopèi alla parachooreis auton proelthein tote loipon apotiseis to oflèma è hamartiai megalèi hupo tès dikès paradotheis: hotan gar propetès en logooi è en pragmasin echei kai to tholeron hèdista de kai thesmothetein thelei. 16
And this is what is found in the 59th chapter of the Capita hortatoria of John of Carpathus:
The law says: ‘But if they have testified against him and he does not kill him he shall pay.’ Sometimes at a party the vainglorious thought leaps forward and wants to speak when it is not the right time. The angelic thoughts beg you to destroy the thought that is fond of silly and untimely talk; if you do not destroy him through good silence but allow him to come forward to the outside having become puffed up with vanity then you will pay the debt having been given over by the judgement either to a great sin or to some heavy physical pains or to vehement attacks by brothers or to the punishment in the world to come. For we shall be brought to account for an idle and vainglorious speech because of our uneducated tongue. Therefore we must guard our tongue soberly.
Fèsin ho nomos: ean de oosi memarturèmenoi autooi kai mè afanisèi auton apotisei: estin hote en sumposiooi propèdai ho kenodoxos logismos lalèsai boulomenos para ton kairon diamarturontai de soi hoi aggelikoi logismoi afanisai ton filofluaron kai akairon logismon: ean toinun mè afanisès auton tèi agathèi sioopèi alla parachoorèsèi autooi proelthein eis to exoo hupochaunootheis tooi tufooi tote loipon apotiseis to oflèma è hamartiai megalèi hupo tès dikès paradotheis è bareiais tisin odunais soomatikais è stibarais adelfoon proskrousesin è tèi kata ton mellonta aioona timooriai: kai gar huper argou kai kenodoxou logou logon apotisomen dia tèn tès gloossès apaideusian: dio dei tèn gloottan hèmoon nèfontoos fulattein. 17
It is obvious that the two passages are almost identical. Before attempting an explanation, however, it is necessary to make a few remarks about the meaning of this very condensed statement. It contains a warning against garrulity at meetings and its dire consequences. This is expressed in the form of an allegorical interpretation of a regulation in Exodus where it is stipulated what should be done in case an ox butts with his horns and thus kills another ox. In the last part of this regulation we read: “If the ox has become known as one that butts before yesterday and the day before yesterday and they have borne witness to his owner and he does not kill him he shall pay an ox for an ox.”18 In the interpretation the ox from Exodus is identified with the “demonic” kenodoxos logismos, the owner of the ox with the monk, and those who inform the owner about the true character of the ox before he can wreak havoc with the agathoi or aggelikoi logismoi.
This having been said, we can now address the question of how the two passages are related to one another. There are three possibilities to account for the striking similarity between them: first that John borrowed from Anthony; second that Anthony borrowed from John; and third that both borrowed from a common source.
Against the first of these possibilities one can point out that the highly educated author of the Capita hortatoria is not very likely to have quoted from a mere compilation of older texts like the Pandectes. This reasoning can be substantiated by a detailed comparison of the two versions. Such a comparison shows that there are a number of words and phrases in John’s version which are not found in Antiochus’ text.19 Especially interesting is the result of an analysis of the last section that both authors have in common. There the readers are confronted with the disastrous consequences of giving in to the vainglorious urge. John lists four points which are linked through “either … or … or … or …” (è … è … è … è). Of these four points only the first one appears in the Pandectes. Nevertheless, in Antiochus’ text we also find “either …” (è …) at the beginning. Thus, it is evident that Antiochus used a source in which there was also at least one more consequence listed. When he adapted this source he cut off the last part of the sentence without bothering to delete the now meaningless “either” as well. This is very much in keeping with the often mechanical way in which compilers of florilegia treated their sources. Therefore, one can conclude that John’s text represents a more complete version of this sentence. Moreover, the next sentence in John’s version which is altogether missing in the Pandectes is also very likely to have been an integral part of the original text as the interpretation of Exodus is continued there.20
While it has thus been comparatively easy to exclude that John directly borrowed from Antiochus it is much more difficult to decide between the two remaining possibilities. This is due to the fact that the teachings presented in John’s “centuries” are not original in the modern sense but reflect traditional concepts. So one can e. g. point out that whereas in the Pandectes we find the non-descript hoi agathoi logismoi John speaks of hoi aggelikoi logismoi and that this is in keeping with the important rôle accorded to the angels throughout the Capita hortatoria.21 This does, however, not prove that John is responsible for the composition of the 59th chapter since aggelikos logismos is a term which he inherited from Evagrius.22
This impasse can only be overcome when one considers the passage in its entirety. The exhortation to guard one’s tongue during gatherings of monks already appears in the extant “practical” writings of Evagrius Ponticus. The relevant passages in Evagrius, however, are very short and therefore cannot have been the direct source for John’s elaborate treatment of the question.23 Much closer parallels are found in later texts, so e. g. in the Climax and especially in the Capita theologica et oeconomica of Maximus Confessor where we read: “He who rashly interrupts the listening of speeches in a meeting obviously suffers from love of glory.”24
What sets John’s chapter apart from even this last text, however, is that the teaching is presented as an interpretation of a Biblical verse. This use of allegorical exegesis is typical for the Capita hortatoria where we find many examples of it.25 Since in Late Antique spiritual literature there does not seem to exist a parallel for the use of Exodus 21, 36 to illustrate the dangers of “rashness” it seems likely that it is an innovation of John.26 If this is the case, we can conclude that in the decade after 614 Antiochus already made direct use of the Capita hortatoria and that John must have written before this date.
To establish a corresponding terminus post quem for John of Carpathus we must turn to his second “century”, the Capita theologica et gnostica. There he polemicizes against the belief that the world is coeternal with God.27 His polemic is phrased in a philosophical language which sports technical terms like sunhuparchein, asunuparktos and sunaidios.28 This topic and the concomitant terminology do not belong to the traditional stock of themes found in “centuries”. I am aware of only one other example, the Capita de Charitate of Maximus Confessor, which date to the 7th century.29 Both John and Maximus adapted the arguments developed in Christian treatises against the pagan teaching that the world is uncreated.30 This debate is known to have started only at the end of the 5th century when Zacharias Scholasticus composed his dialogue “Ammonius” against the Neoplatonic philosopher of the same name.31 Therefore it can be excluded that John of Carpathus wrote his Capita theologica et gnostica before this date.
Thus, we can conclude that the quotation of the 59th chapter of the Capita hortatoria in the Pandectes of Antiochus of St. Sabas and the polemic against the belief in the coeternity of God and the world in the Capita theologica et gnostica establishes the 6th century as the date for the composition of the “centuries” of John of Carpathus.
1 I. Capita hortatoria ad monachos in India (CPG, III, 7855), ed. Filokalia toon hieroon nèptikoon suneranistheisa para toon hagioon kai theoforoon pateroon, 1 (Athens, 3rd ed., 1957); and PG, 85, 1837-1860.
II. Capita theologica et gnostica (CPG, III, 7856), ed. D. Balfour, M. Cunningham, A Supplement to the Philocalia. The Second Century of Saint John of Karpathos (Brookline, Mass., 1994); and Latin in PG, 85, 811-826.
Both texts were also edited in an unpublished thesis by D. Ossieur, Tekstuitgave van de capita paraklètika en de capita askètika van Johannes Carpathius, met inleiding en tekstkritische aantekeningen (Diss. Gent, 1973).
A French translation of the Capita hortatoria is found in Héchysius de Batos, Chapitres sur la vigilance; Jean Carpathios, Chapitres d’exhortation et Discours ascétique, intr. and tr. J. Tournaille (Philocalie, 3, Abbaye de Bellefontaine, Bégrolles-en-Mauge, 1982).
2 This is in keeping with the tradition of spiritual writing instituted by Evagrius Ponticus. Cf. the succession of Evagrius’ writings with the Practical Treatise for beginners, the Gnostic for teachers, and the Gnostic Chapters for those interested in the theoretical foundation of his system, cf. Évagre le Pontique, Traité pratique ou Le Moine, vol. 1, intr. A. Gouillaumont, C. Gouillaumont (SC, 170, Paris, 1971), 31-32. For a short description of the two texts, cf. H.-G. Beck, Kirche und Theologische Literatur im Byzantinischen Reich (Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft, XII, 2, 1, Munich, 1959), 452.
3 M. Th. Disdier, ‘Jean de Carpathos, l’homme, l’oeuvre, la doctrine spirituelle’, Échos d’Orient, 31 (1932) 284-303; 39 (1940/42) 290-311. Unfortunately, the second part of this article has not been accessible to me.
4 Beck, Kirche und Theologische Literatur, 359, 452; L. Petit, ‘Jean de Carpathos’, Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique, 8 (1950), 753-754; D. Stiernon, ‘Jean de Karpathos’, Dictionnaire de Spiritualité, 8 (1974), 589-592; A. Kazhdan, ‘John of Karpathos’, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, 2 (1991), 1065; A. De Nicola, ‘John of Carpathus, Encyclopedia of the Early Church, 1 (1992), 444; R. Aubert, ‘Jean de Carpathos’, Dictionnarie d’Histoire et de Géographie Ecclésiastiques, 27 (1997), 1378-1379.
5 Cf. Beck, Kirche und Theologische Literatur, 359: “Man darf von seinen Zenturien keine große Originalität verlangen; die Grundlinien liegen seit langem fest. Das Schema … ist das euagrianische.” Cf. also the almost identical statement in Stiernon’s article in DSp, 8, 590: “… on n’y trouve rien de très original et ce qu’elle possède de meilleur lui vient sans doute d’Évagre le Pontique.”
6 According to Stiernon, DSp, 8, 590, “la spiritualité de Jean rend un son archaïque et reflète en général la pensée ascétique prébyzantine.”
7 Photius, Bibliotheca, cod. 201, cf. Bibliothèque, vol. 3, ed. and tr. R. Henri (Paris, 1960). The manuscript tradition begins in the 9th century. A list of the manuscripts is found in Didier, ‘Jean de Carpathos’, EO, 31 (1932) 291-293; additional manuscripts in the article of Stiernon in DSp, 8, 590.
8 Cf. the lists of participants in J. D. Mansi, Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, 11 (Florence, 1759ff.), 653e, 693c.
9 Beck, Kirche und theologische Literatur, 452: “Ob er identisch ist mit jenem Bischof Joannes von Karpathos, der auf der Synode von 680 anzutreffen ist, ist völlig ungesichert.” Nevertheless, elsewhere Beck seems to accept this date since he speaks of an “euagrianisch temperierte Mystik der dunklen byzantinischen Jahrhunderte”, cf. Beck, Kirche und theologische Literatur, 359. Cf. also Kazhdan in ODB, 2 (1992), 1065, who seems to consider the identification likely.
10 Cf. Aubert’s article in DHGE, 27 (1997), 1378-1379.
11 Pandectes scripturae sacrae (CPG, III, 7843), ed. PG, 89, 1421-1856. For a short characterization of author and work, cf. Beck, Kirche und theologische Literatur, 449-450. Cf. also J. Gribomont, ‘Antiochus Strategius’, Encyclopedia of the Early Church, 1 (1992), 52.
12 Antiochus wrote an eyewitness account of this conquest; cf. Antiochus Strategius, La prise de Jérusalem par les Perses en 614, tr. G. Garitte (CSCO, 203, Scriptores Iberici, 12, Louvain, 1960).
13 G. Bardy, ‘Antiochus’, Dictionnarie de Spiritualité, 1 (1936), 701-702. In recent years scholarly interest in Antiochus seems to have waned. O. Paolo, ‘La sanzione del poeta. Antioco di S. Saba e un nuovo carme di Arsenio di Pantelleria’, Byzantinoslavica, 49 (1988), 1-22, does not refer to the Pandectes.
14 S. Haidacher, ‘Nilus-Exzerpte im Pandektes des Antiochus’, Revue Bénédictine, 22 (1905), 244-250, identification of quotations from De oratione and De octo spiritibus malignis. These are, however, rather quotations from Evagrius; cf. Gribomont’s article in Encyclopedia, 1, 52. J. Kirchmeyer, ‘Une source d’Antiochus de Saint-Sabas (Pandectes 127-128)’, OCP, 28 (1962), 418-421, identification of Diadochus of Photice, Centuria, c. 12, 14, 67, 100. These are, however, not the only quotations which have been identified; cf. the quotations from early Fathers listed in Bardy’s article in DSp, 1, 701-702, including Clement of Alexandria, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna, and Hermas (with a list of parallels).
15 Cf. Gribomont’s article in Encyclopedia, 1, 52.
16 Pandectes, hom. 22, PG, 89, 1501A1-9; then follow quotations from the bible beginning with Proverbia 28, 26. It must be stressed that the text in PG is no critical edition and that its reliability is not beyond doubt.
17 Filokalia toon hieroon nèptikoon, 288.
18 Exodus 21, 36: ean de gnoorizètai ho tauros hoti keratistès estin pro tès echthes kai pro tès tritès èmeras kai diamemarturèmenoi oosin tooi kuriooi autou kai mè afanisèi auton apoteisei tauron anti taurou.
19 Cf. ton filofluaron kai akairon logismon in J vs. ton filofluaron logismon in A; tèi agathèi sioopèi in J vs. en sioopèi in A; proelthein in A vs. proelthein eis to exoo in J. Moreover, the following explanation hupochaunootheis tooi tufooi given by J is completely missing in A. Cf. also the variant readings like propèdai in J vs. prospèdai in A and (parachoorèseis) autooi in J vs. auton in A. On the other hand, A has diamemarturèmenoi as in Exodus whereas J has only the simplex.
20 This is evident from the verb apotisomen. Antiochus has a completely different conclusion to his introduction of his homilia which serves as transition to the following Biblical quotations. Here Kirchmeyer’s observations regarding the way Antiochus quotes Diadochus may give an explanation. Kirchmeyer could show that Antiochus combined passages taken from different contexts in a way that they appear to be a whole. Thus, the last part may well have been taken from some other source. Cf. Kirchmeyer, ‘Une source’, 421, on “la méthode de travail d’Antiochus”: “Abrégeant ou paraphrasant à son gré Antiochus adapte plus qu’il ne copie.” Already Bardy in DSp, 1, 701, had pointed out that the Pandectes is not a florilegium in the strict sense as the Antiochus changes and rearranges his sources.
21 Cf. c. 28, Filokalia, 282; c. 66, Filokalia, 290; c. 67, Filokalia, 290.
22 Cf. e. g. Evagrius (Ps.-Nilus), De diversis malignis cogitationibus, c. 7, PG, 79, 1209A: toon aggelikoon logismoon kai toon anthroopinoon kai toon ek daimonoon tèn diaforan ….
23 Cf. Tractatus ad Eulogium, c. 26, PG, 79, 1125C, with a warning against the akairos gloossa, and Ad Monachos, c. 94, ed. H. Gressmann, Nonnenspiegel und Mönchsspiegel des Euagrios Pontikos (TU, 39, 4, Leipzig, 1913), 161, with an admonition regarding the fulakè tès gloossès.
24 Maximus Confessor, Capita theologica et oeconomica, I, 27, PG, 91, 1093AB: ho en sunedriooi logoon akroasin propetoos anakoptoon ouk elathe filodoxian nosoon. Cf. the analysis of the sources for Maximus’ chapters in H. U. von Balthasar, Kosmische Liturgie. Das Weltbild Maximus’ des Bekenners (Einsiedeln, Trier, 1988), 576, who has not been able to identify the source for I, 27.
Cf. also John of Sinai, Climax, gradus 22: peri tès polumorfou kenodoxias, PG, 88, 953CD: epesèmènato tis toon horan dunamenoon kai diègeito blepoon: otiper, fèsin, en sunedriooi mou kathèmenou elèluthotes hoi tès kenodoxias kai tès huperèfanias daimones … kai ho men (sc. kenodoxos) enutte mou tèn pleuran … protrepomenos me legein tina theoorian è ergasian hèn pepoièka.
25 Other examples for allegorical interpretations are found in chapter 27, Filokalia, 281-282, cf. Judges 6-7; in chapter 65, Filokalia, 289-290, cf. Judges 16, 26 (in combination with Isaiah 7, 6); in chapter 88, Filokalia, p. 292, cf. Numeri 3, 41, 45; in chapter 87, Filokalia, 294, with reference to the trooglodutai; and in chapter 93, Filokalia, 295, cf. Amos 2, 9.
Equally significant is the comparative length of chapter 59 since as a rule John’s chapters are longer than those of Evagrius or Marcus or even Maximus.
26 Apart from the extant Greek writings of Evagrius Ponticus, the “centuries” of Maximus Confessor, and gradus 22 of the Climax, I have checked the Opuscula I and II of Marcus Eremita, PG, 65, 905-965 and the Centuria of Diadochus of Photice, cf. Oeuvres spirituelles, intr., ed. and tr. É. des Places (SC, 5ter, Paris, 1966), where the topic of silence and outspokenness is discussed esp. in c. 70, 130. Cf. also the passage about the guarding of one’s tongue in the 4th instruction of Dorotheus of Gaza, cf. Oeuvres spirituelles, intr., ed. and tr. L. Regnault, J. de Préville (SC, 92, Paris, 1963), §§ 52-55, 232-238. Of course, the fragmentary state of preservation of the Late Antique spiritual literature makes it impossible to conclude with certainty that John of Carpathus made use of an older source.
27 In some manuscripts the title of this text is “Chapters about the uncreated one and the created ones etc.”: kefalaia peri agenètou kai genètoon ktl., cf. Beck, Kirche und theologische Literatur, 452.
28 The topic is discussed in the chapters 2, 3, 4, and 17; cf. A Supplement to the Philocalia, ed. D. Balfour, M. Cunningham; and the Latin translation in PG, 85, 811-813, 815.
29 Maximus Confessor, Capita de Charitate, IV, PG, 90, 1049A: tines fasi sunuparchein ex aidiou tooi theooi ta dèmiourgèmata … sunaidia tooi dèmiourgooi. The theme is, however, not addressed in other spiritual texts of the 7th century, e. g. not in the Centuriae of Thalassius the Libyan, PG, 91, 1427-1490.
30 The most famous example is the long treatise “About the eternity of the world” which was composed in 529 by the Christian philosopher John Philoponus in order to refute the arguments in favour of the coeternity of God and world brought forward by Proclus Diadochus, the head of the Athenian academy, in the previous century. Cf. Johannes Philoponus, De aeternitate mundi, ed. H. Rabe (Leipzig, 1899). For the date cf. R. Sorabji, ‘John Philoponus’, Philoponus and the Rejection of Aristotelian Science, ed. R. Sorabji (London, 1987), 38-40.
31 Zacharias Scholasticus, Dialexis hoti ou sunaidios tooi theooi ho kosmos alla dèmiourgèma autou tugchanei on ap’ archès chronikès arxamenon, PG, 85, 1011-1144. At about the same time the Christian sophist Aeneas of Gaza addressed this question in his dialogue Theophrastus, PG, 85, 871-1004, esp. 964-965.
Volume 7, issue 1 (summer 1999)
The XVIth General Assembly of Syndesmos, The World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth, was hosted by the Orthodox Church of Finland and held at the Valamo Lay Academy and Valamo Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration, in Heinävesi, Finland from July 17-25, 1999. The General Assembly gathered around 250 participants from among the Syndesmos members, in addition to observers from the Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and from ecumenical and secular organizations.
This was the third time that the General Assembly of Syndesmos was held in Finland and the second time hosted by the Valamo Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration in Heinävesi, in the beautiful region of Karelia, the easternmost province of Finland. This is why, and rightly so, Dr. Dimitri Oikonomu, the former President of Syndesmos, in his address to the XVIth General Assembly said: “In choosing Finland as a venue for this General Assembly, Syndesmos has very much come home.” Indeed, The Finnish Orthodox Church, the second official Church in Finland after that of the Lutherans, with her 58,000 Orthodox faithful sustained by three dioceses under the auspices of Archbishop John of Karelia and All Finland, holds a special place in her heart and even feels a special responsibility for Syndesmos. Furthermore, Dr. Oikonomu in his President’s address stated:
“For thirteen years, from 1977 to 1990, the Secretariat was located in this land. From 1992 to 1995, Syndesmos’s President was a Finnish priest. For the first time in Syndesmos’s history, thanks to the indispensable support of the local Church, the secretary in Finland had a regular salary and a full time job. On both a human and a financial level, the responsible assistance of the Church in Finland has been enormous and decisive for the well being of the Fellowship. Even today the Finnish Orthodox members are the only ones in the world that unfailingly take up an annual collection from their Churches for the work of Syndesmos.”
Igumen Sergei, the spiritual head of the Valamo Brotherhood, which consists of six monks and four novices, cordially welcomed the Assembly. He said: “The Brotherhood is very happy to be able to serve the Orthodox world this way. Already the second time, Syndesmos held its general Assembly in Valamo last time in 1980.” Valamo, “the heart of Finnish Orthodox life”, was a great opportunity to the participants to learn about the prayer life and service that the Valamo Monastery is offering to the Finnish Orthodox Church as well as to 200,000 visitors (Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike) each year who come on a pilgrimage. For me, as an Orthodox rooted in the Syriac Tradition, it was a thrilling experience to go with Fr. Ephrem Lash to visit Brother Peter in his cell and learn more closely about his monastic life. As I entered his cell, my soul danced and my eyes feasted as they gazed upon the open Syriac Bible standing on a lectern and the Lord’s Prayer hanging on the wall and his study desk covered with Syriac books and dictionaries. When we were seated, he told us about his translation work from Syriac Fathers and ascetics into Finnish. He then added that his translations, with a long introduction about Syriac Spirituality, are going to be published in a form of a book as a service to his monastic community and the Finnish Church in general.
Under the theme: “Serve the Lord in Unity” (Zephaniah 3:9), the Assembly gathered to discuss, create new friendships and cultivate the old ones as well as learn about Orthodoxy and each other.
One of the keynote speeches at the General Assembly was given by Hieromonk Symeon, a Peruvian who lives in the hermitage of Timiou Stavrou under the Stavronikita Monastery on Mount Athos. He spoke about the division in ourselves and among us, and the union given by God, who is love. This was the first time in the history of Syndesmos that an Athonite monk was invited to speak at the General Assembly. It was a good and appropriate choice indeed, because it reflected the connection and fellowship that exists between Syndesmos and monastic centers. Also, it was a golden opportunity for the participants to hear the words of wisdom and learn from the experience of an Athonite monk and the Athonite monastic tradition. Furthermore, it was good for the women participants to hear and meet an Athonite face to face since no women are allowed on the Holy Mountain.
Syndesmos, being a fellowship of Orthodox Youth, was also very appropriate and rather significant to have Ms. Esther Hookway, a young woman who has been actively involved in the life of Syndesmos for many years, speak to the Assembly. She delivered her keynote speech entitled “Orthodox Youth self-awareness”. In her speech she talked about the relation of the world and Church and how to make a worthy contribution to society. She maintained that any contact with the real world is spiritually a beneficial one. According to Hookway, Orthodox self-awareness is about being a Christian in a real way. And one should change oneself before changing the world. Hookway noted that our Orthodox self-awareness is rather feeble. This, she maintained, is due to lack of education, which also means less witness of Christ in our life. She said: “It is important to be educated in theology and live theologically, that is to say to have a prayer life, to fast and do charitable works, etc., which have a profound and lasting influence on oneself and others.”
Among other things, the Assembly Working Groups deserve a mention here. Working Groups are some of the means by which the Assembly analyses and describes the current status of themes of interest and concern in the Orthodox Church and discusses the actions of Syndesmos in this field. The Working Groups list contained the following range of topics to choose from: Secularism as a challenge, Tradition and traditions, Liturgical language, Responsible participation in inter-Christian dialogue, Social service as Christian witness, Laity in the Church, Christian moral values today, Syndesmos’s commission on Orthodox Theological Institutions, and Orthodoxy and environment.
I myself chose the Working Group on secularism with its moderator Fr. Heikki Huttunen, a former president of Syndesmos. It was interesting to hear what Fr. Heikki, who is a Finnish Orthodox priest in the secular country of Finland, had to say about secularism as a challenge as well as to hear the views and comments of the participants who represented countries of different political outlook, faith and religion. Fr. Heikki said: “I think secularism should be taken rather as a circumstance in which we live and not as a positive nor negative thing in itself.” Besides enlightening us on the subject, The Working Group also was a good way to get to know each other better.
The program of the General Assembly also included excursions and trips to some of the churches and religious centers of Orthodox Church in Finland. These trips and excursions exposed us to the life of the Orthodox Church in Finland. One such trip was to Ilomantsi, which is at the heart of Finnish Orthodoxy, with a community established in the 14th century. There we visited the Church of the Prophet Elias, which is the largest Orthodox wooden church in the country and only dates from the last century. On Tuesday, July 20th, which marked the feast of St. Elias, the patron saint of Ilomantsi we were privileged to attend the hierarchical Divine Liturgy celebrated in honor of St. Elias. Following the Liturgy, there was a procession to the nearby lake for the service of the blessing of water. Later, we shared an agape meal under a tent and listened to the address given by Archbishop John of Karelia, welcoming all to the parish of St. Elias and giving a brief account of the parish life and the Church in general. He touched upon ecumenical and friendly relations that the Finnish Orthodox Church enjoys with the Lutherans, Catholics and Oriental Orthodox in Finland. [In fact, I later learned that in Helsinki, where a small community of Oriental Orthodox live, these faithful are allowed to receive communion in the Helsinki parish of the Finnish Orthodox Church. This is something that is rarely practiced elsewhere between Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches]. This was followed by a musical performance played on the kantele by two young girls from the parish. Kantele, a stringed instrument resembling the Middle-Eastern Qanun, is the Finnish national instrument. The instrument originated in Karelia, which is known as the Land of Kantele Music and Song. From there we visited the Joensuu Orthodox parish and the Orthodox Seminary, meeting with representatives of the local Syndesmos members, Orthodox Youth Association (ONL), PISTIS and Orthodox Student Association (OOL).
On Saturday, July 24th, we travelled to the Lintula Convent at Palokki where Mother Marina, who personally took us around the convent and the church, received us. The convent is home to a dozen nuns and open to visitors only during summer. They get about 20,000 visitors in a season. They are self-supporting, maintaining a small farm with sheep and goats but their main activity and income is the candle factory, which produces all the candles used by the faithful of the Finnish Orthodox Church.
On Saturday afternoon, coming back from Lintula Convent, we assembled at the tent for the official closure of the XVIth General Assembly of Syndesmos. After the newly elected Governing Bodies and Auditors of Syndesmos had been officially announced and the past Governing Body as well as all those who worked hard and made the Assembly such a successful event were thanked, the General Assembly was officially declared closed by Manos Koumbarelis, the new President of Syndesmos. The Assembly then sang a cheerful prayer in Greek.
This was later followed by an all-night vigil with the Sunday Divine Liturgy at the Valamo Church of Holy Transfiguration to offer thanks to God Almighty for all that Syndesmos has done and has accomplished for the glory of His Holy Name. Then all faithful shared an agape meal in the Monastery refectory.
On Sunday July 25th, there were two post-Assembly optional excursions. One of these was a pilgrimage to Old Valaam Holy Transfiguration Monastery on Lake Ladoga, Russian Karelia, and St. Petersburg, Russia. The other one was a Finnish Summer camp for the Youth Exchange held at the Kaunisniemi Orthodox Youth Center, Southern Finland. I chose the latter, which I enjoyed immensely. The three-day summer camp was something that I shall never forget. The program included daily worship and introduction to Finnish Orthodox Church life, particularly that of the Helsinki Orthodox parish and its youth work. There was evening entertainment, a traditional Finnish campfire, with multicultural participants singing cultural and religious songs in different languages while enjoying the grilled sausages. Above all, relaxing in the Finnish sauna (the eighth sacrament of the Church!), swimming in the beautiful Loppi Lake and taking trips by boat to the nearby islands was something I shall never forget. In short, the occasion was very enjoyable, relaxing and culturally as well as spiritually enriching.
On the departure day, July 28th, we visited Helsinki and its Orthodox sites, which was a joyous and memorable event in itself.
My final comment on the XVIth General Assembly of Syndesmos is that it was a successful and an enjoyable event. It was a golden opportunity for me to deepen my understanding of Orthodox Church and Tradition as well as to further learn about Syndesmos and appreciate the excellent work and service that it offers for Orthodox youth and the glory of God. Furthermore, it was an enriching experience to witness the vibrant and living Church of Finland with her dedicated priests and many devout faithful. A final word of thanks and gratitude goes to St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and staff for selecting me to represent the Seminary at the General Assembly and making it possible for me to participate by contributing towards the costs of the trip and event.
Volume 7, issue 1 (summer 1999)
In making a comparison between women who have become role models for other women, it is difficult to say which characteristics are similar and which ones different, and we can ask ourselves what we are trying to retrieve for kind of information. In what way does it help us to analyse role models, and thus those women and maybe men who followed these models. If it is so, that it explains a development in female religious experience, then it is worthwhile. I will study one woman in this paper, so that later on her life and the many other lives of female religious role models, or spiritual guides, may tell us about what was important for women in Late Antiquity and later periods.
I have chosen to focus on Domnika, because she deserves our attention, having been buried in obscurity for so long.
First, let’s look at the ‘historical’ Domnika: Domnika Hegoumena is a Greek saint who lived during the reign of Theodosius the Great (379-395) in the 4th century. Her Life is to be found in several manuscripts containing Menologiae, on 8th of January. 1 I have used the text edited by Theophilus Johannes in 1884.2 Luckily, a new edition is under way, (by Maria Alexiou) because it is in need of revision. Maybe a new look can clarify the obscurities that one finds in encyclopedias, when researching this text…
For instance: the question “where did Domnika come from?” Will bring up some meddled answers, for which we need to study the manuscripts:
According to the existing edition, Domnika comes originally from Rome (ch. 3), although an article in Bibliotheca Sanctorum wants us to believe she originates from Cartagena.3 It could well be that in other manuscripts than the one(s) used by Theophilus Johannes (Mark. 25), the words tou apo tès Hispanias to genos katagontos in chapter 3 were interpreted as meaning: from Cartagena. But here, this information is given about emperor Theodosius, mentioned in the sentence above, who, as we know from Socrates Scholasticus in his Ecclesiastical History: “This person [Theodosius] was descended from a noble family in Spain.”4
In a Greek encyclopedia 5 we find an item on Domnína (or: Domniki), (8th jan.) in which Domnika’s story is told but it is stressed that she lived under Theodosius II (408-450) and not under Theodosius I. Also it is mentioned that Domnína originates from Cartagena, which corresponds with the article in Bibliotheca Sanctorum.
Then after some other items, follows the Monastery of Holy Domnínes (or: Domnikes). This, a double monastery erected by 2 women from Rome, and the Monastery which Domnika erected, named after the Prophet Zecheriah, are discussed and reduced to monasteries that existed on paper, but maybe not in reality. But apart from this, in discussing Domnika’s monastery and the chapel in name of the Prophet Zecheriah, this author (S.G.P.) discusses how Domnika did live in Theodosius the Great’s time. So the encyclopedia contradicts itself. Unless there are 2 very similar saints, called Domnína and Domnika, who are intertwined.6 The information about these monasteries in Constantinople was probably taken from a 15th century work entitled De Aedificiis or peri ktismatoon tès Koonstantinoupoleoos, by George Kodoni.7 R. Janin writes more thoroughly about the monastery of the Domnikes, or Domnines and the chapel of Zecheriah, that are difficult to localize. Also, in Theodosius the Great’s time, there were apparently only 2 monasteries built, not for women, but for men: that of Dalmatius and of Dius, around 382 and later.8 Janin suggests that the legendary story of Domnika was used to give one of these monastery a worthy history. But he is sure a monastery with a church dedicated to te prophet Zecheriah existed.
In the text of Domnika’s life we find a mention of a contemporary Constantinopolitan, Daniel the Stylite (409-493).9 In this Life we find in chapter 64 a mention of the chapel of St. Zecheriah in Catabolus, the Harbour. In Domnika’s Life the monastery, which is built with the help of Bishop Nectarius (381-397) in a remote place in or near Constantinople, is actually built as an ‘euktèrion’, a chapel, so could this chapel of St. Zecheriah be the same as Domnika’s? It must have been erected before 395, when Theodosius I died, whose death Domnika predicted. The reader can conclude that the author has written this Life much later than the time of Theodosius the Great, because the emperors Zeno and Basiliskus (474-491 and 475-476) are mentioned.
At an early age, Domnika learned to read or recite the Bible (Ch. 2). She decided to choose to lead the life of an ascetic. She went to the harbour in Rome, and a boarded a ship for Alexandria. After suffering a heavy storm, she reaches Alexandria, and comes to a prisonbuilding, where she finds 4 virgins, who are not (yet) christian, but who are virtuous heathen. She manages to convert them, and through her prayers, the locks on the doors break open, and they are free. They all go to a ship that is bound for Constantinople, and during this crossing they again suffer storms. In Constantinople, they are greeted by Bishop Nektarius, who had foreseen the arrival of Domnika in a dream. They are taken to the church, and there, the 4 virgins are baptized. The emperor, Theodosius the Great, himself comes to visit her, and many other people come to receive her blessings.
Domnika decides to build a chapel near Constantinople, because she cannot take the pressure of the bad demons who are afflicted by her being there. So with the help of the bishop and the emperor, the Zecheriah-chapel is built, and she wants the ceremony of inauguration to take place at 24th in stead of 29th January, because she foresees a disaster on that day. This disaster is not mentioned after this., although it is suggested by Gédéon in 1899, that in 388 troubles with the Arians mighr have been the disaster Domnika was hinting at.10
In her residence at that chapel, she cures the ill, and also those who are mentally ill. She then hears from an Angel that Theodosius is going to die. In chapter 14 and 15, Domnika’s situation is compared to that of Daniel the Stylite, who had to descend from his pillar (ch. 72-73) to reason against Basiliskus, who had thrown Zeno off the throne for 20 months, and who favored the anti-Chalkedonian, ‘monophysite’ current. Domnika has to go to the empress (whose name is not given), to advice her and bring salvation upon her. Domnika sends her ‘second’, Dorothea, one of the virgins who were baptised, but she is refused entrance by the empress. The empress dies shortly after Dorothea predicts she will never be deigned worthy of entering the church.
Domnika herself foresees her own death, and arranges that Dorothea take over the monastery or convent and everything that she has built up. She offers a prayer, lasting most of chapter 16. After her death, Domnika appears in the sky, and the whole population of the monastery sees her amongst other saints, clothed in bridal suit.
At a great fire (maybe the one of 465? Also mentioned in Daniel the Stylite’s Life), they see a woman, standing next to the Prophet Zecheriah, and they are holding off the flames from the buildings. Later on, a woman who approaches the monastery, is posessed of an evil spirit. This spirit is tormented by the late Domnika, who chases him away.
In this text, clearly, Domnika is characterized as a leading figure, with a lot of power. Many people, men and women, up to the emperor, came to see her.
For the girls in the prison, Domnika represented a person who was very much in touch with God, through her strong belief, and they wanted to copy her life. Domnika gave direction to the lives of these women. It was not her femininity that was their primary example, because in the text there is not much hint of her as a woman. She does not for instance encounter specific boundaries for women, as a planned marriage, or evil thoughts. And if one changed the name of Domnika into Domnikus, one would not see much difference.11 It is most of all what she did that makes Domnika a role model.
Speaking of Role Models, it is noticable, that our heroine, Domnika, herself chooses a man, the prophet Zecheriah, as role model for her. The chapel she builds is named after him, because she received prophecies herself by imitating him (ch. 9).
* Summary of a paper given at the 13th International Conference on Patristic Studies 16-21 August, 1999.
1 See: Bertocchi, Pietro, ‘Domnica, egumena di Constantinopoli, Giorgio, chozibita, ed. Emiliano, santi’, in Bibliotheca Sanctorum, T. iv, p. 762, [1964].
2 Mnèmeia hagiologika nun prooton hupo (hieroiakonou) Theofilou Iooannou, Benetia, 1884, p. 268: Bios kai thaumata tès hosias mètros hèmoon Domnikès.
4 Socrates Scholasticus: Ecclesiastical History: A history of the Church in seven books (306-445), transl. from the Greek, London: Samuel Bagster & Sons, 1844, p. 366: Bk. 5, Ch. 2.
5 Thrèskeutikè kai èthikè egklopaideia, 5e Tomos, Athinai, 1964, column 162.
6 F. Halkin in Bibliotheca Hagiographicorum Graecorum mentions 3 types of Vita and 1 epitome: see BHG 562. There is another Domnína, mentioned in the Historia Religiosa or History of the Monks of Syria by Theodoretus of Cyrrhus (393-458). Here, Domnína is a saint who lived around 444 in a hut by her mother’s house, somewhere in the province of Cyr, and who posessed the Gift of Tears. See: Theodoret de Cyr: Histoire des Moines de Syrie, ed. Pierre Canivet et Alice Leroy-Molinghen, 2 tomes: S.C. 234 and 257, Paris, 1979, T.2, Caput xxx.
7 Georgii Codoni / Geoorgiou tou Koodinou: ‘peri ktismatoon tès Koonstantinoupoleoos’ (Saec. XV, anni 1400-1462), in: Migne PG 157, Kol. 605.
8 R. Janin: La Géographie ecclésiastique de l’Empire Byzantin, Iière partie: Le siège de Constantinople et le Patriarchat Oecuménique, T.III: Les églises et les monastères, 2ième éd., Paris, 1969, p. 100-101. He uses M. I. Gédéon’s book: Buzantinon heortologion, Constantinople, 1899, which I have been unable to study.
9 An English translation of this Life is: ‘St. Daniel the Stylite’, in: Three Byzantine Saints, by Elizabeth Dawes and Norman H. Baynes, Crestwood, 1977.
10 See R. Janin: La Géographie ecclésiastique de l’Empire Byzantin, p. 100.
11 With thanks to Dirk Krausmüller for pointing this out to me.
Volume 7, issue 1 (summer 1999)
25th Annual Byzantine Studies Conference, University of Maryland, College Park, U.S.A., 4-7 November 1999. Enquiries: Prof. Kathleen Corrigan (kathleen.corrigan[@]dartmouth.edu) or George Majeska (gm5[@]umail.umd.edu),theme: 25 years of the Byzantine Studies Conference.
The University of Sydney, Department of Semitic Studies:The Eighth International Congress for Syriac Studies (Monday 26 June – Friday 30th June 2000), also: The Sixth International Conference on Christian Arabic Studies (Sunday 2nd July – Wednesday 5th July 2000).
For further info:
Prof. R.Y. Ebeid
Dept. of Semitic Studies
The University of Sydney
Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
E-mail: rifaat.ebeid[@]semitic.usyd.edu.au
tel. +61 2 9351 3530 fax. +61 2 9351 6684
Interdisciplinary symposium on Prayer, Magic, and the Stars in the Ancient and Late Antique World: March 3-5, 2000, University of Washington-Seattle
A desire to tap into the divine (or demonic) powers of the cosmos, especially those powers linked to the heavens, pervades the history of religion in the ancient and late antique world. This symposium examines the manifold techniques and traditions — both sanctioned and unsanctioned, individual and communal — by which men and women in the ancient and late antique world sought to gain access to that power. To explore this topic, we have invited a group of speakers whose expertise ranges from ancient Mesopotamian astronomy and astrology to the Christian magical papyri of early Islamic Egypt.
Jonathan Z. Smith of the University of Chicago will deliver the key-note address for the colloquium.
For more information about the symposium, please see our web site at:
http://weber.u.washington.edu/~snoegel/stars.html [link may no longer work!]
Please write: Scott Noegel (snoegel[@]u.washington.edu, or Joel Walker (jwalker[@]u.washington.edu). Please send any inquiries via regular US mail to:
Dr. Scott Noegel
Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization
Box 353120
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
U.S.A.
In Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales, a church of the Byelorussian Autocephalous Church by the name of the Church of the Holy Protection (Eglwys yr Amddiffyniad Sanctaidd) has recently bought a church building which formerly belonged to the Anglican Church. This branch of the Orthodox Church in Wales, which has its own Liturgy in Welsh, has existed for several years, but a major renovation will give to this part of the world a new church.
The Church of the Holy Protection has published some fine postcards of icons painted there, and a cassette with the Divine Liturgy in Welsh. Address:
11, Manod Road,
Blaenau Ffestiniog,
Gwynedd LL41 4DE
North Wales
Dionysius n.s. Vol. 16 (1998), ISSN 0705-1085
Salsus Books Catalogue 34, containing Liturgy, Biblical Studies, Theology, Church History. Salsus Books, 193 Court Oak Road, Harborne, Birmingham B17 9AD: postal business only. Fax ++44 121 426 4096.
Peregrina Publishing Co.: Spring 1999 Catalogue, containing translated Lives of Medieval female saints. Address: 17 Woodside Avenue, Toronto, Canada, M6P 1L6
Byzantine Studies in Australia Newsletter, May 1999 (electronic version); ISSN 0155-042x; information: wmayer[@]arts.adelaide.edu.au
Nach Informationen des türkisches Fernsehens wurden neue syrische Handschriften im Tur Abdin entdeckt in November 1998.
Bei der Razzia nach PKK-Kämpfern im Bochtan-Gebirge hatte das türkische Militär zufällig mehrere syrische Handschriften entdeckt. Der Ort des Handschriften-schatzes ist das früher von Syrern bewohnte und jetzt verlassene Dorf Dera, oberhalb von Gozarto (türk. Cizre). Allerdings ist noch nicht bekannt, ob es sich um das Obere oder das Untere Dera händelt.
Die gefundenen syrischen Handschriften waren in einem syrischen Kirchengebäude versteckt, möglicherweise um Plünderung und Raub zu verhindern.
Mehr ist über den genauen Inhalt der Handschriften nicht bekannt. Nach den türkischen TV-Nachrichten ging es um “syrische” und “hebräische” Texte. Eine von den vor der Kamera gezeigten Handschriften war im ostsyrischen “Madenhoyo”-Schrifttyp, welchen die Ostsyrer (“Nestorianer”) verwenden. Bei den Texten, die die türkischen Journalisten als “hebräische Handschriften” bezeichneten, dürfte es sich eher um den “Estrangelo”-Schriftyp handeln. Estrangelo und Hebräisch können für Nicht-Syrischkenner sehr ähnlich erscheinen.
Wann und warum diese Handschriften versteckt wurden, darüber kann man nur spekulieren. Es ist jedoch eine Reihe von ähnlichen Fällen im Tur ‘Abdin und der Umgebung bekannt: während des Massakers durch die Türken am Ende des letzten und am Anfang dieses Jahrhunderts versteckten die Syrer ihre Schätze – vor allem syrische Handschriften – vor Plünderung, Raub oder Vernichtung in den Kirchen, in Ruinen oder einfach in den Bergen.
(Gabriel Rabo, 3 December 1998)
see also: http://www.gwdg.de/~grabo/news/handschriften.html [link may no longer work]
January 29, 1999
Mayor Ali Mufit Gurtuna held an unprecedented breakfast meeting in Istanbul on Thursday, January 28, 1999, with religious leaders of the Greek, Armenian, Jewish minorities and the heads of Catholic and Syrian Orthodox churches. The breakfast meeting, held in honor of the religious leaders, was held at the Malta Kiosk in Yildiz Park. “If we look at differences as nature’s mosaic, we will see a great deal,” Gurtuna told the religious leaders. Participating at the meeting were Orthodox Church Patriarch Bartholomew, the head of Turkey’s 4,000-member Greek community, Armenian Church Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan, head of the 60,000-strong Armenian Gregorian community in Turkey, Isak Haleva, acting chief rabbi of the 25,000-member Jewish community; Yusuf Cetin, Patriarchal Vicar of the Syrian Orthodox Church and bishop of 15,000 Syrian Orthodox Turks, and Lui Pelatra, head of the holy synod of Catholic communities of Turkey. The country has about 40,000 Catholics of Roman, Greek, Armenian, Syrian and Chaldean rites, which are in union with the Vatican. Patriarch Bartholomew said the meeting was unprecedented. “In truth, we are unaccustomed to such kinds of gestures,” the Orthodox Church prelate said.
Volume 7, issue 1 (summer 1999)
Medewerkers/Contributors
Gabriel Rabo ist Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Lehrstuhl für Syrische Kirchengeschichte an der Universität Göttingen. Er kommt aus Hah/Tur ‘Abdin (Südosten der Türkei) und hatte als Schüler das syrische Priesterseminar Mor Gabriel in Tur ‘Abdin besucht. Nach dem Studium der katholischen Theologie an der Universität Eichstätt schreibt er eine Doktorarbeit über Paulinenauslegung des Dionysius Yakub Bar Salibi (+1171) und seinen Kommentar zum Römerbrief.
Dirk Krausmüller works on Byzantine monasticism and monastic spirituality at Queen’s University, Belfast.
Annabelle Parker works on a critical edition of the Vita Syncleticae at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Edip Aydın is a 3rd year student of Divinity at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York. He has written about Syriac literature in earlier issues of Gouden Hoorn.
Gouden Hoorn - Golden Horn 