The Syriac Orthodox Church experienced a revival of writing and theological insight during the 11th – 13th centuries known as the Syriac Renaissance. Authors like Bar ʿEbroyo, Michael I Rabo (Michael the Great) and Dionysios Bar Salibi authored their own original works and translated Greek and Arabic writings into Syriac. However, then as now, grand ecclesiastical plans sometimes fell short of real life application. This time period was also a significant one in secular history, with Crusaders, Muslims, and Mongol khans battling for control of the Middle East. After scouring the available Syriac chronicles from the Syriac Renaissance, Peter Kawerau has summarized both the stated ideals and lived realities of ecclesiastic structures and interactions between Syriac-speaking Christians and their neighbors of other traditions and faiths. Most of the information here comes from Bar ʿEbroyo's and Michael I Rabo's chronicles, although other sources are referenced as well.
Peter Kawerau (1915–1988) was a German scholar of church history, focusing on the eastern churches. He studied theology at the Universities of Wroclaw and Berlin. In 1949, after World War II, he earned his doctorate at the University of Göttingen, with this book being a version of his dissertation. He did his Habilitationsschrift in 1956 at Münster. He would go on to teach at the University of Marburg where he founded the Ostkirchen Institut. His corpus includes works on Protestant, Syriac, African, and Byzantine church history. This work was part of his Habilitationsschrift and originally published in 1955 with an updated edition in 1960. This translation, based on the 1960 edition, updates some of the language used and makes this work available to English speaking students, scholars, and interested laity.
Table of Contents (v)
Translator’s Preface (xi)
Foreword (xiii)
Introduction (1)
The Organization of the Syriac Orthodox Churches (23)
The Patriarch (23)
1. Title and Residence (23)
2. Jurisdiction (25)
3. Place of Election (25)
4. Election (26)
5. Candidates for Election (28)
6. Ordination (29)
7. Name Change (31)
8. Confession of Faith & Visit of the Titular Churches (32)
9. Official Powers (32)
10. Official Garb (34)
11. Travel (35)
12. Decline of the Office (36)
13. Financial Conditions (37)
14. Death of the Patriarch (38)
15. The Patriarchate in the 13th Century (39)
The Maphrian (39)
1. Origin (39)
2. Residence (40)
3. Title (41)
4. Jurisdiction (43)
5. Election (45)
6. Candidates (46)
7. Ordination (47)
8. Name Change (49)
9. Recognition in the East (49)
10. Official Garb (51)
11. Rights and Duties (51)
12. The Relationship of the Maphrian to the Patriarch (54)
13. Official Duties (55)
14. Funeral (57)
Metropolitans and Bishops (58)
1. Number of Bishops (58)
2. The Metropolitan (58)
3. The Bishop (59)
4. Election (60)
5. Ordination (60)
6. Nepotism (62)
7. Deposition (63)
8. Rights and Duties (64)
9. Funeral (66)
Abbots (67)
1. Title & Installation (67)
2. Rights and Duties (68)
3. Relationship to the Church Authorities (69)
4. The Abbots in Church Politics (70)
Monasteries (72)
1. Construction (72)
2. Monastic Property (73)
3. The Role of Monasteries in Church Life (76)
4. Nicknames of Monasteries (77)
Monks and Nuns (78)
1. Forms of Monasticism (78)
2. Entering a Monastery (79)
3. Monastic Life (79)
4. Monks and Clergy (82)
5. Nuns (82)
Parish Communities (83)
1. The Notables: Merchants, Physicians, and Scribes (83)
2. The Laity in the Politics of the Church (87)
3. Financial Burdens on the Communities (88)
4. Feast Days (89)
The Inner Life of the Syriac Orthodox Church (91)
Scholarship (91)
1. The General Level of Education (91)
2. Church and Education (92)
3. Famous Scholars and Their Places of Influence (94)
4. Secular Studies (98)
5. Cooperation of Christians and Muslims in the Field of Science (99)
Forms of Piety (99)
1. Lack of Faith (99)
2. Relics (100)
3. Pilgrimages (102)
4. Dreams and Visions (102)
Church Building Projects (104)
1. Islamic Legal Views (104)
2. Religious Buildings (105)
3. Secular Buildings (106)
4. Building Initiative (106)
5. Construction Management, Building Materials, Painting, Build Time (107)
6. Church Construction for Representational Reasons (110)
Inner Decline (111)
1. General Disorderliness (111)
2. Greed (113)
3. Simony (115)
4. Lack of Discipline (116)
5. Inheriting Higher Church Offices (117)
Reform Efforts (119)
1. Beginnings (119)
2. The Reforms of Michael I (120)
3. Failures (122)
The Relationship of the Syriac Orthodox Church to Other Christian Churches (123)
Coptic Orthodox (123)
Armenian Orthodox (124)
1. Mutual Understanding (124)
2. Theological Disputes (125)
3. Temporary Problems (127)
Church of the East (129)
1. Decreasing Dogmatic Opposition (129)
2. Official Communication (132)
Greek Orthodox (133)
Western Christianity (Crusaders) (134)
1. Good Relationships (134)
2. Official Communication (135)
3. Individual Conflicts (136)
The Relationship of the Syriac Orthodox Church to the Non-Christian Environment (139)
The State-Diploma for Church Leaders (139)
1. Origin (139)
2. Scope of Recognition (140)
3. Application for the Diploma (141)
4. Content of the Diploma (142)
5. Renewal of the Diploma (142)
6. Special Diplomas (143)
7. Terminology (143)
8. Fights Over Recognition (144)
Relationship with Muslim Authorities (146)
1. Public (146)
2. Courtesy in Official Communication (147)
3. Local Oppressions of Christians (150)
4. Negative Consequences: Conversions to Islam & Acts of Revenge (153)
Relationship with Mongol Rulers (157)
1. General (157)
2. Church of the East and Mongol Rulers (158)
3. Syriac Orthodox and Mongol Rulers (161)
4. Estrangement (162)
Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Life Together (163)
1. Common Events (163)
2. Tensions (164)
3. Private Life (165)
4. Kurds (166)
5. Jews (168)
Appendix (171)
Syriac Orthodox Dioceses from 1150–1300 (171)
Syriac Orthodox Monasteries from 1150–1300 (182)
Syriac Orthodox Building Projects from 1150–1300 (187)
Genealogy of Patriarch Michael I Rabo (190)
Genealogy of Patriarch Ignatius IV Yeshuʿ (191)
Backgrounds of Patriarchs (192)
Backgrounds of Maphrians (192)
Terms for Monks (192)
Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs (194)
Syriac Orthodox Maphrians (194)
Church of the East Catholicoi (195)
Coptic Patriarchs (195)
Armenian Catholicoi (195)
Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad (195)
Bibliography (199)
Plates (225)
