The Syriac Chronicle of Edessa records the building by Eulogios [bishop of Edessa 379-387] of a church dedicated to *Daniel (possibly the Old Testament prophet, S00727), which is later associated with *Dimet (possibly Dometios, monk of Syria, later 4th c., S00414). Written in Edessa, in second half of 6th c.
Evidence ID
E00076
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Chronicle of Edessa 34
ܘܒܗܘܢ ܒܝܘܡ̈ܬܐ ܗܘܐ ܡܪܝ ܐܘܠܓܝܤ ܐܦܝܣܩܘܦܐ ܒܫܢܬܐ ܕܐܡܠܟ ܒܗ̇ ܬܐܘܕܣܝܤ ܪܒܐ ܘܗ̣ܘ ܡܪܝ ܐܘܠܓܝܤ ܒܢܐ ܒܝܬ ܡܪܝ ܕܢܝܐܝܠ ܕܐܬܩܪܝ ܒܝܬ ܡܪܝ ܕܝܡܛ
And in those days Mar Eulogios became bishop in the year that Theodosius the Great became king. And that Mar Eulogios built the church of Mar Daniel, which was [later] called the church of Mar Dimet.
Text: Guidi 1903, 5.
Translation: Cowper 1864, 33, lightly modified.
Liturgical Activities
Ceremony of dedication
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
The Chronicle of Edessa is a collection of mainly short entries, most of which are related to the history of the city of Edessa. It is an original Syriac composition, produced in the second half of the 6th century by a pro-Chalcedonian Syriac-speaking author.Syriac text: Guidi 1903, vol. 1, 1-13; English translation: Cowper 1864, 30-39; German translation: Hallier 1892, 84-138; Russian translation: Пигулевская 1959. For general information, see van Rompay 2011; Witakowski 1986.
Discussion
The Chronicle reports that after Eulogius (ob. 387) became bishop of Edessa in the year 379 he built a church dedicated to *Daniel. It is unclear, whether the biblical prophet Daniel is meant here or a Christian saint bearing the same name. It is also reported that by the time of the Chronicle's composition, i.e. the sixth century, this church became identified with *Dimet. While most scholars interpret this Syriac name as referring to Saint Dometios (Assemani 1719-1728, v. 1, p. 215; Hallier 1892, p. 102; Пигулевская 1959, p. 91), some argue for Saint Demetrios, the patron of Thessalonike (Cowper 1864, p. 41).Bibliography
Editions and translations:Guidi, I., Chronica minora, Pars prior. 2 vols (CSCO Syr. III.4; Paris: Typographeo Reipublicae, 1903).
Cowper, B.H., “Selections from the Syriac. No. I: The Chronicle of Edessa,” Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record NS V, 9 (1864), 28-45.
Hallier, L., Untersuchungen über die Edessenische Chronik, mit dem Syrischen Text und einer Übersetzung (Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur 9:1; Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, 1892).
Пигулевская, Н.В., “Эдесская хроника,” Палестинский сборник 4 [67] (1959), 79-96; reprinted in: Пигулевская, Н.В., Сирийская средневековая историография. Исследования и переводы (С.-Петербург: Дмитрий Буланин , 2000), 468-476.
Further reading:
Rompay, L. van, “Chronicle of Edessa,” in: S.P. Brock, A.M. Butts, G.A. Kiraz and L. van Rompay (eds.), Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2011), 97-98.
Witakowski, W., “Chronicles of Edessa,” in: T. Kronholm and E. Riad (eds.), On the Dignity of Man: Oriental and Classical Studies on Honour of Frithiof Rundgren (Orientalia Suecana 33-35; Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1986), 487-498.
Record Created By
Sergey Minov
Date of Entry
13/10/2014
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00414 | Dometios, monk of Syria, later 4th c. | Uncertain | S00727 | Daniel, Old Testament prophet | Uncertain | S00761 | Demetrios, martyr of Thessalonike | Uncertain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Sergey Minov, Cult of Saints, E00076 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00076