The Syriac Chronicle of Edessa, records that Rabbula became bishop of Edessa in 412 and built a church dedicated to *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030) in Edessa (northern Mesopotamia), on the orders of the emperor; the building had previously functioned as a synagogue. Written in Edessa, in second half of 6th c.
Evidence ID
E00079
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Chronicle of Edessa 51
ܫܢܬ ܫܒܥܡܐܐ ܘܥܣܖ̈ܝܢ ܘܬܠܬ. ܗܘܐ ܒܐܘܪܗܝ ܪܒܘܠܐ ܐܦܝܣܩܘܦܐ. ܘܒܢܐ ܒܝܬ ܡܪܝ ܣܛܦܢܘܤ ܕܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܗܘܐ ܡܢ ܠܘܩܕܡ ܒܝܬ ܫܒܬܐ ܕܝܗ̈ܘܕܝܐ. ܒܢܝܗܝ ܕܝܢ ܒܦܘܩܕܢܗ ܕܡܠܟܐ
'The year 723 [AD 412], Rabbula became bishop in Edessa. And he built the house of Mar Stephanus, which had been formerly a house of Sabbath [i.e. synagogue] of the Jews. Now he built it by command of the king.'
Text: Guidi 1903, 6. Translation: Cowper 1864, 34.
Liturgical ActivitiesEcclesiastics - bishops
Ceremony of dedication
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityAppropriation of older cult sites
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Monarchs and their family
Jews
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 Rabbula became bishop of Edessa in the year 411/2 he took over a building that functioned as Jewish synagogue and dedicated it to the protomartyr Stephen.It is reported that Rabbula carried out this action under the command of emperor Theodosius II. No other source seems to corroborate this information. It is, however, consistent with other evidence of aggressive policy towards the Jews in Roman Syria during the fifth century.
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 | S00030 | Stephen, the First Martyr | ܣܛܦܢܘܤ | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Sergey Minov, Cult of Saints, E00079 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00079