The early 5th c. Syriac Martyrology commemorates on 30 May *Eusebius (bishop of Caesarea, ob. 339/340, S01035). Preserved in a manuscript written in Edessa (northern Mesopotamia) in 411.
Evidence ID
E01505
Type of Evidence
Liturgical texts - Calendars and martyrologies
Major author/Major anonymous work
Syriac Martyrology of 411
ܘܒܬܠܬܝܢ ܒܐܝܪ ܕܘܟܪܢܗ ܕܐܘܣܒܤ ܐܦܣܩܘܦܐ ܕܦܠܣܛܝܢܐ.
'And on the thirtieth (day) of Iyar (i.e. May) – the commemoration of Eusebios, bishop of Palestine.'
Text: Nau 1912, p. 17.
Translation: S. Minov.
Festivals
Saint’s feast
Source
The Syriac Martyrology of the year 411 is the earliest liturgical calendar preserved in Syriac. It appears in the manuscript BL Add. 12150. The manuscript's colophon relates that it was produced in the city of Edessa in the year 411. Composed during the last decades of the fourth or the first decade of the fifth century, the Martyrology is divided into the two main sections - the main one, devoted to the Christian martyrs of the Roman empire, and the shorter one, devoted to the Christians executed in the Sasanian empire. The former section is derived from a lost Greek martyrology. For more information, see E00465Syriac text: Wright 1865-1866; Nau 1912, pp. 11-26; Brock and van Rompay 2014, pp. 389-392; English translation: Wright 1865-1866, pp. 423-432; French translation: Nau 1912, pp. 11-26; German translation: Lietzmann 1903, pp. 9-16; Latin translation: Mariani 1956. For general information, see Taylor 2012, pp. 80-81; Schäferdiek 2005.
Discussion
The Martyrology provides the earliest and sole evidence for the liturgical commemoration of Eusebius among Syriac-speaking Christians.The appearance of Eusebius' name in the Martyrologium is highly unusual, since he was neither martyr nor confessor. The only other bishop commemorated there as such is *Jacob of Nisibis (E01523). It is unclear whether the name of Eusebius featured already in one of the Greek sources of the Martyrologium or it was included by the Syriac editor. In favor of the latter scenario may speak the fact that several Syriac translations of Eusebius' works, most importantly such hagiographical composition as the Martyrs of Palestine (E00294), appear in the same manuscript with the Martyrology.
Bibliography
Main editions and translations:Brock, S.P., and van Rompay, L., Catalogue of the Syriac Manuscripts and Fragments in the Library of Deir al-Surian, Wadi al-Natrun (Egypt) (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 227; Leuven: Peeters, 2014).
Lietzmann, H., Die drei ältesten Martyrologien (Kleine Texte für Theologische Vorlesungen und Übungen 2; Bonn: A. Marcus und E. Weber, 1903).
Mariani, B., Breviarium syriacum seu martyrologium syriacum saec. IV (Rerum ecclesiasticarum documenta, Series minor: Subsidia studiorum 3; Roma: Herder, 1956).
Nau, F., Martyrologes et ménologes orientaux, I–XIII. Un martyrologie et douze ménologes syriaques édités et traduits (Patrologia Orientalis 10.1 [46]; Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1912).
Wright, W., “An Ancient Syriac Martyrology,” Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record NS VIII, 15 (1865), 45-56; 16 (1866), 423-432.
Further reading:
Schäferdiek, K., “Bemerkungen zum Martyrologium Syriacum,” Analecta Bollandiana 123:1 (2005), 5-22.
Taylor, D.G.K., “Hagiographie et liturgie syriaque,” in: A. Binggeli (ed.), L’hagiographie syriaque (Études syriaques 9; Paris: Paul Geuthner, 2012), 77-112.
Record Created By
Sergey Minov
Date of Entry
25/05/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S01035 | Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, ob. 339/340 | ܐܘܣܒܤ | Certain |
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