Evidence ID
E01976
Type of Evidence
Liturgical texts - Hymns
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Major author/Major anonymous work
Jacob of Serugh
Jacob of Serugh, Homily on Sharbel
In his exposition of the martyrs' life and death, the author proceeds along the main narrative line of their life as found in the Acts of Sharbel (E01890). A long introductory part, in which Sharbel's pagan past is described (pp. 52-54), is followed by the mention of his conversion and that of his sister Babai (pp. 54-55). After that, Sharbel's arrest and arrival at the judge's court are briefly described (p. 55). Similarly to the Acts, the longest part of the Homily is devoted to the scenes of the various tortures inflicted upon Sharbel (pp. 56-60), description of which corresponds closely to that of the Acts. It concludes with the description of the execution of Sharbel and of Babai (pp. 60-63).
Liturgical ActivitiesChant and religious singing
Non Liturgical Activity
Chant and religious singing
Sermon/homily
Non Liturgical ActivityComposing and translating saint-related texts
Source
The Homily on Sharbel is a poetic retelling of the martyrdom of Sharbel, a pagan priest who converted to Christianity, and his sister Babai, who were executed in the city of Edessa in Roman Mesopotamia, supposedly during the reign of the emperor Trajan, in the year 104. An original Syriac composition, it was almost certainly produced by the West-Syrian poet Jacob of Serugh (c. 451-521). From the presentation of the story of Sharbel and his sister in the Homily one can conclude that Jacob derived his information about the martyrs from the Syriac Acts of Sharbel, a hagiographic work composed in Edessa during the 5th century (see E01943). The Homily belongs to the literary genre of memrā, a narrative poem that employs couplets all in the same syllabic meter. Such poems, which appear to have been recited rather than sung, were presumably used in the liturgy, though there is no evidence from Late Antiquity of exactly how this happened.There is not yet a critical edition of the Homily. Its Syriac text was published by Mösinger on the basis of a single manuscript, Borgia syr. 128, ff. 170v-175v, dated to 1720 (see Vööbus 1973-1980, vol. 3, 143-144). The Homily is found in several other manuscripts: Oxford Poc. 404 (17th c.); Damascus Patr. 12/13 (11th c.), Damascus Patr. 12/14 (11th c.), Damascus Patr. 12/15 (12th c.), Mardin Orth. 135 (18th c.), Midyat Gülçe 10 (14th/15th cc.).
Syriac text: Mösinger 1878, 52-63; Latin translation: Mösinger 1874, 20-28. For general information on Jacob and his oeuvre, see Brock 2011; Lange 2004; Alwan 1986.
Discussion
The Homily presents what is so far the only known specimen of the liturgical commemoration of the martyrs Sharbel and Babai from Late Antiquity. Similarly to the Acts of Sharbel, it contains neither references to the saints' miracles nor appeals for their intercession.Bibliography
Main editions and translations:
Mösinger, G., Acta S. S. martyrum Edessenorum Sarbelii, Barsimaei, Guriae, Samonae et Abibi. Fasciculus 1: Acta S. S. martyrum Sarbelii et Barsimaei (Oeniponti: Libraria Academica Wagneriana, 1874).
Mösinger, G., Monumenta syriaca ex romanis codicibus collecta. Volumen 2 (Oeniponti: Libraria Academica Wagneriana, 1878).
Further reading:
Alwan, K., “Bibliographie générale raisonnée de Jacques de Saroug († 521),” Parole de l’Orient 13 (1986), 313-384.
Brock, S.P., “Ya‘qub of Serugh,” 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), 433-435.
Lange, C., “Jakob von Sarug, † 521,” in: W. Klein (ed.), Syrische Kirchenväter (Urban-Taschenbücher 587; Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 2004), 217-227.
Vööbus, A., Handscriftliche Überlieferung der Mēmrē-Dichtung des Ja‘qōb von Serūg. 4 vols (CSCO 344-345, 421-422, Subs. 39-40, 60-61; Louvain: Secrétariat du CorpusSCO, 1973, 1980).
Record Created By
Sergey Minov
Date of Entry
31/10/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S01126 | Sharbel and Babai, martyrs of Edessa | ܫܪܒܝܠ ܘܒܒܝ | Certain |
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