Edessa
From the Catholic Encyclopedia A titular archiepiscopal see in that part of Mesopotamia formerly known as Osrhoene. The name under which Edessa figures in cuneiform inscriptions is unknown; the native name was Osroe, after some local satrap, this being the Armenian form for Chosroes; it became in Syriac Ourhoï, in Armenian Ourhaï in Arabic Er Roha, commonly Orfa or Urfa, its present name. Seleucus Nicator, when he rebuilt the town, 303 B. C., called it Edessa, in memory of the ancient capital ofMacedonia of similar name (now Vodena). Under Antiochus IV (175-164 B. C.) the town...
Read MoreBar Hebraeus – R. Buttin
(Abu’l Faraj) A Jacobite Syrian bishop, philosopher, poet, grammarian, physician, Biblical commentator, historian, and theologian, b. at Meletine (Malatia), Asia Minor, 1226; d. at Maragha, Persia, 1286. He was the son of a Jewish physician, Aaron, a convert to the Jacobite faith; hence his surname of Bar ‘Ebraya (Bar Hebræus), “Son of the Hebrew”. Under the care of his father he began as a boy (a teneris unguiculis) the study of medicine and of many other branches of knowledge, which he pursued as a youth at Antioch and Tripoli, and which he never abandoned until...
Read MoreThe Mary We Never Knew New Light from the Syrian Tradition – Sally Cunneen
It’s hard to maintain the spirit of anticipation that should mark the season of Advent when Christmas itself has become little more than an occasion for extravagance and consumption. We could all use some fresh inspiration concerning what Advent is preparing us for. I have found an unexpected source for such insight in the increasing number of English translations from ancient Syriac literature. It turns out that the early Christians pondered the same questions we face. And while Gnostic texts have been widely touted in the mainstream media in recent decades as alternatives to the...
Read MoreChaldean Christians – J. LABOURT
From the Catholic Encyclopedia The name of former Nestorians now reunited with the Roman Church. Ethnologically they are divided into two groups (Turco-Persian and Indian), which must be treated apart, since in their vicissitudes one group differs considerably from the other. The first group is usually known as Chaldeans, the second as Christians of St. Thomas (also called the Syro-Malabar Church). I. NAME AND TERRITORY OF CHALDEANS Strictly, the name of Chaldeans is no longer correct; in Chaldea proper, apart from Baghdad, there are now very few adherents of this rite, most of the...
Read MoreThe Chaldean Genises / The Secret Legecy of the Architect-preists – Boyd Rice
from DragonKeyPress Website The genealogy of the Merovingian bloodline has for centuries been shrouded in mystery, and yet, we’ve been able to definitively trace it back to the “Shepherd Kings” of ancient Sumer. Subsequently, we’ve managed to fine-tune the focus of our investigation further still, and many indications (both ancient and modern) seem to suggest that the role played by Chaldea was of pivotal importance. For instance, in The Book of Genesis, we are told that the biblical patriarch Abraham was “a Chaldean from Ur.” For most readers, this seemingly insignificant...
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