St. Severus of Antioch (d. 538)
St. Severus of Antioch (d. 538) Severus was a great church dignitary, the luminary of scholars, an outstanding authority and the unique erudite of his generation. He was also a great theologian, a profound and prolific writer and an eloquent orator who had a great control of the pulpit. To him flocked eminent jurists and men of good conscience seeking solution to problems and interpretation of complex matters. What a man he was, a man who built up and upheld the edifice of religion, and supported and explained the authority of the Orthodox faith. He was pure in heart, soul and character, a...
Read MorePAUL THE PERSIAN
PAUL THE PERSIAN PAUL THE PERSIAN, a writer who lived at the time of the Nestorian Patriarch Ezekiel (567-80 C.E.), according to Bar Hebraeus (Chron. Eccl. II; ed. Abbeloos and Lamy, 1872, cols. 97-98), and was well versed in ecclesiastical and philosophical matters. Having once aspired to be the metropolitan bishop of Persis, he later converted to Zoroastrianism. Paul’s apostasy is described in a similar manner in the Arabic Chronicle of Séert (XXIV; ed. Scher, 1911, p. 147), but Teixidor (1996, p. 509, n. 1) has questioned the historical value of these reports. Bar Hebraeus attributes to...
Read More9- St. Ephraim the Syrian (d. 373)
St. Ephraim is unquestionably the master of the Syriac language and the poet par excellence of the Syrians. He possessed the innate properties of creativeness, poetic versatility, and the ability to present many meanings in few words. His style is solid, powerful, fluent and eloquent. In poetry he practiced an entirely new doctrine in which he was seldom rivaled. He distinguished himself by his abundant subject matter, fertile imagination and naturalness. In all these he takes palm. Into these poems he incorporated lofty ideas and noble meanings which would inspire his readers to the highest...
Read More8- Aphrahat the Persian (364)
(364) Aphrahat, nicknamed the Persian Sage, was born a heathen in some part of Persia, was converted to Christianity and became a monk. Some writers gave him the name of Jacob and ascribed to him the office of bishop. Other writers thought that he became a bishop of the monastery of Mar Matta. However, there is no definite proof that he was a bishop. Furthermore, relating him to a monastery of Mar Matta is no doubt erroneous, because the said monastery was not yet founded in his time. Aphrahat was distinguished for his piety. He studied the Holy Bible thoroughly, and between 337 and 340 wrote...
Read More3- Bar Daysan (d. 222)
(d. 222) Bar Daysan was born a heathen at Edessa on July 1, 154 A.D. and grew up in the palace of its king, Manu VIII. Together with Manu’s son Abgar he received the highest level share of learning and education. He embraced Christianity and was ordained a deacon and perhaps also a priest. But, because he was becoming involved in false heathen doctrines from which he had not yet been freed, he was renounced by the Church. He died in 222 A.D. Bar Daysan was an eminent and eloquent writer and philosopher. He wrote many books in Syriac of which nothing has survived except a small treatise...
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