THE DIATESSARON
The Diatessaron, i.e., “through the Four”, is the Greek word for the unified Gospels containing the life and divine teachings of Christ. According to Eusebius of Caesarea and a group of our Syrian scholars until the thirteenth century, it was compiled in fifty-five chapters (around 172/173 A.D.) by Tatian, of Adiabene by birth, who was also called the Assyrian.
Contemporary scholars sharply disagree about the Diatessaron. Some of them think that Tatian compiled it in Greek and then he or others translated it into Syriac. Others think he compiled it in Syriac. These scholars also have different opinions regarding the text of the Syriac translation which he used. A group of them conjecture that he used the Pshitto before it was revised,2 others think that he used an old translation other than the Pshitto such as the Syrian Antiochian translation known today as the Sinai Version, so-called because its copy was found in Mount Sinai Monastery in 1892, in the MS. 30 transcribed by John the Stylite at the Monastery of St. Canon in the Maarrat of Egypt in the year 698 or 789. This version was published by Mrs. Lewis in 1910. Still others think that he used the translation discovered by Cureton in the British Museum MS. 14450, which was transcribed in the fifth century and published in 1858 and is called the Curetonian Gospels. It was republished by Burkitt in 1901, but this and the former edition are incomplete. Contemporary scholars also disagree about the date of these two translations. The reason probably is the scarce information given by ancient scholars about Tatian and his compilation.
The Diatessaron was highly received by the Syrians in Edessa, and the two provinces of the Euphrates and Mesopotamia for its smooth style, excellent composition and historical arrangement. They called it “The Mixed Gospel”. They used it in their churches and re-published it extensively. Aphrahat quoted it; Ephraim commented upon it; and his commentary today survives in an Armenian manuscript transcribed in 1195 and translated into Latin and published by Ancher in 1876.
The Diatessaron was in use until the first quarter of the fifth century when it was suspended by Rabula, metropolitan of Edessa, to protect the integrity of the Revealed Book (the Holy Bible). At that time, he introduced the separate Gospels, which it is said he had revised according to the Greek origin, in its place. He was followed by Theodoret of Cyrus who eliminated more than two hundred copies in his diocese. Subsequently, its circulation in the church was stopped and the copies that remained were used only for general reading.3 A copy of the Diatessaron was, however, found in the middle of the ninth century in the handwriting of Isa ibn Ali, the physician and disciple of Hunayn ibn Ishaq whose translation into Arabic was ascribed to the priest-monk Abu al-Faraj Abd Allah ibn al-Tayyib in the middle of the eleventh century. This Arabic version was translated into Latin and published by the priest Augustine Ciasca in 1888. Also, it was twice translated into English – and into German in 1896 and 1926. The idea, however, of compiling the four Gospels in one had occurred to more than one Christian scholar. The oldest among these were Theophilus, patriarch of Antioch (d. 180), according to Hieronymus (Jerome)4, Ammonius of Alexandria, who is thought to have died around 226, and Elijah the Syrian, while he was bishop of Salamya, in the beginning of the ninth century. But when, in the middle of the ninth century, the monk Daniel of Beth Batin assigned Biblical lessons for the Week of Passion, he restored the use of the Diatessaron and in some chapters sought the assistance of the Harclensian version.5 Further, a few Coptic scholars around the thirteenth century intended to make an Arabic compilation of the Diatessaron following the method of Ibn al-Tayyib, to which they appended two tracts on the genealogy of Christ our Lord and his resurrection. These tracts had not been included in the Diatessaron of Tatian which opened only with the five verses of the first chapter of the Gospel of St. John. A transcribed copy of this Arabic version in the fourteenth century is preserved at the Vatican library.
As for Tatian, he was born a heathen around the year 110 and studied literature, oration, history and philosophy in Greek and journeyed throughout Greece. His journey led him to Rome where he read the Old Testament, liked it, and preferred it to the writings of the philosophers. He embraced Christianity and was associated with Justin of Neapolis, the philosopher, saint, and martyr.6 He established or followed the principles of that sect of Anchorites called “The extremely Chaste”. Because of this, he was excommunicated from the Church. To some critics the reason for his excommunication was some erroneous and dangerous phrases which he used in his writings. He returned to his country, or most likely to Edessa where he died around 180 or shortly after it. He was a vessel of knowledge and a philosopher too. He composed many works in Greek, all of which are lost except his harsh and censuring letter to the Greeks. No writing of his is known in Syriac except the Diatessaron which most of the scholars think was either compiled or translated by him.7
THE DIATESSARON
– Mor Ignatius Aphram Barsoum