An East Syriac Patriarch of the late 6th century and his Christians in Eastern Arabia. Contextualization and Preliminary Remarks on the Letter of Ishoyahb I to Jacob of Dirin
An East Syriac Patriarch of the late 6th century and his Christians in Eastern Arabia. Contextualization and Preliminary Remarks on the Letter of Ishoyahb I to Jacob of Dirin

Author(s): Andrei Macar
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Theology and Religion, 6th to 12th Centuries, History of Religion
Published by: Editura Doxologia
Keywords: Ishoyahb I; Jacob of Dirin; Christianity in Beth Qatraye; East Syriac Liturgical Tradition; Synodicon Orientale; Eastern Arabia;
Summary/Abstract: Ishoyahb I was Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East (the so called “Nestorian Church”) in a time of significant liturgical changes. These started with the patriarchate of Mar Aba (540-552) and continued till the 7th century. In this context, Bishop Jacob of Dirin (an island in the Persian Gulf, near Bahrain) had a couple of questions on liturgical, moral and disciplinary matters and addressed the Catholicos in a letter for clarification. The letter of Bishop Jacob is not preserved, but we have available the response letter of the Catholicos Ishoyahb I. Scholars remarked the importance of this Syriac response letter in that it was placed in “Synodicon Orientale”, one important canonical collection of the Church of the East. In their view, the letter of Ishoyahb I is a pastoral-liturgical compendium and an important source for the East Syriac liturgical tradition at the end of the6th century. Despite the appreciation that scholars have shown for this text in the past, it has so far been little analysed, except for its contribution to the history of the East Syrian Anaphora. In my opinion, the importance of Ishoyahb's letter goes beyond liturgical studies, being relevant also for the field of Church History, because it provides valuable information on the life of the Christians in the region of nowadays Bahrain and Qatar, at the end of the6th century. Furthermore, the letter contributes to the history of East Syriac Patriarchs because it plays a significant role in establishing the intellectual profile of Catholicos-Patriarch Ishoyahb I and the sources of his theological thought. The objectives of this paper are to place the letter in its historical context and to offer some remarks on its textual transmission and on its value for the liturgical and historical research.

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