Doctrine of Addai
Encyclopedia
The Doctrine of Addai is a controversial book about Saint Addai.
The story of how King Abgar
and Jesus
had corresponded was first recounted in the 4th century by the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea
in his Ecclesiastical History
(i.13 and iii.1) and it was retold in elaborated form by Ephrem the Syrian
.
In the origin of the legend, Eusebius had been shown documents purporting to contain the official correspondence that passed between Abgar and Jesus, and he was well enough convinced by their authenticity to quote them extensively in his ecclesiastical history. By the time the legend had returned to Syria
, the purported site of the miraculous image, it had been embroidered into a tissue of miraculous happenings (Bauer 1971, ch. i): the Doctrine of Addai is full of miracles. Some people consider it to be filled with anti-semitism
in the story of "Protonice" consort of Claudius, searching for the Cross, and Golgotha and the Holy Sepuchre, all of them in possession of the Jews.
The story of how King Abgar
Abgar V of Edessa
Abgar V the black or Abgarus V of Edessa BC - AD 7 and AD 13 - 50) was a historical Syriac ruler of the Syriac kingdom of Osroene, holding his capital at Edessa....
and Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
had corresponded was first recounted in the 4th century by the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
in his Ecclesiastical History
Church History (Eusebius)
The Church History of Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea was a 4th-century pioneer work giving a chronological account of the development of Early Christianity from the 1st century to the 4th century. It was written in Koine Greek, and survives also in Latin, Syriac and Armenian manuscripts...
(i.13 and iii.1) and it was retold in elaborated form by Ephrem the Syrian
Ephrem the Syrian
Ephrem the Syrian was a Syriac and a prolific Syriac-language hymnographer and theologian of the 4th century. He is venerated by Christians throughout the world, and especially in the Syriac Orthodox Church, as a saint.Ephrem wrote a wide variety of hymns, poems, and sermons in verse, as well as...
.
In the origin of the legend, Eusebius had been shown documents purporting to contain the official correspondence that passed between Abgar and Jesus, and he was well enough convinced by their authenticity to quote them extensively in his ecclesiastical history. By the time the legend had returned to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, the purported site of the miraculous image, it had been embroidered into a tissue of miraculous happenings (Bauer 1971, ch. i): the Doctrine of Addai is full of miracles. Some people consider it to be filled with anti-semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
in the story of "Protonice" consort of Claudius, searching for the Cross, and Golgotha and the Holy Sepuchre, all of them in possession of the Jews.
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Legend of Abgar
- Doctrine of Addai (text, in English)
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Doctrine of Addai
- THE DOCTRINE OF ADDAI, THE APOSTLE, BY GEORGE PHILLIPS, D.D., PRESIDENT OF QUEENS' COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. London: TRÜBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL. 1876
- The Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm of Christian Thought in Edessa in the Fifth Century, by Sidney H. Griffith, Institute of Christian Oriental Research, Catholic University of America
- Possible historical traces in the Doctrina Addai, by Ilaria Ramelli, Catholic University of Milan