Nikolai Seleznyov | National Research University Higher School of Economics (original) (raw)

Books by Nikolai Seleznyov

The “Book of Sessions” (Kitāb al-majālis) of Elias of Nisibis, Metropolitan of the Church of the ... more The “Book of Sessions” (Kitāb al-majālis) of Elias of Nisibis, Metropolitan of the Church of the East (975–1046), with his Muslim vis-à-vis, vizier Abū ʾl-Qāsim al-Maghribī (981–1027), is a remarkable example of the Christian Arabic literature of the 11th c.—the time of the flowering of the Arabic culture. In the present edition, it is compared with the “Epistle” of Elias to the vizier and some documents that reveal the history of the creation of the “Book” are also taken into consideration.

In the histories of ecumenism, its initial formation is usually dated the early 20th century. The... more In the histories of ecumenism, its initial formation is usually dated the early 20th century. The World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910 is referred to as its «symbolic beginning». A quest for the origins of the ecumenical thought led researchers to find some early voices in the previous centuries, even as early as in the 15th—16th c. However, there are Oriental sources which witness to a much earlier formation of the ecumenical paradigm of the ecclesiological thought, typologically corresponding to that developed in the 20th c. In the Golden Age of Medieval Muslim culture under the Abbasid caliphate, an ecumenical position is witnessed to by some Middle Eastern Christian authors. In their works, the main Christian denominations are not polemically presented as opposed to each other, but on the contrary, the essential unity of various Christian beliefs is emphasized, and the ways the main Christian communities follow are claimed to be equal in value. The present study uses the Medieval Arabic sources to demonstrate that the history of the ecumenical thought should be corrected by supplying a chapter on the Medieval Eastern period of the history.

Table of Contents Foreword Heraclius and Ishōʿyahb II: An Eastern Episode in the ‘Ecumenic... more Table of Contents

Foreword

Heraclius and Ishōʿyahb II: An Eastern Episode in the ‘Ecumenical’ Project of the Byzantine Emperor

The Age of the Caliphate

The Epistle on the Unity by a Baghdadi Melkite in a Coptic Encyclopaedist’s Arabic Theological Summa

A West-Syrian Clerk from Arfād and the Metropolitan of Jerusalem of the Church of the East: The Book of the Concordance in Faith and Its Recension in Garshūnī

A Nestorian Philosopher in the Copto-Arabic Literature: Ibn aṭ-Ṭayyib Retold by Ibn al-ʿAssāl

Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq. “The Most Honorable, the Only One, Knowledgeable, Respectable, Wise Man, Philosopher, and Physician”

A Chronicle or A Historical Romance? The Reign of Zeno and the Events in the East According to The Blessed Compendium of al-Makīn ibn al-ʿAmīd

Interpretations of the Origins of the Designation “Jacobites” by Medieval Egyptian Arabic Authors

Christian Communities in the East as Witnessed to by Leonhart Rauwolf

Ibn Ḥazm on the Incarnation of God and Confessional Divisions in Christianity

Franks to Nubians: Arabic Treatise on Peculiarities of Different Christian Denominations by a Coptic Author (Mingana Chr. Arab. 71)

Bibliography

Index of Personal Names

Summary

By the time of the Muslim conquests of the Middle East, Eastern Christianity had experienced numerous divisions caused by ideological and political confrontations. Controversies over the union of the divinity and the humanity of Christ, perceived as an essential point of Christian doctrine, as well as the Byzantine imperial policy, aiming at strengthening Byzantium’s influence in Syria, Arabia, the Caucasus, and Egypt, had resulted in the separation of the ethno-religious communities of these provinces from Byzantium. The controversies remained unsettled, and the divisions, created by them, continued. To a Muslim observer, Eastern Christianity looked as a hodgepodge of various denominations among which the following three were the most influential: the Syro-Persian Christianity, the Graeco-Roman Orthodoxy, and the anti-Chalcedonian faction, insisting on “one nature” of Christ. Interactions between various communities of Eastern Christianity are witnessed by many sources. The relationships among them were further strengthened in the wake of the Muslim conquests of the Middle East, when the widespread use of Arabic and frequent migrations contributed to the intensification of contacts. When the Franks arrived in the Middle East, they became a part of this extraordinarily diverse milieu and attracted the attention of Eastern Christian communities. The cultural heritage of Middle-Eastern Christianity was so inﬂuential in the rest of the Christian world that it frequently attracted the attention of scholars studying particular church traditions. The present book provides a series of interesting examples of how the relationships among various Christian communities developed in the context of Christian-Muslim contacts in the medieval Middle East.

Yohannan Bar Zo'bi (John Bar Zo'bi) - was an East-Syriac author of the late 12th–early 13th c. Hi... more Yohannan Bar Zo'bi (John Bar Zo'bi) - was an East-Syriac author of the late 12th–early 13th c. His Explanation of the Mysteries is a metrical commentary on the liturgy. It is preceeded by a prologue narrating the biblical history from the beginning of creation to the redemptive mission of Christ, and followed by a doctrinal part as well as a conclusion that describes symbolism of the church. The poem is presented in a critical edition which is based on nine manuscripts, including the oldest known one.

Title: Syrians and the Others Subtitle: Cultures of the Christian Orient in the Middle Ages Ser... more Title: Syrians and the Others
Subtitle: Cultures of the Christian Orient in the Middle Ages
Series: Scrinium: Revue de patrologie, d’hagiographie critique et d’histoire ecclésiastique 10
Availability: In Print
Publisher: Gorgias Press & Axioma
Edited by Basil Lourié
Edited by Nikolai Seleznyov
ISBN: 978-1-4632-0424-2
Availability: In Print
Publication Date: 9/2014
Language: English
Format: Hardback, Black, 6 x 9 in
Pages: 543

This volume contains the first editions of a number of works of Syrian authors (in Syriac and Arabic) including two excerpts from John bar Penkaye’s "Ktaba de-resh melle", an excerpt from "The Blessed Compendium" of Jirjis al-Makin ibn al-Amid, an excerpt from the "Kitab al-Majdal", and hymns from the "Warda" collection, as well as a publication of a series of Coptic prayers for travellers. It also contains a discussion of the letters of Nicetas Stethatos available only in Georgian. Other contributions deal with the hagiography (Byzantine, Old Russian, and Syrian, with a special attention to the so-called “verbal hagiography” which is an intermediary field between the written hagiography and the folklore) and the patrology (with a special attention to philosophical problems of Byzantine patristics). Some detailed book reviews discuss, among others, various problems of the late Byzantine and the 19th- and 20th-century Ethiopian and Russian theology.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Abbreviations
Critical Editions
Yulia Furman
The Origins of the Temporal World: the First mēʾmrā of the Ktābā d-rēš mellē of John Bar Penkāyē
Yulia Furman
Zeus, Artemis, Apollo: John bar Penkāyē on Ancient Myths and Cults
Nikolai N. Seleznyov
The Laments of the Philosophers over Alexander the Great according to The Blessed Compendium of al-Makīn ibn al-ʿAmīd
Nikolai N. Seleznyov
“These stones shall be for a memorial”: A discussion of the abolition of circumcision in the Kitāb al-Mağdal
Anton Pritula
The Wardā Hymnological Collection and Šlēmōn of Ahlāṭ (13th century)
Youhanna Nessim Youssef
Litanies or Prayers for Travellers
Hagiography
Andrey Moroz
Folkloric Hagiography and the Popular Cult of Saints: Formation of Beliefs and Plots
Alexander V. Pigin
Hagiographic Writings in the Old Believer Controversies over ‘the Suicidal Death’ at the End of the Seventeenth and the Eighteenth Centuries (Peter Prokop’ev’s Message to Daniil Vikulin)
Tatiana A. Senina (nun Kassia)
Concerning the Dates of St. Makarios of Pelekete’s Life and the Dating of his Vita
Tatiana A. Senina (nun Kassia)
Did St. John, the Abbot of the ton Katharon Monastery, Join the Iconoclasts under Leo V the Armenian?
Yulia M. Shevarenkova
Verbal Hagiography of Seraphim of Sarov
Patrology
Dmitry Biriukov
Hierarchies of Beings in the Patristic Thought: Maximus the Confessor, John of Damascus, and the Palamites
Irina Kolbutova
The Book of the Body of Christ: Jewish-Christian Mysticism of Lett ers and the Name of God as an Origin for the Christian Spiritual Exegesis
Dirk Krausmuller
A Chalcedonian Conundrum: the Singularity of the Hypostasis of Christ
Alexey Ostrovsky and Maia Raphava
Notes on Georgian Translations of the Works of Nicetas Stethatos
Olena Syrtsova
L’anthropologie apocryphe et le traité Περὶ Ἀρχῶν d’Origène
Review Articles
Dmitry Biriukov
Providence and fate in the ancient philosophical tradition and in Greek patristics
Basil Lourié
Notes on Mar Pinḥas: A “Nestorian” Foundation Legend; the Liturgy Implied; Polemics against Jewish Mysticism; an Early Christian Apology Used; Syrian Monasticism from Athens
Olga Mitrenina
The Corpora of Old and Middle Russian Texts as an Advanced Tool for Exploring an Extinguished Language
Aleksandr V. Pigin
A new book on Old Russian demonology
Tatiana A. Senina (moniale Kassia)
Deux livres sur Cassia de Constantinople
Christos A. Zafiropoulos
Ahiqar, his Tale and the Vita Aesopi
Reviews
What Was the Question? The Inter-Byzantine Discussions about the Filioque, Nicephorus Blemmydes, and Gregory of Cyprus (B. Lourié)
Прп. Максим Исповедник, Богословско-полемические сочинения (Opuscula Theologica et Polemica), пер. с древнегреч. Д. А. ЧЕРНОГЛАЗОВА и А. М. ШУФРИНА; научн. ред., предисл. и комм. Г. И. БЕНЕВИЧА [St Maximus the Confessor, Opuscula Theologica et Polemica, Russian tr. by D. A. Chernoglazov and A. M. Choufrine; ed., intr. and comm. by G. I. Benevich] (G. B.)
Warren T. Woodfin, The Embodied Icon. Liturgical Vestments and Sacramental Power in Byzantium (T. Sénina)
Two Books on Fr Antonii (Anthony) Bulatovich (1870–1919) and the Imiaslavie (Onomatodoxy, Name-Glorifying) (B. Lourié)
The Monks and Their Reading (O. Mitrenina)
A Lonely Church as a Symbol of Faith and Power (B. Lourié)
Syriaca et Varia Orientalia (B. Lourié)
Das russisch-deutsche Seminar „Simon Lüdwigowitsch Frank: der deutsche Kontext der russischen Philosophie“ (A. Malinov)

Table of Contents Editorial Main Theme Armeniaca Gayane Khachatryan. The Bible and the Royal ... more Table of Contents

Editorial

Main Theme

Armeniaca

Gayane Khachatryan. The Bible and the Royal Power: Legitimation of the Bagratid Dynasty in Medieval Armenian Historiography
Zaroui Pogossian. State and Religion: Foundation and Patronage of Monasteries as a Method of Territory Control in 9th c. Armenia

Syro-Iranica et Syro-Mongolica

Sergey Minov. Zoroastrian Mythological Motifs and the Phenomenon of Christian Acculturation in Sasanian Mesopotamia
Anton Pritula. Syriac Poetry in the Mongol Time: From Monastery Cells to Royal Tents

Syro-Coptica et Syro-Arabica

Johannes den Heijer. Relations between Copts and Syrians in the Light of Discoveries at Dayr as-Suryān
Alexander Treiger. Maronite, Melkite, or Jacobite? Investigating the Confessional Affiliation of ʿAbd al-Masīḥ ibn Nāʿima al-Ḥimṣī, the Arab Christian Translator of Plotinus
Nikolai Seleznyov. History of Ecumenism: The Forgotten Early Period

Æthiopica

Steven Kaplan. The Exaltation of Holy Cross and the Deposition of the Emperor of Ethiopia: Lïj Iyasu and a Mäsqäl Drama

VARIA

Dmitry Karanov. Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Emergence of Ethnic Identity of the Ingrian Finns in the Nineteenth Century
Elena Glavatskaya. "In a Very Elegant Gothic Style": A History of the Catholic Tradition in the Middle Urals from Late 1600s until the Late 1930s
Igor Kometchikov. The Vows of Socialism: A Transformation of Religious Holidays in Rural Nechernozemye in mid-1940s — early 1960s
Anna Ozhiganova. The Children of New Age: a Utopian Project of Anastasia Movement

Academia

Dmitrij Biriukov. The Neoplatonic Tetrad in the Context of the Topic of the Hierarchy of Beings in the Patristic Thought: Maximus the Confessor and John of Damascus

Book Reviews

Seleznyov, Nikolai (2014) Pax Christiana et Pax Islamica: On the History of Interconfessional Relations in the Medieval Near East. Moscow: Russian State University for the Humanities. – 264 p. (In Russian)
Noble, Samuel and Treiger, Alexander (2014) The Orthodox Church in the Arab World, 700–1700: An Anthology of Sources / Foreword by Metropolitan Ephrem (Kyriakos). DeKalb, IL.: Northern Illinois University Press. – 355 p.
Beaumont, Justin and Baker, Christopher (eds) (2011) Postsecular Cities: Space, Theory and Practice. London: Continuum. – 276 p.
Schönpflug, Daniel and Wessel, Martin Schulze (eds) (2012) Redefining the Sacred. Religion in the French and Russian Revolutions. Berlin: Peter Lang. – 226 p.
Stausberg, Michael and Engler, Steven (eds) (2014) The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion. London and New York: Routledge. – 543 p.

""Inhaltsverzeichnis Miscellanea Orientalia Christiana Von den Herausgebern SYRIACA Y... more ""Inhaltsverzeichnis

Miscellanea Orientalia Christiana

Von den Herausgebern

SYRIACA

Yulia Furman
Der erste Schöpfungstag und die „ersten Naturen“ in der „Geschichte der zeitlichen Welt“ von Johannes bar Penkaye

Evgeny Barsky, Maksim Kalinin
„Werdet nicht wie die Kinder“: Adam im dritten Band von Isaak dem Syrer

Grigory Kessel
Isaak von Ninive. Zwei Traktate aus der neugefundenen Sammlung

Yury Arzhanov
Aristotelische Naturphilosophie in der syrischen Schule

Nikolai Seleznyov
Sieben Kanones und neun Zeichen: Der doktrinäre Teil des liturgischen Poems „Deutung der Geheimnisse“ von Johannes bar Zoʿbi

Mikhail Tolstoluzhenko
„Hier ist die Stiftshütte des Gottes des Jakobus“: Spitznamen als Argument in der interkonfessionellen Polemik

CAUCASIANA

Igor Dorfmann-Lazarev
Rückkehr zur Geburtshöhle: das Gedächtnis der erstgeschaffenen Menschheit in der armenischen „Schrift über die Kindheit des Herrn“ und in den verwandten Quellen

Tamara Pataridze
Gibt es Übersetzungen aus der syrischen in die georgische Sprache?

Dmitri Korobeinikov
Am Vorabend von Manzikert: Ein armenisches Kolophon aus dem Jahr 1067

COPTICA & AETHIOPICA

Anton Voytenko
Eine koptische Legende über Eudoxia als eine „alternative Geschichte“ der Regierung von Konstantin dem Großen

Dmitri Bumazhnov
Unbekannte christliche Parallelen zum Gespräch Jesu mit einem Schädel

Alexey Gudkov
Der äthiopische Buchschreiber (anhand der Miniaturmalerei von 14.–18. Jh. und der Feldforschungen vom Ende des 20.–Anfang des 21. Jh.)

TURCICA

Anton Pritula
Syroturcica: Ein zweisprachiges Strophengedicht aus der Mongolenzeit

ARABICA

Alexander Treiger
Die Christologie des „Briefes von den Christen Zyperns“

Nikolai Seleznyov
„Passio secundum Ibn al-Akfānī“: Die Lehre der christlichen Konfessionen über die Kreuzesleiden in der traditionellen arabisch-islamischen Religionswissenschaft

Konstantin Pantschenko
Gedenken an die Vergangenheit: Der antiochenische Patriarch Makarius III. az-Zaʿīm als Historiker

Dmitry Morozov
Eine neue Arbeit zur Frühgeschichte der Bibeltexte in der arabischen Sprache

Unsere Autoren
"

Table of Contents :: Editorial :: SYRIACA :: Yulia Furman, The first day of the Creation and "the first natures" in the History of the Temporal World of John bar Penkaye :: Evgeny Barsky, Maksim Kalinin, "Do not be like children": Adam in the Third volume of Isaac the Syrian :: Grigory Kessel, Two treatises from the newly discovered collection of Isaac of Nineveh :: Yury Arzhanov, Physica of Aristotle in the Syriac school :: Nikolai Seleznyov, Seven canons and nine signs: Doctrinal part of the liturgical poem of John bar Zo'bi Explanation of the Mysteries :: Mikhail Tolstoluzhenko, "Here is the tabernacle of God of Jacob": the nickname as argument in the inter-denominational polemics :: CAUCASIANA :: Igor Dorfmann-Lazarev, Return to the Cave of the Nativity: the memory of the first created humanity in the Armenian "Writing about the Childhood of the Lord" and the related sources :: Tamara Pataridze, Do the translations from Syriac into Georgian exist? :: Dimitri Korobeinikov, Before Mantzikert: An Armenian Colophon of 1067 :: COPTICA et AETHIOPICA :: Anton Voytenko, The Coptic legend on Eudoxia as an "alternative history" of the reign of Constantine the Great :: Dmitrij Bumazhnov, Unknown Christian parallels to the Muslim legend on the dialog between Jesus and the skull :: Alexey Gudkov, The Ethiopian Scribe (with reference to the miniature painting of the 14th-18th century and the field research from the late 20th-early 21st century) :: TURCICA :: Anton Pritula, Syroturcica: Bilingual poem from the Mongol time :: ARABICA :: Alexander Treiger, The Christology of the Letter from the People of Cyprus :: Nikolai Seleznyov, Passio secundum Ibn al-Akfani: the doctrine of Christ’s Passions on the Cross in the traditional Muslim religious studies :: Constantin Panchenko, To recall the past: Patriarch Macarius of Antioch as historian :: Dmitry Morozov, A new book on the early history of the text of the Arabic Bible. [Review of Sidney H. Griffith, The Bible in Arabic: The Scriptures of the "People of the Book" in the Language of Islam]."

"SYRIACA • ARABICA • IRANICA Éditorial AU BORD DES FLEUVES DE BABYLONE Sergey Minov, Des... more "SYRIACA • ARABICA • IRANICA

Éditorial

AU BORD DES FLEUVES DE BABYLONE

Sergey Minov, Des motifs iraniens dans la Caverne des trésors et le problème de l’acculturation des chrétiens syriaques dans l’empire Sassanide

Reuven Kiperwasser, Serge Ruzer, Initier un zoroastrien à l’Écriture Sainte: Les stratégies polémiques des narrations de l’initiation rabbinique et syro-chrétienne

AINSI PARLAIT ZARATHOUSTRA

Evgeny Barsky, “Zardosht qui est aussi Barukh le scribe”: À propos d’une identiﬁcation dans le Livre de l’abeille de Solomon de Basra

Yulia Furman, Les Perses et leur religion dans L’Histoire d’Yohannan bar Penkaye

SPECULUM MAIUS

Alexander Treiger, “La christologie de miroir” d’al-Ghazali et ses sources syriaques probables

Dmitrij Bumazhnov, Le mond, si beau dans sa faiblesse: St. Isaac le Syrien sur la chute d’Adam et l’imperfection du mond, selon les Centuria 4, 89 inédits

Grigory Kessel, Shemon d-Taybuteh et son héritage littéraire. Chapitres choisis du Livre de la grâce

ROMÉENS ET ARAMÉENS

Yury Arzhanov, “Regardons comment ceux qui fussent habiles à la sagesse élevaient ses âmes…”: Les traductions syriaques des textes éthico-philosophiques

Yury Arzhanov, Un recueil syriaque des sentences de Socrate, Platon, Aristote et Diogène

Alexei Muraviev, La légende sur Julien l’Apostat chez at-Tabari et ses sources syriaques

Nikolai Seleznyov, Héraclius et Ishoyahb II: Un épisode oriental de l’histoire du projet “œcuménique” de l’empereur byzantin

TEXTES ET CONTEXTES

Anton Pritula, Khamis bar Qardahe - un poète syriaque oriental du ﬁn du xiiième siècle

Dmitry Morozov, À propos de la critique textuelle des documents arabes chrétiens

Constantin Panchenko, La destruction de l’église Mart Maryam de Damas à 924: Un témoin oculaire

Dmitry Morozov, Ekaterina Gerasimova, Carolus Rali Dadichi et la Bibliotheca orientalis d’Assemani: L’avis d’un oriental sur la popularisation de la littérature syriaque en Europe

Brèves notices sur nos auteurs

"SYRIACA & ARABICA Éditorial VARIÉTÉ CONFESSIONNELLE Alexander Treiger, Le christianis... more "SYRIACA & ARABICA

Éditorial

VARIÉTÉ CONFESSIONNELLE

Alexander Treiger, Le christianisme arabe: Précis

Nikolai Seleznyov, Un clerc syro-occidental d’Arfad et le métropolitain de Jérusalem, de l’Église de l’Orient. Le livre de l’unanimité de la foi et sa recension en garšūnī (karshuni)

LA CULTURE ISLAMIQUE: LES INTERCONNEXIONS

Andrey Smirnov, Les motifs chrétiens dans l’arabesque de la pensée islamique: Ibn ‘Arabi et al-Kirmani

Dmitrij Bumazhnov, Le dialogue avec un crâne à la charnière des religions: L’histoire d’un sujet de littérature chrétienne et musulmane

Sergey Minov, Le récit du Comment Dieu créa Adam: Un cas d’influence islamique sur la littérature apocryphe slave

Mikhail Tolstoluzhenko, Jacques bar Shakko sur la Providence divine

LA BIBLE ET LES APOCRYPHES

Dmitry Morozov, La Bible et la philologie arabe en Russie (1991-2010)

Alexander Saminsky, L’Épilogue de l’Évangile de l’Enfance du Sauveur en lecture et figures, par Isḥāq ibn Abī ’l-Faraǧ, prêtre et médecin, selon le manuscrit arabe de la Biblioteca Laurenziana (Florence) Orient. 387

Anton Pritula, Une hymne syro-orientale sur l’Enfance du Christ et ses parallèles prosaïques, syriaques et arabes

LA MYSTIQUE ET L’ASCÈSE

Grigory Kessel, Un fragment du Livre d’admonitions – ouvrage perdu – par Abraham bar Dashandad dans la Lettre sur la priorité de l’abstinence d’Élie de Nisibe

Alexander Treiger, Le paradis noétique: Un traité mystique et ascétique en version arabe

DOCUMENTS LITTÉRAIRES

Kirill Dmitriev, L’École poétique d’al-Hira et les origines de la poésie arabe sur le vin: Qafiyyah de ‘Adi ibn Zayd al-‘Ibadi

Yury Arzhanov, Sentences syriaques de Ménandre en leurs relations avec les gnomologies grecques et arabes

DOCUMENTS HISTORIQUES

La chronique d’Yohannan bar Penkaye sur l’époque de la conquête arabe (trad. du syriaque par Yulia Furman)

Les chrétiens dans l’œuvre encyclopédique d’un clerc de la chancellerie mamelouke: al-Qalqashandi sur le christianisme et ses confessions (trad. de l’arabe par Nikolai Seleznyov sous la révision de Dmitry Morozov)

Dmitry Morozov, Une mission libanaise à la cour d’Anne Ire de Russie

Brèves notices sur nos auteurs

"CULTURE RELIGIEUSE DES SYRIENS AUTOUR DE LA BIBLE Sergey Minov, Adam et Ève dans La Cave... more "CULTURE RELIGIEUSE DES SYRIENS

AUTOUR DE LA BIBLE

Sergey Minov, Adam et Ève dans La Caverne des Trésors syriaque

Evgeny Barsky, La prière ou les pleurs ? La version syriaque du 4e Livre d’Ezras dans l’histoire des traductions bibliques

SPIRITUALITÉ ET LITURGIE

Aryeh Kofsky, Serge Ruzer, Le jardin des délices ascétiques et les stratégies herméneutiques dans le Liber Graduum

Natalia Smelova, Une langue symbolique : La typologie des Theotokia dans l’hymnographie syriaque traduite du grec

Alexander Treiger, L’humanité du Christ pouvait–elle voir sa divinité ? La polémique entre Jean de Dalyatha et Timothée I, catholicos de l’Église de l’Orient, au VIIIe siècle

Lettre 34 de Jean de Dalyatha (traduite du syriaque par Nikolai Seleznyov)

Anton Pritula, Compositions liturgiques syro-orientales (ʻonyata) et les homélies de Narsaï : Six hymnes du recueil liturgique Warda

CONTROVERSES CONFESSIONNELLES

Nikolai Seleznyov, Le nom de Nestorius de Constantinople comme symbole et la question de sa vénération dans la tradition chrétienne syro-orientale

Yury Arzhanov, À propos de l’histoire du christianisme et du judaïsme en Arabie pré-islamique

Alexei Muraviev, Memra de Jacques de Saroug sur Siméon le Stylite dans le contexte de l’histoire des controverses confessionnelles en Orient syrien aux Ve-VIe siècles

LITTÉRATURE SYRIAQUE

Grigory Kessel, Le Livret des morceaux : une anthologie de la littérature syro-orientale

Mikhail Tolstoluzhenko, Le livre des Trésors de Jacques bar Šakko : une complilation théologique de l’époque de la renaissance syriaque

DOCUMENTS ARABES

Dmitry Morozov, Les textes perdus et retrouvés d’Ephrem le Syrien

Nikolai Seleznyov, Le Catholicos de l’Église de l’Orient Élie III et son Homélie sur la Fête de la Nativité du Christ

Brèves notices sur nos auteurs
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NESTORIUS AND THE CHURCH OF THE EAST What is the attitude of the Church of the East towards Nes... more NESTORIUS AND THE CHURCH OF THE EAST

What is the attitude of the Church of the East towards Nestorius? and how should one understand Nestorius’ own teaching if it is perceived in the context of the East-Syrian tradition of the Church of the East? These are the questions the author of this book treats in his research.

Though Nestorius was not the founder of this Church, nor her head, and never belonged to the jurisdiction of the Catholicos of the East, it is evident from the present study that solidarity with Nestorius witnessed by the Church of the East is proved historically. Insofar as the Church of the East was becoming aware of the circumstances of the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), she was increasingly sure that the condemnation of Nestorius was unjust. As for his teaching, she considered it as an adequate response to the problems which the Antiochene tradition then faced. The acts of the synods of the Church of the East, as they are known from the Synodicon orientale, are rather moderate in expressing such a position, and in the liturgical texts Nestorius presented as a confessor of orthodoxy, though his doctrine is not included there. Nevertheless, the works by Nestorius and, in particular, his apology entitled Book of Heracleides, were well known in the Church of the East and gained authority there, especially, in the famous Great Monastery on the mount Izla. Under the influence of them, Mar Babai Rabba, the most important author in the history of the doctrinal development of the Church of the East, undertook his Christological synthesis of the Antiochene tradition and the original Mesopotamian thought.

The teaching of Nestorius, as it is presented in his ‘apology’, when compared with the polemical arguments of Cyril of Alexandria, demonstrates that the position of the Church of the East, showing that the real doctrine of Nestorius is not identical with its interpretation made and condemned by the Council of Ephesus, is very convincing. One can see that notion of the crucial terms such as Theotokos and Sonship in the Book of Heracleides differs from what is witnessed in Cyril’s writings, and that some statements attributed to Nestorius by the Council of Ephesus (confession of ‘two sons/christs’, separating the unique person of Christ into two, saying that Christ and the Word of God are ‘one and another’ etc.) are clearly denied by Nestorius.

The author of this book tries to find out and explain the common sources of the Antiochene tradition and the Church of the East. He demonstrates that both traditions were based on the exegetical methods of the Jewish schools of Syria and Babylon and were influenced by the Semitic mentality of the Aramaic speaking population of the regions. This helps us to find solutions to the ‘difficult’ moments which are in writings of the Antiochene authors, including Nestorius, by putting them back into the context of Semitic thought which is original though much hellenised in ‘the West’. Reading Nestorius like this lets us understand better why the Church of the East declared him one of the Doctors of orthodoxy. Historically, this ‘reading’ took place when the works of Nestorius were translated into Syriac in Persia and were considered in the context of the oral tradition started there by Addai the Apostle and connected with such authors as Ephrem the Syrian and Narsai.

In 1997, the Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East declared that she removed the anathemas against Cyril of Alexandria and Severus of Antioch from her liturgical books. The Western Christian community could respond by denying the 'traditional' connection between the name of Nestorius and the interpretation of his teaching made by his opponents. That would mean that Nestorius himself should not be anathemised.

The Antiochene tradition kept by the Church of the East is a very important part of the Tradition of the Universal Church. It not only played a significant role in the past, but is also necessary for the future. In particular, it solves the main problem of Christology: Christ is not divided into the ‘Jesus of history’ and the ‘Christ of faith’ in this tradition, but he is one and the same, whose historical humanity is regarded as an element of special importance for the Christian faith.

CHRISTOLOGY OF THE CHURCH OF THE EAST The research presented by the book is aimed at explaining ... more CHRISTOLOGY OF THE CHURCH OF THE EAST

The research presented by the book is aimed at explaining the Christological conception of the Assyrian Church of the East otherwise known as the East Syrian Church. Like the other Apostolic Churches, the Church of the East developed its Christological confession as a series of antitheses against those propositions that contradicted its tradition. The positive content of the confession, accepted along with the Gospel, can, however, be considered independently. This book represents an attempt to clear up and analyze the non-polemical content of the Christology of the Church of the East.

The author has been fortunate to be in touch with representatives of the Church and to get an idea of the principles of its Christology at first hand.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part is an overview of the studies that have concerned the Church of the East and its theology and it includes an additional chapter dealing with Russian studies in the field. The second and main section contains a series of chapters discussing the Christology of the main authors of the Church of the East, the acts of its synods, the liturgical testimony, the witness of some Western outsiders (Catholics & Anglicans) and, finally, the ‘Eastern’ documents – the body of the Chinese Christian texts and an Uighur fragment The Worship of the Magi, where the doctrine of the Church of the East is reflected as it was presented by its missionaries. The third, final, part is a concluding overview of the Christology of this Church with the main principles considered in comparison with those of the ‘Chalcedonian’ Churches.

The research follows a chronological order while the concurrent theological movements as well as the consecutive stages of development of the doctrine are considered comparatively.

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST This book represents a survey of The History of the ... more HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST

This book represents a survey of The History of the Assyrian Church of the East otherwise known as the East Syrian Church.

• Apostolic activity in the Parthian Empire. Osrhoene;
• The Sasanians (224-651) – severe persecutions by the Zoroastrian power and flourishing of the Schools;
• The Arab Reign (651-1258) – persecutions, taxation, restrictions and the role of the East Syrians as an elite of the new culture;
• The Mongolian Empire and the Turks from Genghis Khan to Timur and the destiny of the Church of the East from a great flourishing under the Mongols to a hard suffering from the Islamic rulers. An ‘ecumenical’ mission of Mar Yahbalaha III Catholicos and his vicar Bar Sawma to the West;
• Survival in the mountains of Kurdistan (1405-1914);
• The Church of the East in exile (from 1914 on) – the Assyrians flee from the genocide; their emigration and scattering all over the world.
• The ‘Western’ missions and consequences of their activities amongst the Assyrians: the Catholics (Spanish, Italian & French Dominicans and Lazarists), the American and German Protestants, the Anglican mission and, finally, the Russian Orthodox one. Some remarks on the latter.

From the Apostolic age on, the East Syrians followed the Silk Road and bore Christianity to Arabia, India, Turkestan, China. The history of this movement is represented as a ‘parallel line’. The history of the East Syrian asceticism forms a separate chapter.

Hopefully, this work will be useful not only as an introduction to the history of the Church of the East, but also as a concise reference book.

In Russian: Bogoslovskie sobesedovaniia mezhdu Katolikosom Cerkvi Vostoka Mar Timateosom I (727-8... more In Russian: Bogoslovskie sobesedovaniia mezhdu Katolikosom Cerkvi Vostoka Mar Timateosom I (727-823) i Khalifom al-Mahdi, povelitelem pravovernykh. Moscow, 2005.

The Dialogue between Catholicos Timothy I (727-823) of the Church of the East and Caliph al-Mahdi. Translated from Arabic into Russian by Nikolai N. Seleznyov in consultation with Dmitry A. Morozov. The translation is based on Putman's edition of the Dialogue published in Beirut in 1975.

Papers by Nikolai Seleznyov

Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, 2021

Bibliography of Syriac and Christian Arabic Studies in Russian, 2020

Gosudarstvo, religiia, tserkov’ v Rossii i za rubezhom 38(3): 237–254, 2020

In the Compendium of Chronicles (Jāmi‘ al-tawārīkh) of a famous medieval scholar, physician, and ... more In the Compendium of Chronicles (Jāmi‘ al-tawārīkh) of a famous medieval scholar, physician, and influential vizier at the Ilkhanid court Rashīd al-Dīn Hamadhānī (1249/50–1318) that was compiled on the basis of the works of the court historian Abū-l-Qāsim Qāshānī (died after 1323/4), one finds the History of India (Tārīkh al-Hind wa’l-Sind), which contains a lengthy section about the Buddha and Buddhism. Among the Arabic sources on Buddhism, this work of Rashīd al-Dīn is considered to be the most important. One of the chapters in this section is a version of the famous Buddhist sutra adapted for the Muslim reader, in which the Buddhist teachings and ethical principles are presented in the form of questions-riddles addressed by a heavenly being to Buddha and his answers given to them. The article provides a survey of the Asiatic versions of this work that were in use in Buddhist cultures in the Middle Ages, as well as a comparison of the Muslim and Buddhist interpretations of this sutra presented in the Arabic version of the Compendium of Chronicles. The article is followed by an edition of the Arabic text of the sutra based on the only preserved manuscript from the London collection Khalili MSS 727, and its Russian translation.

Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, 2020

Grigory Kessel and Nikolai N. Seleznyov, "Bibliography of Syriac and Christian Arabic Studies in ... more Grigory Kessel and Nikolai N. Seleznyov, "Bibliography of Syriac and Christian Arabic Studies in Russian, 2019." Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 23.1 (2020): 181–191.

Scrinium, 2019

In the first, still unpublished, volume of The Blessed Compendium (al-Majmūʿ al-mubārak) – the hi... more In the first, still unpublished, volume of The Blessed Compendium (al-Majmūʿ al-mubārak) – the historical work of the 13th-century Arabic-speaking Christian writer al-Makīn ibn al-ʿAmīd, there is a chapter on the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II the Younger (r. 402-450). In this chapter, Ibn al-ʿAmīd retells the famous story of Moses of Crete, “who appeared among the Jews” and declared himself to be the Messiah to subsequent tragic disappointment of those who believed in him. The present article discusses this story and suggests an explanation for the discrepancies between Ibn al-ʿAmīd’s text and its Arabic source – the Book of the Heading (Kitāb al-ʿUnwān) of Agapius of Manbij (Hierapolis).

In: Jakobiter: Vilka är de? Uppkomsten av dagens syrisk-ortodoxa kyrka. En historisk bakgrund. Del I / redaktör Jan Beṯ-Şawoce. Södertälje (Sverige): Beṯ-froso Nsibin, 2019, pp. 13–23. – ISBN 978-91-88328-66-3., 2019

In Swedish: Det är en vanlig uppfattning att ett av de viktigaste samfunden i östkristendom – jak... more In Swedish: Det är en vanlig uppfattning att ett av de viktigaste samfunden i östkristendom – jakobiterna – hänger samman med den syriske biskopen Yaˁqub Baraday, som verkade under 500-talet, och kallades ”jakobit” efter honom. Medeltida källor visar emellertid att verkligheten var mer komplicerad. Verk av egyptisk arabiska författare, både muslimska och kristna, som undersökts i den här artikeln, är speciellt intressanta på grund av en särskild teori som de lagt fram: att namnet “jakobiter” härrör från lekmannanamnet som bars av Diyosqoros, påve av Alexandria. Föreliggande studie ger en omfattande översikt om framväxten av de olika tolkningarna av termens ursprung.

Översättning från engelska Lennart Simonsson