Bishara Ebeid | Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (original) (raw)

Papers by Bishara Ebeid

Asiatische Studien/Études Asiatiques , 2024

Abū l-Faraǧ ʿAbd Allāh Ibn al-Ṭayyib (10th-11th c.) is one of the most important Christian autho... more Abū l-Faraǧ ʿAbd Allāh Ibn al-Ṭayyib (10th-11th c.) is one of the most important Christian authors of his time. He was a physician, philosopher and also theologian belonging to the East Syrian Church. He wrote many works on medicine, commentaries on most of the works of Aristotle, Galen and Hippocrates, exegetical works on most of the books of the Holy Scripture and dogmatic treatises. Additionally, he was one among the first East Syrian authors who produced collections of ecclesiastical and civil canons and laws in Arabic. His collection, entitled Fiqh al-Naṣrāniyya, that is, Law of Christianity, is not a simple translation of ancient and traditional East Syriac sources of ecclesiastical law but it should be considered a legal source for the East Syrians under the Islamic Caliphate, even if some parts of it are a reworking and rewriting of previous collections, like the Nomokanon of Gabriel of Basra. My contribution, consequentially, aims, to analyse how two specific topics, namely (1) the re-baptism of the converted, heretics and unbelievers and (2) divorce, are treated in Ibn al-Ṭayyib’s Fiqh al-Naṣrāniyya. The analysis aims to examine the way our author recalls and uses the East Syriac legal tradition, the criteria he
follows in selecting material in support of his own position, how he tries to adapt this material to the new socio-political context in which he lives, and finally, whether the Islamic law tradition influences his methodology to any extent.

Dānyāl ibn al-Ḥaṭṭāb al-Mārdīnī (XIVs): I Fondamenti della religione e la guarigione dei cuori dei credenti, Studio, introduzione, testo critico, traduzione italiana note e indici a cura di Mervat Kelli, vol. I, Patrimonio culturale Arabo Cristiano, 27, 2024

Emiliano Fiori – Bishara Ebeid, eds., Florilegia Syriaca. Mapping a Knowledge – Organizing Practice in the Syriac World, 2023

Symposium Syriacum XII. Held at St Lawrence College, Rome 19-21 August 2016. Organized by the Pontifical Oriental Institute on the occasion of the Centenary Celebration (1917-2017) , 2022

Apcrypha, 2021

The Virgin Mary has a prominent place in Coptic Literature, Liturgy and Theology. Scholars have a... more The Virgin Mary has a prominent place in Coptic Literature, Liturgy and Theology. Scholars have already studied some aspects of Coptic Mariology, but Mariology in Arabo-Coptic literature is yet to be researched, especially in apocryphal and pseudepigraphic patristic works. In this paper I aim to highlight this lacuna by examining the figure of the Virgin Mary in two Arabic apocryphal works – the Lament of the Virgin known also as the Arabic Gospel of Gamaliel and the Martyrdom of Pilate, written and redacted in Egypt during the 11th – 12th century, i.e., during the Islamic Fatimid dynasty. I will focus on the revival of the ancient tradition of Mary Apostola Apostolorum, according to which the Virgin was the first person to meet the risen Christ, and on the reasons behind this phenomenon. In fact, the important role that the Virgin Mary assumes in Arabic Christian apocryphal literature reflects the significant place she occupies in the Qurʾān and Islamic tradition, and therefore makes her the most appropriate figure to be used and instrumentalized as defender of Christian doctrines when Christians face difficult circumstances. She becomes the defender of the Christian faith against Islamic accusations of that period, i.e., the polemics against the resurrection of Christ. This paper, then, will bring to light, a new aspect of the veneration of Mary in mediaeval Egypt.

Annali di Scienze Religiose 14, 2022

This paper aims to highlight the original points the West-Syrian and Miaphysite theologian Abū Rā... more This paper aims to highlight the original points the West-Syrian and Miaphysite theologian Abū Rāʾiṭah al-Takrītī (d. 838) uses to defend the addition into the Trisagion hymn: his liturgical arguments, his biblical arguments, and his means of relating Theopaschism to what he maintains to be a proper metaphysical system. The main purpose of the essay, however, is to analyse the patristic quotations Abū Rāʾiṭah provides to support his position and to demonstrate its orthodoxy. A comparative analysis of these quotations with some Syriac florilegia compiled by Miaphysites between the eighth and ninth centuries demonstrates that Abū Rāʾiṭah had access to such florilegia and their sources and used them into creating his own florilegium.

The Trinitarian doctrine of Abū al-Farağ ʻAbd Allah Ibn aṭ-Ṭayyib (10 th -11 th c.) may be consid... more The Trinitarian doctrine of Abū al-Farağ ʻAbd Allah Ibn aṭ-Ṭayyib (10 th -11 th c.) may be considered a good example of an interpretation of the Trinitarian theology and metaphysical system of Babai the Great (7 c.). Babai made an effort to discern between metaphysical terms, such as: substance (kyānā), hypostasis (qnōmā), and person (parṣōpā), making a peculiar mixture of Cappadocian, Nestorian, i.e., East Syrian, and Antiochene theology. Ibn aṭ-Ṭayyib, however, did not make use of Babai‟s terminology. Particularly, although he explained the Trinitarian dogma in a similar way to Babai, he did not apply the term person (parṣōpā) to the Trinitarian theology. This paper aims to show the importance of the Trinitarian thought of Ibn aṭṬayyib. It also answers the following questions: 1) how was he able to make an excellent interpretation of Babai‟s thought in the language and ambient of Islam, and 2) why did he consider it the best way to explain the Trinitarian dogma to the Muslims? THE...

Studia graeco-arabica 11/1, 2021

This paper aims to study and analyse the Trinitarian doctrine of a Syriac Patristic florilegium o... more This paper aims to study and analyse the Trinitarian doctrine of a Syriac Patristic florilegium of Trinitarian content found in MS London, British Library, Add. 14532, in an attempt to understand the reasons that led to its composition. It will include an analysis of the development of Miaphysite metaphysics during the sixth and the seventh centuries, when the Miaphysites had to deal with various internal controversies, and an analytical presentation of the florilegium and of its contents, with an identification of the patristic quotations used by the compiler. The study of the theology and metaphysics of this florilegium will go on to demonstrate that the Miaphysites, starting from their Christology and
the problems it created in their Trinitarian doctrine, formulated a metaphysical system based on a new comprehension of “substance”, “hypostasis”, “property” and “monarchy” and developed what I call
“Miaphysite Trinitarian doctrine”.

Teologia i Człowiek, 2016

The first Scripture for Christians was the Old Testament, which, however, they read in the light ... more The first Scripture for Christians was the Old Testament, which, however, they read in the light of Christ. For them, in disagreement with the Jews themselves, the prophecies of the OT regarding the Messiah were realized in Jesus Christ. In this case, Christians read the OT differently than did Jews, who continued to read the OT according to their tradition while refusing to accept Christ as the Messiah. The Qur'ān, however, accepts that Jesus Christ was al-Masīḥ, but rejects the doctrines of the Trinity and of Christ as the incarnate Son of God the Father. This was, in fact, one of the main differences between the two religions. For their part, Christians, although they did not recognize prophecy in Muḥammad, used the Holy Book of Muslims in their different writings, especially as proof-texting for apologetic purposes. 1

Asiatische Studien/Études Asiatiques , 2024

Abū l-Faraǧ ʿAbd Allāh Ibn al-Ṭayyib (10th-11th c.) is one of the most important Christian autho... more Abū l-Faraǧ ʿAbd Allāh Ibn al-Ṭayyib (10th-11th c.) is one of the most important Christian authors of his time. He was a physician, philosopher and also theologian belonging to the East Syrian Church. He wrote many works on medicine, commentaries on most of the works of Aristotle, Galen and Hippocrates, exegetical works on most of the books of the Holy Scripture and dogmatic treatises. Additionally, he was one among the first East Syrian authors who produced collections of ecclesiastical and civil canons and laws in Arabic. His collection, entitled Fiqh al-Naṣrāniyya, that is, Law of Christianity, is not a simple translation of ancient and traditional East Syriac sources of ecclesiastical law but it should be considered a legal source for the East Syrians under the Islamic Caliphate, even if some parts of it are a reworking and rewriting of previous collections, like the Nomokanon of Gabriel of Basra. My contribution, consequentially, aims, to analyse how two specific topics, namely (1) the re-baptism of the converted, heretics and unbelievers and (2) divorce, are treated in Ibn al-Ṭayyib’s Fiqh al-Naṣrāniyya. The analysis aims to examine the way our author recalls and uses the East Syriac legal tradition, the criteria he
follows in selecting material in support of his own position, how he tries to adapt this material to the new socio-political context in which he lives, and finally, whether the Islamic law tradition influences his methodology to any extent.

Dānyāl ibn al-Ḥaṭṭāb al-Mārdīnī (XIVs): I Fondamenti della religione e la guarigione dei cuori dei credenti, Studio, introduzione, testo critico, traduzione italiana note e indici a cura di Mervat Kelli, vol. I, Patrimonio culturale Arabo Cristiano, 27, 2024

Emiliano Fiori – Bishara Ebeid, eds., Florilegia Syriaca. Mapping a Knowledge – Organizing Practice in the Syriac World, 2023

Symposium Syriacum XII. Held at St Lawrence College, Rome 19-21 August 2016. Organized by the Pontifical Oriental Institute on the occasion of the Centenary Celebration (1917-2017) , 2022

Apcrypha, 2021

The Virgin Mary has a prominent place in Coptic Literature, Liturgy and Theology. Scholars have a... more The Virgin Mary has a prominent place in Coptic Literature, Liturgy and Theology. Scholars have already studied some aspects of Coptic Mariology, but Mariology in Arabo-Coptic literature is yet to be researched, especially in apocryphal and pseudepigraphic patristic works. In this paper I aim to highlight this lacuna by examining the figure of the Virgin Mary in two Arabic apocryphal works – the Lament of the Virgin known also as the Arabic Gospel of Gamaliel and the Martyrdom of Pilate, written and redacted in Egypt during the 11th – 12th century, i.e., during the Islamic Fatimid dynasty. I will focus on the revival of the ancient tradition of Mary Apostola Apostolorum, according to which the Virgin was the first person to meet the risen Christ, and on the reasons behind this phenomenon. In fact, the important role that the Virgin Mary assumes in Arabic Christian apocryphal literature reflects the significant place she occupies in the Qurʾān and Islamic tradition, and therefore makes her the most appropriate figure to be used and instrumentalized as defender of Christian doctrines when Christians face difficult circumstances. She becomes the defender of the Christian faith against Islamic accusations of that period, i.e., the polemics against the resurrection of Christ. This paper, then, will bring to light, a new aspect of the veneration of Mary in mediaeval Egypt.

Annali di Scienze Religiose 14, 2022

This paper aims to highlight the original points the West-Syrian and Miaphysite theologian Abū Rā... more This paper aims to highlight the original points the West-Syrian and Miaphysite theologian Abū Rāʾiṭah al-Takrītī (d. 838) uses to defend the addition into the Trisagion hymn: his liturgical arguments, his biblical arguments, and his means of relating Theopaschism to what he maintains to be a proper metaphysical system. The main purpose of the essay, however, is to analyse the patristic quotations Abū Rāʾiṭah provides to support his position and to demonstrate its orthodoxy. A comparative analysis of these quotations with some Syriac florilegia compiled by Miaphysites between the eighth and ninth centuries demonstrates that Abū Rāʾiṭah had access to such florilegia and their sources and used them into creating his own florilegium.

The Trinitarian doctrine of Abū al-Farağ ʻAbd Allah Ibn aṭ-Ṭayyib (10 th -11 th c.) may be consid... more The Trinitarian doctrine of Abū al-Farağ ʻAbd Allah Ibn aṭ-Ṭayyib (10 th -11 th c.) may be considered a good example of an interpretation of the Trinitarian theology and metaphysical system of Babai the Great (7 c.). Babai made an effort to discern between metaphysical terms, such as: substance (kyānā), hypostasis (qnōmā), and person (parṣōpā), making a peculiar mixture of Cappadocian, Nestorian, i.e., East Syrian, and Antiochene theology. Ibn aṭ-Ṭayyib, however, did not make use of Babai‟s terminology. Particularly, although he explained the Trinitarian dogma in a similar way to Babai, he did not apply the term person (parṣōpā) to the Trinitarian theology. This paper aims to show the importance of the Trinitarian thought of Ibn aṭṬayyib. It also answers the following questions: 1) how was he able to make an excellent interpretation of Babai‟s thought in the language and ambient of Islam, and 2) why did he consider it the best way to explain the Trinitarian dogma to the Muslims? THE...

Studia graeco-arabica 11/1, 2021

This paper aims to study and analyse the Trinitarian doctrine of a Syriac Patristic florilegium o... more This paper aims to study and analyse the Trinitarian doctrine of a Syriac Patristic florilegium of Trinitarian content found in MS London, British Library, Add. 14532, in an attempt to understand the reasons that led to its composition. It will include an analysis of the development of Miaphysite metaphysics during the sixth and the seventh centuries, when the Miaphysites had to deal with various internal controversies, and an analytical presentation of the florilegium and of its contents, with an identification of the patristic quotations used by the compiler. The study of the theology and metaphysics of this florilegium will go on to demonstrate that the Miaphysites, starting from their Christology and
the problems it created in their Trinitarian doctrine, formulated a metaphysical system based on a new comprehension of “substance”, “hypostasis”, “property” and “monarchy” and developed what I call
“Miaphysite Trinitarian doctrine”.

Teologia i Człowiek, 2016

The first Scripture for Christians was the Old Testament, which, however, they read in the light ... more The first Scripture for Christians was the Old Testament, which, however, they read in the light of Christ. For them, in disagreement with the Jews themselves, the prophecies of the OT regarding the Messiah were realized in Jesus Christ. In this case, Christians read the OT differently than did Jews, who continued to read the OT according to their tradition while refusing to accept Christ as the Messiah. The Qur'ān, however, accepts that Jesus Christ was al-Masīḥ, but rejects the doctrines of the Trinity and of Christ as the incarnate Son of God the Father. This was, in fact, one of the main differences between the two religions. For their part, Christians, although they did not recognize prophecy in Muḥammad, used the Holy Book of Muslims in their different writings, especially as proof-texting for apologetic purposes. 1

Edizioni Ca' Foscari , 2023

UCOPress (CNERU)-Èditions de l’USJ (CEDRAC), 2023

This book offers a critical edition and an English translation of the Commentary of the Creed (Ta... more This book offers a critical edition and an English translation of the Commentary of the Creed (Tafsīr al-amānah al-kabīrah) written by Elias, the then-called Nestorian Metropolitan of Nisibis (975-1046 AD). In his Commentary, Elias quotes sections of the Syriac text of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed which his Church, the Oriental Church, adopted. For each section, he gives an Arabic translation and a brief interpretation. The editor, Bishara Ebeid presents the life of Elias in its historical context and offers a comparative analysis of the Syriac and the Arabic versions of the Creed in his Commentary. He makes remarks and he argues about the biblical quotations the author made in his interpretations and provides a study of the main doctrines developed by Elias, such as the Trinitarian and Christological doctrines. Elias’s Commentary is to be considered as an exposition of his Church’s faith in a polemic and apologetic way. In fact, he defends his position regarding the doctrines of the two major Oriental Churches, the Melkites and the Jacobites, and also regarding Islam and its accusations against Christians concerning the Trinity and the dogma of the Incarnation, God the Word.

The research deals with the presentation of the history of dogma, Trinitarian and Christological ... more The research deals with the presentation of the history of dogma, Trinitarian and Christological doctrines of the Melkite Sa'id Ibn Batriq (Eutychius of Alexandria), the Coptic Sawirus (Severus) Ibn al-Muqaffa' and the Nestorian Elias of Nisibis.

The conference is devoted to the Bible among Arab Christians, with a particular focus on its tran... more The conference is devoted to the Bible among Arab Christians, with a particular focus on its translation from ancient languages into Arabic, the new “lingua franca” of the eastern Middle Ages. Some papers will also deal with the use of the Bible in Christian literature of controversy during the Abbasid Caliphate, while others will tackle the Biblical interpretations written in this period. A final panel will focus on the development of apocrypha in Arabic as a key reading for the understanding of Muslim-Christian relationships.