The hills are alive
5 hours ago
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Monday, July 06, 2009
Remembering the martyrs of the 1860 Christian massacre
On the tenth of July we commemorate the martyr Joseph and his Companions. A married man, St Joseph was at first a weaver and then was ordained to the priesthood at the age of twenty-four in 1817. He served in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos (al-Mariamiyeh) in the heart of the Old City of Damascus.
On Monday, July 9th, 1860, the brutal massacre of Christians, which began in the mountains of the Lebanon, spread to Damascus. Some Damascenes fled for the port city of Beirut. The majority, however, took refuge in al-Mariamiyeh. Many had previously fled to Damascus from their mountain villages, while others came to the Cathedral from the Christian Quarter of Damascus and the villages that surrounded the city.
St Joseph took his communion kit and made his way to the Cathedral by jumping from rooftop to rooftop across the narrow streets of the Old City. As he went, he stopped to hear confession and offer Communion to the aged and infirm who could not flee their homes.
On Tuesday morning, July 10th, the Cathedral was surrounded, pillaged and burned by a fanatical Druze crowd. Those inside the holy temple perished in the flames; of those who escaped and fled into the streets, most were shot or caught and forced back into the burning building, while only a few, including St Joseph, survived.
Recognizing him as the “leader of the Christians,” the Druze persecutors savagely attacked him with axes. Then, binding his legs with ropes, they dragged his mutilated body through the streets to be mocked and spat upon by jeering onlookers. St Joseph’s sacred relics were then unceremoniously pitched into the city dump along with those of the other New Martyrs (numbering 2500 men plus women and children).
St Joseph and his Companions were recognized as Saints by the Synod of the Patriarchate of Antiochian Church in 1993.
A Divine Liturgy for St. Joseph of Damascus will be held this Friday, July 10 ∙ 8am at St. Elijah Antiochian Orthodox Church in Oklahoma City.
On Monday, July 9th, 1860, the brutal massacre of Christians, which began in the mountains of the Lebanon, spread to Damascus. Some Damascenes fled for the port city of Beirut. The majority, however, took refuge in al-Mariamiyeh. Many had previously fled to Damascus from their mountain villages, while others came to the Cathedral from the Christian Quarter of Damascus and the villages that surrounded the city.
St Joseph took his communion kit and made his way to the Cathedral by jumping from rooftop to rooftop across the narrow streets of the Old City. As he went, he stopped to hear confession and offer Communion to the aged and infirm who could not flee their homes.
On Tuesday morning, July 10th, the Cathedral was surrounded, pillaged and burned by a fanatical Druze crowd. Those inside the holy temple perished in the flames; of those who escaped and fled into the streets, most were shot or caught and forced back into the burning building, while only a few, including St Joseph, survived.
Recognizing him as the “leader of the Christians,” the Druze persecutors savagely attacked him with axes. Then, binding his legs with ropes, they dragged his mutilated body through the streets to be mocked and spat upon by jeering onlookers. St Joseph’s sacred relics were then unceremoniously pitched into the city dump along with those of the other New Martyrs (numbering 2500 men plus women and children).
St Joseph and his Companions were recognized as Saints by the Synod of the Patriarchate of Antiochian Church in 1993.
A Divine Liturgy for St. Joseph of Damascus will be held this Friday, July 10 ∙ 8am at St. Elijah Antiochian Orthodox Church in Oklahoma City.
O faithful, let us honor the martyr of Christ,A more detailed account of St. Joseph's life can be found on the Balamand Orthodox Seminary website...
The priest of the Church of Antioch,
Who baptized the land, the churches, and the people of Syria,
In the word of the Lord,
In his blood and in the blood of his companions.
Being baptized, since his youth, by the light of the Gospel,
He labored, taught
And kept the Church of Christ with her sheep.
Therefore, O Joseph the Damascene,
Be our example and our protector
And our fervent intercessor with the Savior.
- Troparion of Saint Jospeh of Damascus
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Priceless Manuscript now has price- Dan Brown to the Rescue?
Thanks to Steve Caruso, of Aramaic Designs, who first brought this to my attention...
Westminster College in Cambridge, England (but not OF Cambridge University) is in need of renovations. This is an expensive endeavor of course, but rather than making an appeal to their founding organization, the United Reformed Church, they've come upon a creative financial tool: auctioning off the Codex Climaci Rescriptus with the help of Sotheby's. Read the article here.
Notice the reference to Dan Brown. It is depressing that on the topic of Christian history, conspiracy fiction is the first reference that comes to mind. (It's not really Dan Brown's fault, my previous denominations unwittingly paved the way for Brown and built demand by preaching from the genre for years).
This "Codex" is a 6th century document and is an important manuscript witness to the Greek text of the Gospels. It includes the Palestinian Aramaic Old and New Testament and a Syriac copy of writings by St. John Climacus, one of the most important spiritual authors in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is thought the Syriac translation here was copied directly from the saint's autograph manuscript. The original home of the Codex was St. Catherine's monastery at Mt. Sinai. This isn't the first important Christian work to disappear from St. Catherine's under dubious circumstances.
The more ancient Christianity's heritage is lost, the more people will turn by default to such authors as Dan Brown, as this Forbes article has done like a well crafted object lesson.
Scholars have not only weighed in on the topic at Yahoo's Syriac discussion group, but are actively lobbying the powers that be. The discussion group is usually not a busy one, but the Sotheby's auction has prompted a flurry of responses from noted scholars such as Dr Robert Hiebert, Director of Trinity Western University's Septuagint Institute; Dr Alison Salvesen, Oxford University, and George Kiraz.
Robert Hiebert: If the reference below is to Dan Brown of The Da Vinci Code etc., God help us all. ... I would echo the sentiments/wishes of others that the Codex remain in Cambridge or, failing that, that it find its way to another reputable academic institution.
Dr. Erica Hunter (Lecturer in Hebrew and Aramaic, Cambridge University): It is indeed regrettable that this auction should be contemplated for a number of reasons... The Taylor-Schechter Genizah collection (housed in the Cambridge University Library nearby) was donated by the Jewish community in Old Fustat to the University Library, Cambridge at the end of the nineteenth century, but some stringent conditions were attached.
Bas Romeny: Rather shocking to see that Westminster College, a college associated to the University of Cambridge, is canibalizing its library in such a way. I would think that they owe it to their benefactors, the sisters Lewis and Gibson, to take care properly of what has been entrusted to them. ...surely there are other means to get money for a renovation project... ...Now it is possible that it will be bought by a decent institution, but it is equally well thinkable that some rich guy buys it as a nice piece of decoration or simply as an investment. In other words: access to this codex is no longer guaranteed. I think biblical scholars as well as specialists in Aramaic and Syriac should not hesitate to voice their concern over this sale...
George Kiraz: I too encourage everyone on the Hugoye list to write a statement to Westminster College following Bas’s suggestion. (I just wrote one myself.)
I suppose you have to weigh the possible outcomes: Insure that future scholars can have access to a document confirming the continuity of traditional Christianity (bad for modern culture), OR open the possibility for a bored rich person to frame a leaf or two, hang them on the wall in order that they can be seen by guests at cocktail parties.
The Sotheby's catalog entry can be found here. More information can be found on these blogs:
PaleoJudaica.com,
The Aramaic Blog,
Evangelical Textual Criticism.
Westminster College in Cambridge, England (but not OF Cambridge University) is in need of renovations. This is an expensive endeavor of course, but rather than making an appeal to their founding organization, the United Reformed Church, they've come upon a creative financial tool: auctioning off the Codex Climaci Rescriptus with the help of Sotheby's. Read the article here.Notice the reference to Dan Brown. It is depressing that on the topic of Christian history, conspiracy fiction is the first reference that comes to mind. (It's not really Dan Brown's fault, my previous denominations unwittingly paved the way for Brown and built demand by preaching from the genre for years).
This "Codex" is a 6th century document and is an important manuscript witness to the Greek text of the Gospels. It includes the Palestinian Aramaic Old and New Testament and a Syriac copy of writings by St. John Climacus, one of the most important spiritual authors in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is thought the Syriac translation here was copied directly from the saint's autograph manuscript. The original home of the Codex was St. Catherine's monastery at Mt. Sinai. This isn't the first important Christian work to disappear from St. Catherine's under dubious circumstances.
The more ancient Christianity's heritage is lost, the more people will turn by default to such authors as Dan Brown, as this Forbes article has done like a well crafted object lesson.
Scholars have not only weighed in on the topic at Yahoo's Syriac discussion group, but are actively lobbying the powers that be. The discussion group is usually not a busy one, but the Sotheby's auction has prompted a flurry of responses from noted scholars such as Dr Robert Hiebert, Director of Trinity Western University's Septuagint Institute; Dr Alison Salvesen, Oxford University, and George Kiraz.
Robert Hiebert: If the reference below is to Dan Brown of The Da Vinci Code etc., God help us all. ... I would echo the sentiments/wishes of others that the Codex remain in Cambridge or, failing that, that it find its way to another reputable academic institution.
Dr. Erica Hunter (Lecturer in Hebrew and Aramaic, Cambridge University): It is indeed regrettable that this auction should be contemplated for a number of reasons... The Taylor-Schechter Genizah collection (housed in the Cambridge University Library nearby) was donated by the Jewish community in Old Fustat to the University Library, Cambridge at the end of the nineteenth century, but some stringent conditions were attached.
Bas Romeny: Rather shocking to see that Westminster College, a college associated to the University of Cambridge, is canibalizing its library in such a way. I would think that they owe it to their benefactors, the sisters Lewis and Gibson, to take care properly of what has been entrusted to them. ...surely there are other means to get money for a renovation project... ...Now it is possible that it will be bought by a decent institution, but it is equally well thinkable that some rich guy buys it as a nice piece of decoration or simply as an investment. In other words: access to this codex is no longer guaranteed. I think biblical scholars as well as specialists in Aramaic and Syriac should not hesitate to voice their concern over this sale...
George Kiraz: I too encourage everyone on the Hugoye list to write a statement to Westminster College following Bas’s suggestion. (I just wrote one myself.)
I suppose you have to weigh the possible outcomes: Insure that future scholars can have access to a document confirming the continuity of traditional Christianity (bad for modern culture), OR open the possibility for a bored rich person to frame a leaf or two, hang them on the wall in order that they can be seen by guests at cocktail parties.
The Sotheby's catalog entry can be found here. More information can be found on these blogs:
PaleoJudaica.com,
The Aramaic Blog,
Evangelical Textual Criticism.
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