Edessalı Yakup, Edessa Piskoposu ve Klasik Süryanice dilinde önde
gelen Süryani Hıristiyan yazar, en eski Süryanice gramercilerden. Çeşitli
eserlerinde teolojik, liturjik, kanonik, felsefi ve tarihi konuları ele
almıştır. Konular ve Süryani Hristiyanlığının bilimsel ve edebi gelişimine
önemli ölçüde katkıda bulunmuştur. Hristiyan-Arami geleneğinin en önemli
alimlerinden biri olarak kabul edilir.
Yakub’a ait Mektuplar, Tarih,
derlemelerden oluşan bir koleksiyodur. Eserlerinin çoğu nesirdir. Çok azı
yayınlandı. 1911'de mevcut bilgilerin çoğu Giuseppe Simone Assemani'nin
Bibliotheca Orientalis'inde ve Wright'ın British Museum'daki Süryanice MSS
Kataloğu'nda bulunuyordu.
Letters jacob of edessa
Harvard Syriac 93:
https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:45612760$1i
Paris 62:
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b531152203#
Letter to
Addai, Questions nos. 1–73
[Harvard Syriac 93. Near-identical versions found in Paris Syriac
62, Mingana 8, and British Library Additional 14,492.]
Abridged version [BL Add. 14,493.]
[Harvard Syr. 93, Paris Syr. 62 ve Şam 8/11'de bulunan neredeyse
aynı versiyonlar tarafından biraz değiştirilmiştir. 62 ve Damascus 8/11.]
#57] Addai: “If an emir orders an abbot to dine with
him,should he eat or not?”
Jacob: “I do not allow this. Rather, necessity allows it.”[#58]
Addai: “Is it appropriate for a priest to teach the children of Hagarenes
who have the authority to punish him if hedoes not teach [their children]?”
Jacob: “It is necessity that also permits this. As for me, I
saythat this in no way harms either he who teaches or the faith.[This would be
permitted] even if it were not [for] those havingthe authority to punish. For
often from such things arises muchbenefit.”
Letter to Addai, Questions nos. 74–98
[Harvard Syr. 93, fols. 26b–27a, slightly amended by the
nearidentical versions found in Mingana 8 and Cambridge 2023.]
[#75] Addai: “Concerning a Christian woman who willingly marries a Hagarene,
[I want to learn] if priests should give her the Eucharist and if one knows of
a canon concerning this. [I want to learn]: if her husband were threatening to
kill a priest if he should not give her the Eucharist, should [the priest]
temporarily consent because [otherwise the husband] would seek his death? Or
would it be a sin for him to consent? Or, because her husband is compassionate
toward Christians, is it better to give her the Eucharist and she not become a
Hagarene?”
Jacob: “You have abolished all your doubts concerning this question
because you said, ‘If the Eucharist should be given to her and she not become a
Hagarene.’ So that she will not become a Hagarene, even if the priest would
have sinned in giving it andeven if her husband were not threatening [the
priest], it wouldhave been right for him to give her the Eucharist. But [in
truth]he does not sin in giving [it] to her. Then, [as for] the other thingyou
said: ‘If one knew of a canon concerning this.’ If there is neither risk of
apostasy nor her threatening husband, it is right foryou to act in this way.
Namely, because other women should fearlest they also stumble, for [this
woman’s] admonition she shouldfall under the canons[’ sentence] for as long as
it appears to thosein authority that she is able to bear.”
Alternatif
versiyon
[Bar Hebreaus, Nomocanon, Paul Bedjan, ed., Nomocanon Gregorii
Barhebraei (Leipzig: O. Harrassowitz, 1898),41-42.].
A woman who belonged to the Hagarenes says that if theEucharist is
not given to her she would become a Hagarene. Itshould be given her but along
with a penalty that is appropriate for her to bear.
[Harvard Syr. 93, fol. 29a–b, slightly amended by the
near-identical versions found in Mingana 8, Cambridge 2023, and Damascus 8/11.]
[#80] Addai: “When our bishop of Mardin was attacked by those from
outside [the walls], those Arabs who ruled inside ordered everyone to go
to the wall to fi ght. They did not exempt anyone from going, not even priests.
Then, when the battle was raging, a priest or a deacon threw a stone from the
wall and struck and killed one of the attackers attempting to scale the wall. I
want to learn from the canons what should be done about this. [I want to learn]
if he sinned, either he or the other priests and monks who—though
unwillingly—pulled the war mangonel’s rope, threw stones, and killed some
attackers from outside [the wall]. [I want to learn] if it is right for them to
serve in the priesthood or if it is right for them to be under the canon’s
[sentence] for only a little while?”
Jacob: “That they unwillingly were led by force shows themto be
exempt from what was done. Therefore this is under theirbishop’s authority. He
should deal with them mercifully andpermit their ministry when it seems
[appropriate] to him. But inthe matter of a priest who threw a stone from the
wall and killedwhile with his own eyes he looked and saw who was killed: aftera
certain time during which as repentance he is prohibited fromministry, it
should be left to the priest’s own conscience whether it is right for him to
serve. As for whether they also have sinned, it is not right for this to fall
under ‘questions’ [to me]. Rather, this should be given to the righteous,
impartial judgment of God, the knower and perceiver of all.”
Letter to Addai, Questions nos. 99–116
[Corpus scriptorum christianorum orientalium 367: 261.]
[#116] Addai: “If he is about to die, is a priest permitted to
pardon someone who became a Hagarene or became a pagan?”
Jacob: “If he is about to die and a bishop is not near, [the
priest] is permitted to pardon him, give him the Eucharist, and bury him if he
dies. But if he lives, [the priest] should bring him to a bishop and [the
bishop] impose on him a penance that he knows he is able to bear.”
First Letter to John the Stylite
[Harvard Syr. 93, fol. 40a–b.]
[#6] John: “Is it right for a priest to give Hagarenes or pagans
who are possessed by evil sprits some blessings from the holy ones or,
likewise, [holy water mixed with the dust of relics, that is] h. nānā, [and]
to spread them on them so that they might be healed?”
Jacob: “By all means. None should at all hinder anything like this.
Rather, it should be given them for whatever sickness it might be. For I need
not say that while you should give them some of the blessings, it is God who
gives them health. Clearly it is right for you to give [this] to them without
hindrance.”
[Harvard Syr. 93, fols. 42b–43b.]
[#13] John: “If a Christian should become a Hagarene or a
pagan and, after a while, he should regret [this] and return from his paganism,
I want to learn whether it is right for him to be baptized or if by this he has
been stripped of the grace of baptism.”
Jacob: “On the one hand, it is not right for a Christian who
becomes a Hagarene or a pagan to be [re]baptized. He had been born anew by water
and by spirit according to the word of our Lord. On the other hand, it is right
that there be a prayer over him [said] by the head priest and that he be
assigned a time of penitence for as long as is proper. After a time of
penitence, he should be allowed to also share in the [divine] mysteries. We
have this as confi rmation: those who were baptized by water but had not
received the Holy Spirit were later made worthy of [the Spirit] by prayer alone
and through the laying on of hands by the head priest [Acts 8:14–18]. But
concerning whether he had been stripped of the grace of baptism because he
became a Hagarene, I have this to say: Concerning those things whose giver is
God, it is not ours to say whether they are taken away, or indeed stripped,
from whoever had received them. But this is God’s alone [to decide]. He looks
for their return and penitence because he does not want the death of a sinner.
Rather, he wants him to be separated [from evil] and to return. So here, in
this world and this present life, he will not take grace from him. But there,
on that last day, [the day] of judgment, he will strip him of grace, take the
talent from him as from the evil servant [Mt 25:28–30], and throw him into
eternal fi re.”
Abridged versions
[Bar Hebreaus, Nomocanon, in Bedjan, Nomocanon Gregorii Barhebraei,
22, 42.]
We should not rebaptize a Christian who became a Hagarene or a
pagan and then came back. But the chief priest should pray over him and a time
of penitence be set over him. When he completes [it] he should share [the
Eucharist].
A Christian who became a Hagarene and came back or became a pagan
and came back: the chief priest should pray over him. When he completes a time
of penitence he should share [the Eucharist].
Second Letter to John the Stylite
[Corpus scriptorum christianorum orientalium 367: 237.]
[#9] John: “Is it necessary that the church’s doors be closed on
the day when the Eucharist is offered?”
Jacob: “This is necessary, especially because of the Hagarenes,
so that they might not enter, mingle with believers, disturb them, and ridicule
the holy mysteries.”
[#23] John: “If an entire village of heretics should return to the
true faith, what should one do with their mysteries?”
Jacob: “They should be sent to the adherents of their faith. For
this also happened to me. Once there were some Hagarenes who carried off
the Eucharist from Byzantine territory. When they feared their conscience and
brought it to me, I sent it to adherents of the Byzantine confession.”
Third Letter to John the Stylite
[François Nau, “Lettre de Jacques d’Édesse sur la généalogie de la
sainte vierge,” Revue de l’Orient Chrétien 6 (1901): 518–20.]
…
That Christ is from the line of David is acknowledged by all: that
is, by the Jews as well as by the Hagarenes, as well as by all
Christians who confess that from human nature he was enfl eshed and became
incarnate. Thus this, then, that in the fl esh Christ is from the line of David
(as was previously written by the holy prophets) is acknowledged and
foundational to all of them: that is, to the Jews, as well as to the Hagarenes,
as well as to the Christians.
I have said that this is foundational to and is confessed by the
Jews, even though they deny the true Christ who truly came. But concerning him
whom they await to be revealed, by all means they say and affi rm that he is
and will be from the line of David. So too the Hagarenes. They do not know or
want to say that the true Christ who came and who is acknowledged by Christians
is God and the son of God. Nevertheless, they all fi rmly confess that he truly
is the Christ who was to come and who was foretold by the prophets. Concerning
this they have no dispute with us, rather with the Jews. Both in thought and in
word they are united and reprovingly and contentiously stand fi rm against [the
Jews]. For, as I previously wrote, they already knew what had been acknowledged
by the prophets: Christ would be born from David, as well as Christ who came
was also born from Mary. Indeed, it is truly acknowledged by the Hagarenes, and
none of them dispute this. Always saying to everyone that Jesus, the son of
Mary, truly is the Christ, they also call him the Word of God, in accord with
the holy scriptures. But because they are not able to distinguish word from
spirit, in their ignorance they add that he is the spirit of God, just as
[because of their ignorance] they do not consent to call Christ God or the son
of God.
Then, if all these things are acknowledged without controversy,
that is both by us and by the Hagarenes—namely that Christ was born from the
line of David, as the prophets said, that Christ was born from Mary, that this
one who was born from her is truly the Christ, as opposed to the one whom the
Jews await— then it should also be confi rmed both by us and by the Hagarenes
that he came in his time. Then after these things have been acknowledged by the
two parties, what is it that opposes, calls into question, or is at all
difficult concerning whether we should say that Mary is from the line of David?
For this is clear and without dispute . . . .
. . . Then I declare that, even if this is not demonstrated by the
scriptures, by a compelling and true syllogism like this we should demonstrate
to every Christian or Hagarene who inquires that the holy Virgin Mary, the
bearer of God, is from the line of David . . . .
. . . . Brother, lover of God and lover of truth, I want the truth
to be witnessed by this compelling and true syllogism established by us and not
by words from superfl uous stories. If there should be some man—whether he
should be a Hagarene or a Christian—who converses with you, asks you, and
inquires about this, if he is rational and at all possesses a rational mind, he
will understand the syllogism. When he hears it, without dispute and of his own
accord he will witness the truth. These things that have been said suffi ce to
clearly show a Christian or a Hagarene who disputes this [subject] that the
holy Virgin Mary was from the line of David.
Fourth Letter to John the Stylite
[BL Add. 12,172, fol. 124a.]
“Why do the Jews worship toward the south?” Behold, I say to you
that this question is in vain and what was asked is not true. For Jews do not
worship toward the south, just as Hagarenes also do not. For as I saw them with
my own eyes and as I am now writing to you, behold, those Jews who live in
Egypt as well as those Hagarenes who are there were worshiping toward the east.
Even now the two people worship [likewise], the Jews toward Jerusalem but the
Hagarenes toward the Kaʻba. Those Jews who are south of Jerusalem worship
toward the north, and also the Hagarenes there worship toward the east, toward
the Kaʻba. Those south of the Kaʻba worship toward the north, toward [that]
place. Indeed, from all these things that have been said it becomes apparent
that here, in the regions of Syria, the Jews and the Hagarenes do not worship
toward the south, rather toward Jerusalem and the Kaʻba, their races’ ancestral
place.
Edessalı Yakup'un Kronolojik Kanonu
https://archive.org/details/TheChronologicalCanonOfJamesOfEdessa
https://archive.org/details/TheChronologicalCanonOfJamesOfEdessa/page/n66/mode/1up
https://archive.org/details/diecanonesjacob00kaysgoog/page/n45/mode/2up
https://archive.org/details/syrischekanoness0307vbus/page/201/mode/1up
https://archive.org/details/ChronicaMinoraIii/page/n44/mode/1up
Brooks, The Chronological Canon of James of Edessa:
…
s.323-327.
293. And [Ma]homet goes down for [purposes of traffic] to the
country of Palestine and of Arabia and of Phoenice and of Tyre.
296. There was an eclipse of the sun…
…
296. The kingdom of the Arabs, whom we call Saracens, began
when Herakleios, King of the Romans, had reached his 11th year, and
Khosru, King of the Persians, his 31st year.
301. The Saracens began to make incursions into the land of
Palestine.
…
Year 286 = 01. 347, 2 = 1st of
Herakleios = 21st of Khosru. Mahomet became first. king of the Arabs
for 7 years.
Year 297 = 01. 350, 1 = 12 th of
Herakleios = 32 nd of Khosru = lst of Mahomet. Shirwi,
the son of Khosru, the 21st
king, 9 months. Abu Bakhr, the 2 nd king of the Saracens, 2
years 7 months.
Year 304 = AS 940 = 01. 351, 4 = 19 th
of Herakleios = - lst of Shirwi = lst of Abu Bakhr. Ardashir,
the son of Shirwi, the 22 nd king of the Persians, 1 year 10 months.
Year 305 = 01. 352, l = 20 th of
Herakleios = l st of Ardashir = 2 nd of Abu Bakhr).
