Some Elements of East Syriac Ecclesiology in the Letter of Catholicos-Patriarch Sabrishoʿ I (596–604) to the Monasteries of Bar Qaiṭi
Some Elements of East Syriac Ecclesiology in the Letter of Catholicos-Patriarch Sabrishoʿ I (596–604) to the Monasteries of Bar Qaiṭi

Summary/Abstract: This study focuses on the East Syriac Patriarch Sabrishoʿ (523/524-604) and one of his few surviving writings which is important for understanding his ecclesiology. The son of a shepherd in the mountainous Siroz region of Persia, Sabrishoʿ chose the monastic life after being impressed by a Christian ascetic he met in his youth. He went on to become Bishop of Lasom and later Catholicos-Patriarch of the (Apostolic) Church of the East. The writing that is analyzed here is a letter transmitted to us in the East Syriac canonical collection “Synodicon orientale”. On its basis it will become clear that we can say more things about “the inner essence of the Church”, which goes beyond “the juridical structure of the Church, with its rights and powers” (W. de Vries). As we shall see, according to Sabrishoʿ’s ecclesiological understanding, the inner essence and the actual mystery of the Church is the love of Christ. This mystery cannot be pinned down by a dogmatic formulation but is rather made accessible in the risky venture of a life lived out of this mystery in an attitude of acceptance before God.

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