Gabriel of Qatar's Commentary on the Liturgy

The Commentary on the Liturgy by Gabriel of Beth Qatraye (early seventh century) is preserved in a single thirteenth-century manuscript. A short introduction draws attention to the interest of the manuscript itself (as well as its contents), and to previous studies of the Commentary. In order to give a fuller indication of its contents, an English translation of the chapter headings is given, and this is followed by a translation of the chapter on the Eucharistic Liturgy (Memra V, chapter 2). At the end, the Syriac text of chapter 2 of Memra V is also given.

[1] The unique witness to the important Commentary on the Liturgy by the early seventh-century author, Gabriel bar Lipeh of Qatar, is a thirteenth-century manuscript in the British Library, Or. 3336. The opening of the text is lost, and a few folios are missing later on. Although this manuscript received a short description in Margoliouth's Descriptive List of Syriac and Karshuni MSS. in the British Museum acquired since 1873, (London, 1899), 15. it was not until 1966 that it received any serious attention. In that year S.H. Jammo published a useful—though still brief—description of its contents. "Gabriel Qatraya et son commentaire sur la liturgie chaldéenne"Orientalia Christiana Periodica 32 (1966), 39-52. In the course of his article Jammo made two important observations: the date accorded to Gabriel of Qatar by A. Scher and A. Baumstark (late seventh century) cannot be correct, since Gabriel makes mention (f.109a) of Shubhalmaran, metropolitan of Karka d-Beth Slokh as still alive; this means that Gabriel must belong to the early decades of the seventh century. Jammo went on to identify the author with the scribe of British Library Add.14471, written at Nisibis by a Gabriel of Qatar and dated 615; this, however, seems unlikely, for reasons I have given elsewhere. "Syriac writers from Beth Qatraye," Aram 11-12 (1999-2000), 85-96, esp. 89-92. This earlier date is particularly important, since it means that Gabriel was writing before the liturgical reforms of the Patriarch Ishoʿyahb III (649-659). Jammo's second observation concerned the date of the manuscript: this had been given as AG 1579 = AD 1268 by Margoliouth, but as Jammo observes, the manuscript is damaged at this point and most of the third digit is missing. Jammo rightly points out that the date could equally be AG 1549 = AD 1238. Although this is correct, there is in fact a further possibility: all that remains of the third digit is [-]ʿ yn, which means that the number might have been teshcin (90), as well as shabcin (70) or arbcin (40); in other words, the later date of AG 1599 = AD 1288. (The month is given as July, and the day as the last Friday of that month).

(London, 1899), 15.

"Gabriel Qatraya et son commentaire sur la liturgie chaldéenne"Orientalia Christiana Periodica 32 (1966), 39-52.

"Syriac writers from Beth Qatraye," Aram 11-12 (1999-2000), 85-96, esp. 89-92.

[2] Margoliouth gives no indication of where the manuscript was written, and Jammo simply states that the manuscript was written at the Monastery of Deba at the foot of Mount Kola. This turns out to be a little misleading, for what the (rather damaged) colophon in fact states is: "This book ... was completed and finished in the holy monastery, the place of rest for humility, Tabor's abode, Sion's Upper Room, the fragrant shrine [of] the holy Mar Hnanya, Mar Hnanishoʿ, Mar Bassima, and Mar Habbib, known as the (monastery) of the Bear (debba), situated ... on the edge of the resting place of Noah and his children when [they] came out of the Ark (qibuta), it being on the slopes of the mountain of the Ark (KWL' = kewila)". This happens to be very interesting information, supplementing some exiguous other sources on the monastery. The ninth-century Ktaba d-nakputa (Liber Castitatis) by Ishoʿdnah Ed. J.B. Chabot, Le Livre de la Chasteté composé par Jesusdenah (Rome 1896). mentions (in section 52) the monastic foundation of the otherwise little known Mar Habbib in the vicinity of a village called Kfar Tuta in the region of mount Qardu (where, according to the Peshitta, Noah's Ark came to rest, rather than on Ararat). In his next section Ishoʿdnah goes on to tell of Mar Bassima, who while in secular life in royal service By ‘king’ either Sasanid shah or Muslim Caliph could be intended. was told by a Zoroastrian magian that he would become a monk. This indeed took place, and after spending time in various different monasteries, he ended up in that built by Habbib, and in due course he enlarged it. In the eighth century the monastery had, for a while, as its abbot the famous monastic author Joseph the Seer (Hazzaya). Liber Castitatis, section 125. After that date, as Fiey puts it, "on n'entend plus parler du couvent. On ignore sa position exacte en Qardu". J-M.Fiey, Nisibe, metropole syriaque orientale (CSCO Subsidia 54; 1977), 219. Our manuscript thus provides clear evidence, not only that two further names (both otherwise unknown) were associated with the monastery, but also that it was still flourishing in the thirteenth century.

Ed. J.B. Chabot, Le Livre de la Chasteté composé par Jesusdenah (Rome 1896).

By ‘king’ either Sasanid shah or Muslim Caliph could be intended.

Liber Castitatis, section 125.

J-M.Fiey, Nisibe, metropole syriaque orientale (CSCO Subsidia 54; 1977), 219.

[3] The work consists of five Memre of uneven length, and each is divided up into chapters. In his article Jammo listed the topics covered by the five Memre, and for the fifth he mentioned the topics dealt with in each chapter. Subsequently, in the course of his useful monograph La structure de la messe chaldéenne Orientalia Christiana Analecta 207, 1979, 29-48. he provided a Latin translation of the chapter in Memra 5 which constitutes a commentary on the Eucharistic liturgy. An English translation of the same section, made by Father Placid Podipara, was first published in India in 1974, and then reprinted by Father G. Vavanikunnel, Homilies & Interpretation on the Holy Qurbana, in 1977. Since a full listing of the chapter headings of each of the five Memre has not yet been made available, an English translation of these is given below. Similarly, since Podipara's English translation is not easily accessible, I have also provided a new English translation (deliberately rather literal and without annotation) of this important section, as well as the text of its Syriac original. For convenience of future reference, I have broken the text up into short sections.

Orientalia Christiana Analecta 207, 1979, 29-48.

[4] In his article of 1966 Jammo already pointed to certain aspects of particular interest in this part of the Commentary, and he makes some comparisons with some of the other East Syriac liturgical commentaries; in particular he rightly observes that the published Commentary by Abraham bar Lipeh R.H. Connolly, Anonymi auctoris Expositio Officiorum Ecclesiae Georgio Arbelensi vulgo ascripta. Accedit Abrahae Bar Lipeh Interpretation Officiorum, II (CSCO Scr.Syri 29, 1913), 171-80. is nothing but an abbreviation of Gabriel's work (what the relationship between these two men was, both bar Lipeh, remains a puzzle). In order to highlight the passages found in Abraham, I have italicized these in the translation. A full-scale investigation of the relationship of Gabriel's chapter on the Eucharistic liturgy with the other commentaries would be of considerable interest, but this is a task which must wait for the future. Here it must suffice simply to note that Gabriel makes use (in sections 43-44) of the early anonymous Commentary which has proved influential in all three Syriac ecclesial traditions, Reedited, with English translation, in my "An early Syriac Commentary on the Liturgy", Journal of Theological Studies NS 37 (1986), 387-403. and that, while Ps.George of Arbela shows little contact with Gabriel, Abdishoʿ, in his Tukkas Dine, Latin translation in J-M.Vosté, Ordo iudiciorum ecclesiasticorum ... a Mar Abdisoʿ metropolita Nisibis et Armeniae latine interpretatus (Fonti, II.xv; Rome, 1940), 93-103. I hope to publish an English translation of this section in the near future. does draw on him. As does Iohannan bar Zoʿbi, according to Jammo, "Gabriel Qatraya et son commentaire," 45.

R.H. Connolly, Anonymi auctoris Expositio Officiorum Ecclesiae Georgio Arbelensi vulgo ascripta. Accedit Abrahae Bar Lipeh Interpretation Officiorum, II (CSCO Scr.Syri 29, 1913), 171-80.

Reedited, with English translation, in my "An early Syriac Commentary on the Liturgy", Journal of Theological Studies NS 37 (1986), 387-403.

Latin translation in J-M.Vosté, Ordo iudiciorum ecclesiasticorum ... a Mar Abdisoʿ metropolita Nisibis et Armeniae latine interpretatus (Fonti, II.xv; Rome, 1940), 93-103. I hope to publish an English translation of this section in the near future.

As does Iohannan bar Zoʿbi, according to Jammo, "Gabriel Qatraya et son commentaire," 45.

[5] There is, however, one other significant matter which should be mentioned. In the discussion of the attitude of the Church of the East towards figurative images and icons, attention has already been drawn by scholars to the important evidence of Abraham bar Lipeh's commentary, where the presence of an icon of Christ on the altar is considered essential at the time of the consecration. J. Dauvillier, "Quelques témoignages littéraires et archéologiques sur la présence et sur le culte des Images dans l’Ancienne Eglise Chaldéenne," L’Orient Syrien 1 (1956), 297-304, esp. 297; K. Parry, ‘Images in the Church of the East’, in J.F. Coakley and K. Parry (eds.), The Church of the East: (= Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 78:3 (1996)), 143-62. Abraham's source is (as one would expect) Gabriel's commentary, where the relevant passage will be found in sections 45 and 46. In this connection it is worth drawing attention to another reference to the liturgical importance of icons, to be found in an unpublished set of 23 liturgical questions put to Ishoʿbarnun, in Vatican Borg. Syr. 81. Question 10 (f.371b), concerns the case of a priest who, in an emergency, has to baptize his own child when there is no one else apart from the mother—his wife—available to "receive" the child (that is, act as godparent). Ishoʿbarnun's solution to this dilemma is to say that the child should be placed on an icon instead, the person portrayed thus acting as godparent. Specific reference is made here to an "icon of our Lord" (yuqneh d-Maran) if the infant is a boy, and an "icon of the Blessed" (Mary), if it is a girl. Later on in the questions there is a passing reference to "icons of the saints" (Question 21, f.373b).

J. Dauvillier, "Quelques témoignages littéraires et archéologiques sur la présence et sur le culte des Images dans l’Ancienne Eglise Chaldéenne," L’Orient Syrien 1 (1956), 297-304, esp. 297; K. Parry, ‘Images in the Church of the East’, in J.F. Coakley and K. Parry (eds.), The Church of the East: (= Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 78:3 (1996)), 143-62.

[6] The remainder of Gabriel's Commentary remains largely unexploited, though Jammo has provided a description of his comments on Ramsha, "L’Office du soir chaldéen au temps de Gabriel Qatraya," L’Orient Syrien 12 (1967), 187-210. and I have given a translation of his section on the Trisagion (Qaddisha; ff.23a-26b) as a contribution to a (forthcoming) Festschrift in honour of Fr. Emmanuel Thelly, the compiler of the recently-published Syriac-English-Malayalam Dictionary that is based on Audo's Simta d-leshana suryaya. I hope to return to some other aspects of particular interest on a later occasion. In the meantime, mention might be made of the presence of several patristic quotations; thus Gabriel quotes from Basil's Letter to Gregory (f.95a), An edition of the Syriac translation of this letter is in preparation. Gregory of Nazianzus' Invective against Julian (f.96a), Evagrius (ff.96b-97a, 218a), This is from Kephalaia Gnostica IV.25. Narsai (f.59b) and (not surprisingly) the "Interpreter", that is, Theodore of Mopsuestia (ff.123b, 160b, 170b etc.). Much more surprising, however, is the presence of a long and unattributed extract (ff.107b-108b) from Sergius of Reshʿaina's Discourse on the spiritual life, which prefaces the first Syriac translation (probably by Sergius) of the Dionysian Corpus. Ed. P. Sherwood, ‘Mimro de Serge de Reshaina sur la vie spirituelle’, L’Orient Syrien 5 (1960), 433-59; 6 (1961), 95-115, 121-56; sections 35-39 are quoted (= L’Orient Syrien 5, (1060), 456, and 6 (1961), 96). There is also a quotation attributed to Dionysius on f.49ab. There are also references to Aristotle's Categories and to Pythagoras (ff.88b, 144a-b).

"L’Office du soir chaldéen au temps de Gabriel Qatraya," L’Orient Syrien 12 (1967), 187-210.

An edition of the Syriac translation of this letter is in preparation.

This is from Kephalaia Gnostica IV.25.

Ed. P. Sherwood, ‘Mimro de Serge de Reshaina sur la vie spirituelle’, L’Orient Syrien 5 (1960), 433-59; 6 (1961), 95-115, 121-56; sections 35-39 are quoted (= L’Orient Syrien 5, (1060), 456, and 6 (1961), 96). There is also a quotation attributed to Dionysius on f.49ab.

For the liturgical technical terms, see the glossary in J. Mateos, Lelya-Sapra: Essai d’interprétation des matines chaldéennes (Orientalia Christiana Analecta 156, 1979), 485-502.

[7] Memra 1: On the ordering of the Office of Ramsha on weekdays.

[8] Memra 2: On the ordering of the Office of Sapra on weekdays. List of chapters. [f.35a]

[9] Memra 3: On the ordering of the Office of Ramsha and of the three Sessions that are served at Lilya of Sunday. List of chapters. [102a]

[10] Memra 4: On the ordering of the Office of Sapra on Sunday. List of chapters. [f.120b]

[11] Memra 5: On the ordering of the Office of the Mysteries. List of chapters. [f.182b]

(Italics indicate passages taken up by Abraham bar Lipeh)

[12] [186b] What each of the components in the service of the Mysteries signifies to us.

[13] Since the Syriac text of this important section of Gabriel's Commentary has not yet been published, I give it here. I take the opportunity to thank Fr. Robert Matheus for kindly lending me a photographic copy of the manuscript. In copying Gabriel's work the scribe of Or. 3336 has made a number of small errors, and these have been corrected in the text printed below, though in every case the manuscript's reading is given in the apparatus.

I take the opportunity to thank Fr. Robert Matheus for kindly lending me a photographic copy of the manuscript.

Brock, S.P. "An early Syriac Commentary on the Liturgy," Journal of Theological Studies NS 37 (1986), 387-403.

— "Syriac writers from Beth Qatraye," Aram 11-12 (1999-2000), 85-96.

Chabot, J.B. Le Livre de la Chasteté composé par Jesusdenah (Rome, 1896).

Dauvillier, J. "Quelques témoignages littéraires et archéologiques sur la présence et sur le culte des Images dans l'Ancienne Eglise Chaldéenne," L'Orient Syrien 1 (1956), 297-304.

Fiey, J-M. Nisibe, metropole syriaque orientale (CSCO Subsidia 54, 1977).

Jammo, S.H. "Gabriel Qatraya et son commentaire sur la liturgie chaldéenne," Orientalia Christiana Periodica 32 (1966), 39-52.

— La structure de la messe chaldéenne, Orientalia Christiana Analecta 207, 1979.

— "L'Office du soir chaldéen au temps de Gabriel Qatraya," L'Orient Syrien 12 (1967), 187-210.

Parry, K. "Images in the Church of the East," in J.F. Coakley and K. Parry (eds.), The Church of the East: (= Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 78:3 (1996)), 143-62.

Margoliouth, G. Descriptive List of Syriac and Karshuni MSS. in the British Museum Acquired Since 1873, (London: Longmans & Co., 1899).

Mateos, J. Lelya-Sapra: Essai d'interprétation des matines chaldéennes (Orientalia Christiana Analecta 156, 1979).

Sherwood, P. (ed.) "Mimro de Serge de Reshaina sur la vie spirituelle," L'Orient Syrien 5 (1960), 433-59; 6 (1961), 95-115, 121-56.

Vosté, J-M. Ordo iudiciorum ecclesiasticorum ... a Mar Abdisoc metropolita Nisibis et Armeniae latine interpretatus (Fonti, II.xv; Rome, 1940).