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E01975: The Acts of *Barsamya (confessor in Edessa, S01138) are written in Syriac in Edessa during the 5th c. They describe the persecution of Barsamya under Trajan, with no reference to miraculous events.
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posted on 2016-10-31, 00:00 authored by sminovActs of Barsamya
Summary:
On the 5th of Ilul (i.e. September) of the year 416 of the Seleucid era, right after the judge (dayānā) of Edessa Lysanias had finished dealing with the case of the ex-pagan priest Sharbel (see S01126), he was approached by the prefects (šarirē) of the city, who informed him that the city's bishop Barsamya visited the condemned man in prison and taught him Christian doctrine. (pp. 63-64 of the Syriac text in Cureton's edition)
The judge orders Barsamya to be detained and brought to his court. As the arrested bishop is accompanied by a large crowd of citizens, professing to be Christians as well, the judge orders him to imprisoned. After a long time in prison, the bishop is summoned to the court for trial. (pp. 64-65)
After an interrogation, during which Lysanias accuses Barsamya of converting Sharbel, the judge demands that the bishop obey the imperial edict and offer a sacrifice to the pagan gods. When Barsamya refuses to comply, Lysanias orders him to be scourged. After that, there follows another exchange of opinions between the judge and the bishop, during which the former threatens the latter with even more cruel tortures. (pp. 65-70)
Yet, before Lysanias manages to implement his threat, an imperial edict from Lusius, 'the chief proconsul (huparkā), father of Emperors,' arrives, which proclaims that the persecution of Christians should stop. After the edict is read publicly, the judge orders the release of the bishop. Barsamya is welcomed by the joyful crowd of citizens, who greet him as 'persecuted confessor (mawdyānā rdifā), friend of Sharbel the martyr'. The bishop and his followers enter the church, where they pray and thank God for the deliverance. (pp. 70-71).
The main part of the narrative concludes with the subscription of two notaries, Zenophilos and Patrophilos, who claim to have written it, accompanied by the statement of two witnesses, the prefects Diodoros and Euterpes. (p. 71)
The narrative concludes with the statement that bishop Barsamya was active in the days of Pope Fabianus. It is followed by a list of Barsamya's predecessors in the see of Edessa, which traces their apostolic succession back to the apostle Peter. (pp. 71-72)
Text: Cureton 1864. Summary: Sergey Minov.
Summary:
On the 5th of Ilul (i.e. September) of the year 416 of the Seleucid era, right after the judge (dayānā) of Edessa Lysanias had finished dealing with the case of the ex-pagan priest Sharbel (see S01126), he was approached by the prefects (šarirē) of the city, who informed him that the city's bishop Barsamya visited the condemned man in prison and taught him Christian doctrine. (pp. 63-64 of the Syriac text in Cureton's edition)
The judge orders Barsamya to be detained and brought to his court. As the arrested bishop is accompanied by a large crowd of citizens, professing to be Christians as well, the judge orders him to imprisoned. After a long time in prison, the bishop is summoned to the court for trial. (pp. 64-65)
After an interrogation, during which Lysanias accuses Barsamya of converting Sharbel, the judge demands that the bishop obey the imperial edict and offer a sacrifice to the pagan gods. When Barsamya refuses to comply, Lysanias orders him to be scourged. After that, there follows another exchange of opinions between the judge and the bishop, during which the former threatens the latter with even more cruel tortures. (pp. 65-70)
Yet, before Lysanias manages to implement his threat, an imperial edict from Lusius, 'the chief proconsul (huparkā), father of Emperors,' arrives, which proclaims that the persecution of Christians should stop. After the edict is read publicly, the judge orders the release of the bishop. Barsamya is welcomed by the joyful crowd of citizens, who greet him as 'persecuted confessor (mawdyānā rdifā), friend of Sharbel the martyr'. The bishop and his followers enter the church, where they pray and thank God for the deliverance. (pp. 70-71).
The main part of the narrative concludes with the subscription of two notaries, Zenophilos and Patrophilos, who claim to have written it, accompanied by the statement of two witnesses, the prefects Diodoros and Euterpes. (p. 71)
The narrative concludes with the statement that bishop Barsamya was active in the days of Pope Fabianus. It is followed by a list of Barsamya's predecessors in the see of Edessa, which traces their apostolic succession back to the apostle Peter. (pp. 71-72)
Text: Cureton 1864. Summary: Sergey Minov.
History
Evidence ID
E01975Saint Name
Barsamya, martyr in Edessa, ob. 104 : S01138Saint Name in Source
ܒܪ ܣܡܝܐRelated Saint Records
Type of Evidence
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdomLanguage
- Syriac
