Acts of Sharbel

The Acts of Sharbel is a Syriac Christian martyrdom text about a pagan high priest who was converted to Christianity. The setting takes place at Edessa during the fifteenth year of Roman Emperor Trajan's reign and during the third year of King Abgar VIII's reign but is dated by biblical academics to the 5th century AD.^[1][2]

Narrative overview

The text begins with the current timeline of Trajan's fifteenth year as the Roman Emperor and the third year of King Abgar VIII's rule.^[1]

On the eighth day of the new year (Nisan), the populous commenced a celebration and worship of multiple gods. Particularly, the statues of gods Bel and Nebo were placed at the altar centered in the city. The high priest of the gods, Sharbel, was in charge of preparations of the altar. While organizing the altar, a Christian bishop named Barsamya had suddenly walked upon the altar to engage Sharbel publicly. Barsamya preached to him and the public, and doing so, Sharbel was greatly astonished by Barsamya's teachings he converted to Christianity at that very moment.^[3]

After Sharbel's conversion, he would later be prosecuted and put to torture until his death along with his sister Babai for being Christians by the orders of Lysanias, a judge and by the Edessian governor. After their deaths, the bodies of Sharbel and his sister would later be stolen from the executioners by a group of men to be buried next to Bishop Abshelama's grave in the evening of the Sabbath.^[4]

Publications

The Acts of Sharbel was first translated in English by William Cureton in his Ancient Syriac Documents (London, 1864). He had used two manuscripts both written in Syriac, the first manuscript dating from the fifth to sixth century AD and the other from the eleventh to twelfth century AD (Brit. Mus. Add. 14, 644 & Brit. Must. Add. 14, 645).^[5] Using the same manuscripts, B.P. Pratten also produced a English translation, and his translation would be compiled with other Christian texts to be published in the Ante-Nicene Fathers (1871).^[6] In 1874, G. Moesinger published a Latin translation along with J. B. Aucher's Armenian translation in his Acta SS. Martyr Edessenorum.^[5]

Composition and historicity

Biblical scholars date the account to the 5th century AD, the same for the Doctrine of Addai based on both documents state the time of their events during the reign of Trajan and Abgar VIII in a similar textual style; And the names of Sharbel, Barsamya, and Addai were not found on a 4th-century manuscript of a martyrdom calendar which list names of martyrs from Edessa. For these reasons, scholars have concluded the historicity of the Acts of Sharbel as fictitious.^{[7][8][9][10]}

With similar writing styles between the Acts of Sharbel and the Doctrine of Addai, it is generally agreed both texts were circulated amongst the same group of authors. However, though the text has been defined as spurious, the names of Sharbel and Barsamya are not. Inscriptions of their names have been found in once pagan regions of Edessa dating back to the second and third century AD and are rarely found in Syriac sources. Because of the pagan inscriptions and exact concepts of literary have been found between the Acts of Sharbel and the Acts of Shmona and of Gurya, biblical scholars agree the authors were most likely paganist inserting pagan ideology into the Christian community.^[11][8]

Bel and Nebo

In the Acts of Sharbel and the Doctrine of Addai, both text mention Bel and Nebo as the primarily deities worshipped in Edessa.^[12] Bel and Nebo are Babylonian idols worshiped in the New Year (Akitu). The Acts of Sharbel in particular, accurately timed the ceremonial worship of these idols according to Babylonian tradition.^[13][14]

See also

• Life of Gabriel of Qartmin
• Zuqnin Chronicle

References

Citations

1. Millar 1993, p. 464.
2. Attridge & Hata 1992, p. 223.
3. Drijvers 1980, p. 35.
4. Roberts, Donaldson & Coxe 1887.
5. Lightfoot 1889, p. 69.
6. Roberts, Donaldson & Coxe 1887, p. 105.
7. Attridge & Hata 1992, pp. 223 & 224.
8. Ferguson 1999, p. 274.
9. Millar 1993, p. 486.
10. Valantasis 2000, p. 414.
11. Attridge & Hata 1992, p. 228.
12. Drijvers 1980, p. 40.
13. Drijvers 1980, p. 43.
14. Boiy 2004, p. 306.

Bibliography

• Attridge, Harold W.; Hata, Gōhei (1992). Eusebius, Christianity, and Judaism. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 9780814323618.
• Boiy, T. (2004). Late Achaemenid and Hellenistic Babylon. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 9789042914490.
• Drijvers, H. J. W. (1980). Cults and Beliefs at Edessa. BRILL. ISBN 9789004060500.
• Ferguson, Everett (1999). Doctrinal Diversity: Varieties of Early Christianity. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780815330714.
• Lightfoot, Joseph Barber (1889). The Apostolic Fathers. London: MacMillan & Co.
• Millar, Fergus (1993). The Roman Near East, 31 B.C.-A.D. 337. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674778863.
• Roberts, Rev. Alexander; Donaldson, Sir James; Coxe, Arthur Cleveland (1887). The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Repulsihed ed.).
• Valantasis, Richard (2000). Religions of Late Antiquity in Practice. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691057514.

External links

• Acts of Sharbil English translation from Ante-Nicene Fathers