This book analyzes the hagiographic traditions of six missionary saints in the Syriac tradition: Thomas, Addai, Mari, Simeon of Beth Arsham, Jacob Baradaeus, and Ahoudemmeh. Through studying these saints’ lives, we gain an understanding of the development of the East and West Syriac ecclesiastical bodies: the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Church of the East. The lives of the missionaries encapsulate the concerns of the communities that wrote them.
Keywords: missionary hagiography, Syrian Orthodox Church, Church of the East, Thomas, Addai, Mari, Simeon of Beth Arsham, Jacob Baradaeus, Ahoudemmeh
Print publication date: 2015 | Print ISBN-13: 9780520284968 |
Published to California Scholarship Online: January 2016 | DOI:10.1525/california/9780520284968.001.0001 |