On War and Persecution
On War and Persecution
Aphrahaṭ the Persian Sage and the Martyrdom and History of Blessed Simeon Bar Ṣabba‘e
This chapter examines two Syriac martyrdom narratives that chronicle the death of Simeon bar Sabba'e, the bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and are considered among the best Syriac sources for the history of Christianity in fourth-century Persia: the Martyrdom of Blessed Simeon bar Sabba'e and the History of Blessed Simeon bar Sabba'e. Simeon's martyr acts offer a glimpse into the hagiography and historiography of the early post-Constantinian period in Persia. These acts, two of the longest texts among the Acts of the Persian Martyrs, shed light on the circumstances that spurred Shapur II's persecution of Persian Christians. This chapter first considers a series of twenty-three argumentative homilies known as Demonstrations, written in the mid-fourth century by Aphrahat, the “Persian Sage.” It argues that Aphrahat's work is an exercise in biblical exegesis and offers little, if any, evidence for a persecution. It then compares the Martyrdom and the History and what they say about episcopal authority, Christian–Jewish relations, and the place of the Christians of Persia within a broader Christian history of suffering, persecution, and martyrdom.
Keywords: persecution, Syriac martyrdom, Simeon bar Sabba'e, Persian Christians, Acts of the Persian Martyrs, Demonstrations, Aphrahat
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