Alexandrine Sinodos
Encyclopedia
The Alexandrine Sinodos is a Christian
collection of Church Orders
. This collection can be dated in the 4th or 5th century CE, even if it is composed by more ancient texts. The provenience is Egypt
and it was particularly used in the ancient Coptic
and Ethiopian Christianity
.
in lost, but the Alexandrine Sinodos the Ge'ez
, Bohairic Coptic, Sahidic Coptic and Arabic
translations are extant.
The Sahidic translation is found in British Museum
manuscript or.1820, dated 1006, and was published in 1883 by Paul de Lagarde
. A new edition was published in 1954 by Till and Leipold The Sahidic version lacks of some prayers.
The Arabic translation is complete and older than 1295 CE. It is found in Vaticanus
manuscript ar.149, and was published in 1904 by George William Horner
. Following editions were J. Perier in 1912 and Turnhout in 1971.
The Ge'ez translation, dating the 13th century, is complete even it contains some interpolations. It is found in British Museum manuscript or.793, and was published in 1904 by George William Horner.
The Bohairic translation was made in 1804 from the Sahidic text, and was published in 1848 by Henry Tattam
.
The more ancient translations are the Sahidic and Arabic versions (probably both coming through a common lost Sahidic version of about 500 CE). The Ge'ez version is derived from the Arabic one
, usually divided in seven books. It is so composed:
The numbering of the chapters is different in each version, so the Sahidic and Bohairic versions divide the Apostolic Church-Order in 30 chapters, while the Arabic and Ge'ez versions divide it in 20 chapters; the Sahidic and Bohairic versions have the Apostolic Tradition from the 31 to 62, while the Arabic and Ge'ez versions from 21 to 47.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
collection of Church Orders
Ancient Church Orders
Ancient Church Orders is a genre of early Christian literature, ranging from 1st to 5th century, which has the aim to offer authoritative "apostolic" prescriptions on matters of moral conduct, liturgy and Church organization....
. This collection can be dated in the 4th or 5th century CE, even if it is composed by more ancient texts. The provenience is Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and it was particularly used in the ancient Coptic
Coptic Christianity
The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the official name for the largest Christian church in Egypt and the Middle East. The Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox family of churches, which has been a distinct church body since the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, when it took a different...
and Ethiopian Christianity
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
.
Manuscript Tradition
The probable original text in GreekKoine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
in lost, but the Alexandrine Sinodos the Ge'ez
Ge'ez language
Ge'ez is an ancient South Semitic language that developed in the northern region of Ethiopia and southern Eritrea in the Horn of Africa...
, Bohairic Coptic, Sahidic Coptic and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
translations are extant.
The Sahidic translation is found in British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
manuscript or.1820, dated 1006, and was published in 1883 by Paul de Lagarde
Paul de Lagarde
Paul Anton de Lagarde was a polymath German biblical scholar and orientalist. He also took some part in politics. He belonged to the Prussian Conservative party, and was a violent antisemite. The bitterness which he felt appeared in his writings...
. A new edition was published in 1954 by Till and Leipold The Sahidic version lacks of some prayers.
The Arabic translation is complete and older than 1295 CE. It is found in Vaticanus
Vatican Library
The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from...
manuscript ar.149, and was published in 1904 by George William Horner
George William Horner
George William Horner , was a biblical scholar, editor of the text of the New Testament in dialects of Coptic language.Bohairic version Horner edited in 4 volumes from 1898 to 1905, Sahidic version edited in 7 volumes from 1911 to 1924....
. Following editions were J. Perier in 1912 and Turnhout in 1971.
The Ge'ez translation, dating the 13th century, is complete even it contains some interpolations. It is found in British Museum manuscript or.793, and was published in 1904 by George William Horner.
The Bohairic translation was made in 1804 from the Sahidic text, and was published in 1848 by Henry Tattam
Henry Tattam
Henry Tattam was a Church of England clergyman and Coptic scholar.-Life:Tattam was Rector of St Cuthbert's Bedford, 1822-1849, and from 1831 to 1849 also Rector of Great Woolstone, Buckinghamshire...
.
The more ancient translations are the Sahidic and Arabic versions (probably both coming through a common lost Sahidic version of about 500 CE). The Ge'ez version is derived from the Arabic one
Content
The Alexandrine Sinodos is a collection of Church OrdersAncient Church Orders
Ancient Church Orders is a genre of early Christian literature, ranging from 1st to 5th century, which has the aim to offer authoritative "apostolic" prescriptions on matters of moral conduct, liturgy and Church organization....
, usually divided in seven books. It is so composed:
- Book 1 includes the Apostolic Church-Order
- Books 2 and 3 include the Egyptian Church Order (better known as Apostolic TraditionApostolic TraditionThe Apostolic Tradition is an early Christian treatise which belongs to genre of the Church Orders. It has been described as of "incomparable importance as a source of information about church life and liturgy in the third century".Re-discovered in the 19th century, it was given the name of...
) - Books 4 to 7 include the eighth book of the Apostolic ConstitutionsApostolic ConstitutionsThe Apostolic Constitutions is a Christian collection of eight treatises which belongs to genre of the Church Orders. The work can be dated from 375 to 380 AD. The provenience is usually regarded as Syria, probably Antioch...
, without the last chapter (Canons of the ApostlesCanons of the ApostlesThe Apostolic Canons or Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles is a collection of ancient ecclesiastical decrees concerning the government and discipline of the Early Christian Church, first found as last chapter of the eighth book of the Apostolic Constitutions and belonging to genre of...
) and without the liturgical prayers.
The numbering of the chapters is different in each version, so the Sahidic and Bohairic versions divide the Apostolic Church-Order in 30 chapters, while the Arabic and Ge'ez versions divide it in 20 chapters; the Sahidic and Bohairic versions have the Apostolic Tradition from the 31 to 62, while the Arabic and Ge'ez versions from 21 to 47.
External links
- G.W. Horner, The statutes of the apostoles or Canones Ecclesiatici, 1904: English text of the Ge'ez version (at pages 127-232), of Arabic version (at pages 233-293) and of the Sahidic version (at pages 295-363)
- Henry Tattam The Apostolical Constitutions, or Canons of the Apostles 1848: English text of the Bohairic version