Moses Bar-Kepha
Encyclopedia
Moses Bar-Kepha was a writer and one of the most celebrated bishops of the Syriac Orthodox Church
of the ninth century.
A biography of him, written by an anonymous Syriac writer, is preserved in one of the Vatican
manuscripts, extracts from which are given by Asemani in his Bibliotheca Orientalis (II, 218f.). He was a monk and afterwards became bishop of three cities, Beth-Ramman, Beth-Kionaya and Mosul
on the Tigris
, assuming the name of Severus. For ten years he was the patriarchal Periodeutes, or visitor, of the Diocese of Tagrit
where he acquired a great fame and reputation. He was buried in the monastery of St. Sergius, situated on the Tigris, near his native city.
His other works comprise discourses, homilies, and a commentary on the writings of St Gregory of Nazianzus
.
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
of the ninth century.
A biography of him, written by an anonymous Syriac writer, is preserved in one of the Vatican
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
manuscripts, extracts from which are given by Asemani in his Bibliotheca Orientalis (II, 218f.). He was a monk and afterwards became bishop of three cities, Beth-Ramman, Beth-Kionaya and Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
on the Tigris
Tigris
The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
, assuming the name of Severus. For ten years he was the patriarchal Periodeutes, or visitor, of the Diocese of Tagrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
where he acquired a great fame and reputation. He was buried in the monastery of St. Sergius, situated on the Tigris, near his native city.
Principal publications
- A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments, often quoted by Bar Hebraeus, and most of it still extant in manuscript form;
- a treatise on predestinationPredestinationPredestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
and free willFree will"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
, preserved in a manuscript in the British MuseumBritish MuseumThe 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...
(Add. 14,731); - a commentary on AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
's Dialectics, mentioned by Bar Hebraeus; - a commentary on the HexameronHexameronThe term Hexameron refers either to the genre of theological treatise that describes God's work on the six days of creation or to the six days of creation themselves. Most often these theological works take the form of commentaries on Genesis 1...
in five books, preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale de FranceBibliothèque nationale de FranceThe is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
(Syr. 241), a passage of which is translated into French by François NauFrançois NauFrançois Nau was a French Catholic priest, mathematician, Syriacist, and specialist in oriental languages. He published a great number of eastern Christian texts and translations for the first and often only time.-Life:François-Nicolas Nau was the last of five children of François-Nicolas Nau and...
in his Bardésane l'astrologue (Paris, 1899), p. 59; - a Tractatus de Paradiso, in three parts, dedicated to his friend Ignatius. (The Syriac original of this work was thought lost, but a Latin version of it was published by Andreas MasiusAndreas MasiusAndreas Masius was a Catholic priest, humanist and one of the first European syriacists.He was born in Lennik, Flemish Brabant....
(Antwerp, 1569) under the title De Paradiso Commentarius. However a Syriac manuscript has now been discovered at Yale) - A treatise on the soul, in forty chapters, with a supplementary essay on the utility of offering prayers and sacrifices for the dead. (This treatise is preserved in the Vatican LibraryVatican LibraryThe 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...
; a German translation of it is given by O. Braun in his Moses Bar-Kepha und sein Buch von der Seele (Freiburg, 1891).) - A Tractatus de sectis, or, Liber disputationum adversus haereses (see Assemani, B.O. II, 57);
- a treatise on the Sacraments;
- a commentary on the Liturgy;
- an ecclesiastical history.
His other works comprise discourses, homilies, and a commentary on the writings of St Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age...
.
External links
- Peshitta in the Encyclopedia Britannica
- Classical Syriac Manuscripts at Yale University: A Checklist in HUGOYE: JOURNAL OF SYRIAC STUDIES