Saint Josaphat
Encyclopedia
Barlaam and Josaphat or Joasaph is a Christianized
version of the story of Siddharta Gautama, who became the Buddha
.. In the Middle Ages the two were treated as Christian saints, being entered in the Greek Orthodox calendar on 26 August, and in the Roman Martyrology
in the Western Church as "Barlaam and Josaphat" on the date of 27 November. In Eastern Orthodox, in the Russian tradition those two are commemorated on 19 November (corresponding to Gregorian 2 December) http://www.pomog.org/index.html?http://www.pomog.org/saintlist.shtml.
According to the legend, King Abenner or Avenier in India persecuted the Christian Church in his realm, founded by the Apostle Thomas. When astrologers predicted that his own son would some day become a Christian, Abenner had the young prince Josaphat isolated from external contact. Despite the imprisonment, Josaphat met the hermit Saint Barlaam and converted to Christianity. Josaphat kept his faith even in the face of his father's anger and persuasion. Eventually Abenner converted, turned over his throne to Josaphat, and retired to the desert to become a hermit. Josaphat himself later abdicated and went into seclusion with his old teacher Barlaam.
.
The Sanskrit word was changed to Bodisav in Persian texts in the 6th or 7th century, then to Budhasaf or Yudasaf in an 8th-century Arabic document (possibly by Arabic initial "b" ﺑ changed to "y" ﻳ by duplication of a dot
in handwriting).
This became Iodasaph in Georgia in the 10th century, and that name was adapted as Ioasaph in Greece in the 11th century, and then as Iosaphat or Josaphat in Latin.
, but actually it was transcribed by the Georgian
monk Euthymius
in the 11th century. The first Christianized adaptation was the Georgian
epic Balavariani dating back to the 10th century. A Georgian monk, Euthymios of Athos, translated the story into Greek
, some time before he was killed while visiting Constantinople
in 1028. There the Greek adaptation was translated into Latin in 1048 and soon became well known in Western Europe as Barlaam and Josaphat.
It was ultimately derived, through a variety of intermediate versions (Arabic
and Georgian
), from the life story of the Buddha. Wilfred Cantwell Smith
traced the story from a 2nd to 4th century Sanskrit
Mahayana
Buddhist text, to a Manichee version, which then found its way into Muslim
culture as the Arabic
Kitab Bilawhar wa-Yudasaf (Book of Bilawhar and Yudasaf), which was current in Baghdad
in the 8th century.
The story of Barlaam and Josaphat was popular in the Middle Ages
, appearing in such works as the Golden Legend
, and a scene there involving three caskets eventually appeared, via Caxton's English translation of a Latin version, in Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice".
A Middle High German
version was described as "Perhaps the flower of religious literary creativity in the German Middle Ages" by Heinrich Heine
.
The story of Josaphat was re-told as an exploration of free will
and the seeking of inner peace Meditation
in the 17th century.
Although Barlaam was never formally canonized, Josaphat was, and they were included in earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology (feast day 27 November) — though not in the Roman Missal
— and in the Eastern Orthodox Church
liturgical calendar (26 August in Greek tradition etc / 19 November in Russian tradition).
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
version of the story of Siddharta Gautama, who became the Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
.. In the Middle Ages the two were treated as Christian saints, being entered in the Greek Orthodox calendar on 26 August, and in the Roman Martyrology
Roman Martyrology
The Roman Martyrology is the official martyrology of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It provides an extensive but not exhaustive list of the saints recognized by the Church.-History:...
in the Western Church as "Barlaam and Josaphat" on the date of 27 November. In Eastern Orthodox, in the Russian tradition those two are commemorated on 19 November (corresponding to Gregorian 2 December) http://www.pomog.org/index.html?http://www.pomog.org/saintlist.shtml.
According to the legend, King Abenner or Avenier in India persecuted the Christian Church in his realm, founded by the Apostle Thomas. When astrologers predicted that his own son would some day become a Christian, Abenner had the young prince Josaphat isolated from external contact. Despite the imprisonment, Josaphat met the hermit Saint Barlaam and converted to Christianity. Josaphat kept his faith even in the face of his father's anger and persuasion. Eventually Abenner converted, turned over his throne to Josaphat, and retired to the desert to become a hermit. Josaphat himself later abdicated and went into seclusion with his old teacher Barlaam.
Name
Ioasaph (Georgian Iodasaph, Arabic Yūdhasaf or Būdhasaf) is derived from the Sanskrit BodhisattvaBodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
.
The Sanskrit word was changed to Bodisav in Persian texts in the 6th or 7th century, then to Budhasaf or Yudasaf in an 8th-century Arabic document (possibly by Arabic initial "b" ﺑ changed to "y" ﻳ by duplication of a dot
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
in handwriting).
This became Iodasaph in Georgia in the 10th century, and that name was adapted as Ioasaph in Greece in the 11th century, and then as Iosaphat or Josaphat in Latin.
The legend
The Greek legend of "Barlaam and Ioasaph" is sometimes attributed to the 7th century John of DamascusJohn of Damascus
Saint John of Damascus was a Syrian monk and priest...
, but actually it was transcribed by the Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
monk Euthymius
Euthymius of Athos
Euthymius the Athonite was a renowned Georgian philosopher and scholar, also known as Eufimius the Abasgian or St. Euthymius the Georgian...
in the 11th century. The first Christianized adaptation was the Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
epic Balavariani dating back to the 10th century. A Georgian monk, Euthymios of Athos, translated the story into Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, some time before he was killed while visiting Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in 1028. There the Greek adaptation was translated into Latin in 1048 and soon became well known in Western Europe as Barlaam and Josaphat.
It was ultimately derived, through a variety of intermediate versions (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...
and Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
), from the life story of the Buddha. Wilfred Cantwell Smith
Wilfred Cantwell Smith
Wilfred Cantwell Smith was a Canadian professor of comparative religion who from 1964-1973 was director of Harvard's Center for the Study of World Religions. The Harvard Gazette characterized him as one of the field's most influential figures of the past century...
traced the story from a 2nd to 4th century Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
Mahayana
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
Buddhist text, to a Manichee version, which then found its way into Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
culture as the 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...
Kitab Bilawhar wa-Yudasaf (Book of Bilawhar and Yudasaf), which was current in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
in the 8th century.
The story of Barlaam and Josaphat was popular in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, appearing in such works as the Golden Legend
Golden Legend
The Golden Legend is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that became a late medieval bestseller. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived, compared to twenty or so of its nearest rivals...
, and a scene there involving three caskets eventually appeared, via Caxton's English translation of a Latin version, in Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice".
A Middle High German
Middle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
version was described as "Perhaps the flower of religious literary creativity in the German Middle Ages" by Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
.
The story of Josaphat was re-told as an exploration of free will
Free 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...
and the seeking of inner peace Meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
in the 17th century.
Although Barlaam was never formally canonized, Josaphat was, and they were included in earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology (feast day 27 November) — though not in the Roman Missal
Roman Missal
The Roman Missal is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.-Situation before the Council of Trent:...
— and in the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
liturgical calendar (26 August in Greek tradition etc / 19 November in Russian tradition).
See also
- Barlaam and Josaphat (book)Barlaam and Josaphat (book)Barlaam and Josaphat is the title given to a large number of different books in various languages, all dealing with the lives of Saints Barlaam and Josaphat in India. In this hagiographic tradition, the life and teachings of Josaphat have many parallels with those of the Buddha...
- Gautama Buddha in world religionsGautama Buddha in world religionsGautama Buddha is also venerated as a manifestation of God in Hinduism, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Bahá'í faith. Some Hindu texts say that the Buddha was an avatar of the god Vishnu, who came to Earth to delude beings away from the Vedic religion...
- Thomas the ApostleThomas the ApostleThomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
- Buddhism and Christianity
- JosaphatJosaphat- People :* Jehoshaphat, in the Christian bible, fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah* Josaphat, a Christian saint of India, appearing in the legend of Barlaam and Josaphat* Giosafat Barbaro , Venetian explorer and diplomat* Josephat T...
External links
- Barlaam and Ioasaph (Legend in form attributed to St John of Damascus)
- Version in Golden Legend
- Barlaam and Josaphat in Jewish Encyclopedia