Zachariah of Mytilene, The Life of Severus 98
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/514
Context
Zachariah of Mytilene's hagiographic account of the life of the early
sixth-century anti-Chalcedonian bishop, Severus, patriarch of Antioch, includes brief
accounts of several other saints. In this testimonium, Zachariah describes a monastic
conversion episode from the late fifth century in which one of Severus'
contemporaries,Peter of Caesearea, becomes a disciple of Severus in Gaza at the
monastary of another Peter, Peter the Iberian, a fifth-century miaphysite Christian
leader and monastic founder whose monastery at Miaouma in Gaza became a spiritual home
to Severus and other saints mentioned by Zachariah of Mytilene. The passage also
emphasizes the intellectual and social connections between the law schools of Beirut and
the anti-Chalcedonian (miaphysite) Christian clergy and communities of Caesarea and Gaza
in this period.
Text
ܟܕ ܗܕܐ ܝܠܦ ܦܛܪܘܣ ܗܘ ܕܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܗܘܐ ܡܢ ܩܣܪܝܐ ܕܦܠܣܛܝܢܐ܆ ܘܡܢ ܒܬܪ ܡܪܕܘܬܐ
ܕܝܘ݀ܠܦܢܐ ܡܬܟܪ݀ܟܢܐ ܕܓܪܡܛܝܩܘܬܐ ܐܡܪ ܐܢܐ ܘܕܪܗܛܪܘܬܐ: ܕܝܠܦ ܒܗܝ ܡܕܝܢܬܐ܆ ܟܕ ܫܛ ܠܒܝܪܘܛܘܣ:
ܘܠܢܡ݀ܘܣܐ ܗܢܘܢ ܕܡܫܬܘܕܝܐ ܕܙܕܩܝܢ ܠܝܘܠܦܢܐ: ܘܐܦ ܠܗܘܢ ܠܣܒܪ݀ܐ ܣܪ݀ܝܩܐ܆ ܝܗܒ ܢܦܫܗ ܠܗܠܝܢ ܕܦܝܠܣܦܘܬܐ
ܐܠܗܝܬܐ ܫܩܝܠܝܢ: ܒܕܝܪܐ ܕܛܒܝܒܐ ܪܘܡܢܐ. ܟܕ ܗܕܐ ܗܟܝܠ ܝܠܦ ܐܬܐ ܠܘܬܗ܆1
Textual Note
Testimonium prepared with reference to Simtho: The Syriac Corpus (version 0.2).Translation
When Peter, who was from Caesarea in Palestine, heard of this—having
been instructed in the general arts, grammar, I say, and rhetoric, that he had studied
in this city, and having come to despise Beirut and the conventional study of law, as
well as the vain expectations, he had submitted himself to those who are upholding
divine philosophy in the monastery of the illustrious Romanus—when he [Peter] thus heard
of this, he came to him [Severus].2
Translation Note
Trans. Ambjörn 2008.Discussion Note
Psalm 50 [also numbered Psalm 51] was arguably the single most influential of the Psalms in the monastic lectionary (See Moore, 2008).Works Cited
- 1 Zacharie le Scholastique, Vie de Sévère d’Antioche, Par Zacharie Le Scholastique, in Sévère Patriarche d’Antioche 512-518, Textes Syriaques Publiés, Traduits et Annotés Par M.-A. Kugener, ed. and trans. M.-A. Kugener, Patrologia Orientalis 2 (Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1907), 1–115, p: 98.
- 2 Zachariah of Mytilene, The Life of Severus by Zachariah of Mytilene, trans. Lena Ambjörn, Texts from Christian Late Antiquity (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2008), p: 98.
Additional Bibliography
- Zacharie le Scholastique, Vie de Sévère d’Antioche, Par Zacharie Le Scholastique: Machine Readable Text, in Sévère Patriarche d’Antioche 512-518, Textes Syriaques Publiés, Traduits et Annotés Par M.-A. Kugener, ed. and trans. M.-A. Kugener, Patrologia Orientalis 2 (Paris: Piscataway, N.J.: Firmin-Didot: Machine Readable Tokens: Simtho: The Syriac Thesaurus (v. 0.2), 1907)
- Bruce K. Waltke and J. M. Houston, Psalm 51: ‘The Psalm of All Psalms’ in Penitential Devotion, in The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010), 446–83
How to Cite This Entry
David A. Michelson et al., “Zachariah of Mytilene, The Life of Severus 98,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/514.
Show full citation information...
Bibliography:
David A. Michelson et al., “Zachariah of Mytilene, The Life of Severus 98.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/514.About this Entry
Entry Title: Zachariah of Mytilene, The Life of Severus 98
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editors, “Zachariah of Mytilene, The Life of Severus 98”
- David A. Michelson and Joseph L. Rife, entry contributors, “Zachariah of Mytilene, The Life of Severus 98”
Additional Credit:
- TEI record created by David A. Michelson
- Testimonium translated by David A. Michelson
- Testimonium transcribed by David A. Michelson
- Testimonium identified by Joseph L. Rife