Assyrian Church

Since late antiquity, northern Mesopotamia had been the cradle of two main Christian communities, namely, the Church of the East and the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. From the late Middle Ages onwards, however, their newly-created Catholic counterparts, as well as Protestant offshoots in the modern period, have further added to this uneasy and often antagonistic mix. Despite these Churches sharing a common Syriac liturgical language, and their members speaking Neo-Aramaic and sharing a common Assyrian ethnicity and heritage, they have time and again found themselves at loggerheads in the historical record over differences in theology, Christology, allegiance and claims to apostolic succession. With this diversification of creeds and loyalties amongst the Syriac Churches, there also came a need for each community to legitimise, consolidate and renew itself as it saw fit in order to be able to remain in competition with its ‘rivals.’ Part of this process was embodied in the appropriation of churches and monasteries belonging to the ‘others’ and their modification to conform to the ecclesiastical norms of the new owners.

In this study, cases of churches which have largely changed hands between the Church of the East, Syriac Orthodox Church, Chaldean Catholic Church and Syriac Catholic Church will be discussed in an effort to illustrate this un-Christian process of control, appropriation and dispossession, as well as the transferral and imposition of one form of Christian expression on an edifice which previously belonged to another denomination. Examples of church buildings in Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran will hence be discussed in an effort to understand the way in which this heritage is appropriated and transferred, as well as the method through which one denomination’s own heritage can be transferred to an existing structure built by an opposing one.

Babai Agung adalah tokoh besar Gereja Timur. Ia mengemban peran sebagai co-catholicos pada zaman Khosrau II yang memaksakan sede vacante kepemimpinan Gereja. Babai mampu menjalankan tugasnya dengan baik. Tata hidup Gereja dan biara-biaranya terjaga melalui ketegasan dan keteguhan Babai dalam menegakkan ortodoksi ajaran Gereja. Selain dikenal sebagai figur pemimpin, Babai adalah seorang teolog besar. Ia mampu menyelesaikan persoalan teologis tentang Kristus pasca konsili Kalsedon dengan ketajaman bahasanya.

In the 19th century missionary activities in the Ottoman Empire made their presence felt, reaching even the city of Adıyaman. Out of the missionary groups, Catholics made success in forming a congregation that was loyal to them by affecting Armenians and Assyrians. Especially in-kind aid and financial aid that they offered made a big impact. But generally, it is seen that missionary activities were carried out most in the city centre of Adıyaman which had a dense minority population. It is seen that out of the Catholic congregations, Armenians from Besni cared much about education.
They built churches throughout XIX th century without getting official permission from the state. It was recently given to them and Catholic missionaries continued their activities in Adıyaman and in its vicinity until World War I.

Through Nicholas Al-Jeloo's exhibition, the general Fairfield community is able to witness the immense pride of the Assyrian people and the celebration of Persistence & Existence. The Assyrians are a key community in Fairfield. This exhibition showcases how the contemporary life of the Assyrian people is deeply rooted in the past and traditions of Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria.

Dans son histoire de la littérature syriaque, Baumstark (1922: 303) observe que la poésie liturgique refleurit, à partir du XIII' siècle, eu milieu sy-ro-oriental, modifiant parfois sensiblement les schémas classiques; de nou-veaux genres se développent taudis que les genres traditionnels-mëmra, madras a, sof{i!a-revêtent de nouvelles formes. Dans la tradition liturgique syro-orientale tardive, le nouveau genre des vnyaja figure certainement parmi les plus pratiqués et les plus populaires. Le terme 'Dnita-qui, dans la tradition classique, indique une sorte de refrain similaire à 1' antienne de la liturgie latine-en vient à indiquer un hynme plutôt long, normalement structuré en trois parties: le prologue, la partie centrale et 1 'épilogue. Le poète Giwargis Warda, actif dans la première moi-tié du XIII' siècle, est considéré comme l'initiateur et le principal inspirateur de ce nouveau genre de poésie liturgique (BUNDY 1993). Son modèle a eu une influence considérable non seulement sur les nombreux auteurs qui ont composé des vnyaja en syriaque classique, mais aussi sur les premiers auteurs syriens orientaux qui ont adopté une forme littéraire d'araméen modeme (syriaque modeme, syriaque dialectal ou suret, ainsi que les Chaldéens irakiens appellent leur langue) pour leurs compositions liturgiques. Les premiers poèmes néo-araméens remontent à la fin du XVI' siècle, un siècle riche en transformations pour les communautés chrétiennes de la région. À la suite de campagnes militaires difficiles, mais finalement victo-rieuses, contre la Perse, au XVI' siècle, le pouvoir ottoman va se consolidant dans le Nord de l'Irak, apportant probablement une amélioration des conditions de vie et permettant une plus grande liberté de mouvement aux voya-geurs et aux missionnaires européens (PENNACCHIETTI 1991: 169-170).

In the 19th century missionary activities in the Ottoman Empire made their presence felt, reaching even the city of Adiyaman. Out of the missionary groups, Catholics made success in forming a congregation that was loyal to them by affecting Armenians and Assyrians. Especially in-kind aid and financial aid that they offered made a big impact. But generally, it is seen that missionary activities were carried out most in the city centre of Adiyaman which had a dense minority population. It is seen that out of the Catholic congregations, Armenians from Besni cared much about education. They built churches throughout XIX th century without getting official permission from the state. It was recently given to them and Catholic missionaries continued their activities in Adiyaman and in its vicinity until World War I.