The Life of the Syrian Saint Barsauma

Eulogy of a Hero of the Resistance to the Council of Chalcedon

Andrew N. Palmer

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780520972988
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: History of Christianity

Andrew N. Palmer’s vivid translation of the Syriac Life of Barsauma opens a fascinating window onto the ancient Middle East, seen through the life and actions of one of its most dramatic and ambiguous characters: the monk Barsauma, ascetic hero to some, religious terrorist to others. The Life takes us into the eye of the storm that raged around Christian attempts to define the nature of Christ in the great Council of Chalcedon, the effect of which was to split the growing Church irrevocably, with the Oriental Orthodox on one side and Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic on the other. Previously known only in extracts, this ancient text is now finally brought to readers in its entirety, casting dramatic new light on the relations among pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Holy Land and on the role of religious violence, real or imagined, in the mental world of a Middle East as shot through with conflict as it is today.

The Life of Barsauma

§ 1 The story of the heroic deeds of the chosen one and head of the mourners,¹ the holy and God-clothed teacher (Syriac: rabbo), Barsauma the Northerner.² His prayer be with us, Amen!³

1 In every age and in every generation there have been righteous men (Syriac: zaddīqē) in the creation; and one righteous man (zaddīqo) outstrips another by his love, just as one star outshines another in magnitude; and one champion (ἀθλητής) is as far superior in performance to another as the sun in brightness to the moon.

2 In Barsauma’s time there were many mourners (Syriac: abīlē), but the perfection (Syriac: gmīrūto) of this one surpassed all others; and in his generation many righteous men were found, but his athleticism was superior to the rest. In fact, one might almost say it is unheard of in the history of the world for beings of flesh and blood to perform athletic feats such as his. That, at least, is my opinion.

§ 2 The first sign.⁴

1 The beginning of this man’s recognition as one chosen by God⁵ was as follows. There lived in the wilderness a holy man, whose name was Joseph. This righteous man lived long ago, before Barsauma’s fame began to be known in the world.

2 From his (isolated) station, this righteous man was the first to make Barsauma’s chosen status known. He was speaking to a crowd of people who had come to see him. “Mark my words!” he said. “A certain righteous man will soon be revealed to the world. His name is Barsauma. Now the righteousness of this man surpasses that of all his generation, as John the Baptist surpassed all those born from women.”⁶

3 Those who were listening to Joseph asked him: “Where did you get this knowledge from? Are you perhaps a prophet?” He replied: “I am no prophet. I saw this in a divine vision.” And that holy man used to tell what he had learned from his vision in the presence of all men.

§ 3A The second sign. Dogs bite him.⁷

1 This Barsauma, who would be the most excellent of mourners, was born in a village called Beth Awton in the district (χῶρα) of Samosata.⁸ While he was still a little child, his father died. His mother, whose name was Sakhiya, became the wife of a man in another village. Barsauma went there with his mother.

2 About this time the little Barsauma happened to be alone one day in a field when some aggressive dogs came on him on their way back (to the village) from the sheep. When these dogs saw that the child was alone, they growled at him fiercely, ran up and seized him, then trotted off again, carrying him between their teeth.

3 The dogs had been dragging him along for some time between their teeth when some men from that village came across the field. When they saw the dogs pulling at the child Barsauma, the men thought they were fighting over some animal.

4 Coming closer, however, they discovered Barsauma on his back in the middle, with each of the dogs pulling him in a different direction. Picking up sticks and stones, they rescued the child from the dogs. When they were close enough to examine him, they looked for the marks of the dogs’ teeth, but they could not see even the slightest scratch on him.

5 All this came to pass because of the trials to which the devil would one day subject him, and because of his future struggles with the pagans and the wars of the heresies; for in due course these, too, would attack Barsauma. By this men already knew, when Barsauma was but a child, that victory was his as a chosen one, destined to win all his contests and be delivered from all harms. For just as he fell into the jaws of savage dogs without any harm to his body, so he was destined to fall into deep contests without any harm to his soul.

6 The men who had rescued Barsauma from the dogs stood there in amazement at what they had seen. One of them, filled with grace, made a kind of prophecy: “If I am alive, brothers, I shall remind you. But if I am dead (by the time it happens), you will have to remember what I now say. This child has been chosen by God to be his instrument.⁹ He is destined to attain high rank in God’s service. This sign which has been seen in him was not performed for nothing.” When the child Barsauma heard the man saying this, it occurred to him that he ought to go out into the wilderness.

§ 3[B]¹⁰

7 When the day came for the great fair of Samosata, Barsauma’s relatives went into town, taking the child with them. But he left them there in Samosata and ran away, following the course of the Euphrates which flows past that city. And as he walked along the riverbank, he began to weep.

8 Now by the grace of God he encountered there a certain distinguished mourner called Abraham, dedicated to holy poverty (Syriac: msarqo). When this man saw the little child, he said to him: “Why are you crying? Where do you come from? And where are you going?” Barsauma answered: “Sir, I am an orphan. My father is dead. I want to become a Slave¹¹ of Christ.”

9 Abraham replied: “Where do you mean to go and labor for Christ?” To this, Barsauma responded: “I want, sir, to go into the wilderness, where no people walk.”¹² Abraham answered: “My son, you are a child. The wilderness is a very difficult place. You cannot live there on your own.”

10 Barsauma was as innocent as a lamb. He believed every word. When he heard this he panicked. He was overcome by dizziness and did not know what to say in reply. So Abraham spoke again to the little child: “Suppose someone were to do you a kindness for our Lord’s sake and take you to a monastery! Would you run away?”

11 Then Barsauma answered: “I promise you before God that I shall never stop following the way I have started on.” Then Abraham took charge of him; and he went with him. And when they arrived at the next monastery on their way, he urged the monks to accept the child Barsauma.

12 At this the child Barsauma began to weep out loud and said to Abraham: “Sir, if God wanted me to stay here, he would have led me here directly. As it is, it is clear that He wants me to stay with you, because it is you that I first met with.” When Abraham heard this, he felt sorry; so he took charge of Barsauma. From there on the child followed him.

13 Afterward other disciples attached themselves to them. These also attained a high rank in God’s service and a name in the world. One of them, who had achieved great heights of asceticism by the time he ended his days, performed many signs during his life and more after his death. Amazing powers and miracles are manifested through his bones.

14 This man rose to be a bishop. I could tell a great deal about him. As it is, God has recorded all his victorious deeds in the Book of Life in the heavenly Jerusalem. Eventually Abraham departed from this world, leaving his disciples while they were still young.

§ 4 The first distinction. First pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

1 It occurred to the young Barsauma that he ought to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He wore rags of sackcloth, of double thickness, patched together with thick threads of wool and hair. He resolved to wear no shoes, not even sandals, on his journey; to take neither purse, nor bag, nor stick, nor food from one place to another; neither to enter a village, nor to pass through a city; and to accept neither silver, nor bronze.¹³ Thus he went and thus he returned, all the way to the East.

2 Now at that time pagans abounded in Palestine, Phoenicia, and Arabia. Christians were as yet few in number in those countries. The Jews and the Samaritans, on the other hand, were rich. They persecuted the Christians of that region. Seeing that Barsauma was a young lad and that there was no one else with him, they beat and tormented him in every place before they drove him out.

§ 5 The second distinction. He undergoes a winter ordeal in the open air.

1 After Barsauma had returned to the region of the East, he set out again to go to a certain desolate mountain on his own. He was there throughout the winter under snow and ice. As for food, he received none there from any man, but he would gather the wild herbs from places that were denuded of snow and get nourishment from these.

2 In April he went to another mountain both high and cold. There he fed on grass-roots, until the fruit of the wild trees ripened. For he found some wild trees and stayed there, eating o...

Table of contents

• Subvention
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• Overview of the Life of Barsauma
• The Life of Barsauma
• Notes