Ermilov Pavel, priest; Panchenko Konstantin; Petrova Yulia

Correspondence between Patriarch of Alexandria Gerasimos Palladas and christians of the Church of Antioch: historical and textological aspects

Abstract

Several decades preceding the split of the Church of Antioch into Orthodox and Catholic branches in 1724 are the least studied period in the early Modern history of the Orthodox Middle East. The authors present preliminary results of their joint project aiming at the commented edition of the Arabic texts of the epistle sent in September 1702 by the Patriarch of Alexandria Gerasimos Palladas to the Eastern Orthodox community of Tripoli, and the responses from the Christians of Tripoli and Aleppo. The correspondence, only partially edited, reflects intellectual life and ideological confrontation in the Church of Antioch in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The main topic of the correspondence is a dispute on the moment of consecration of the Holy Gifts in the Divine Liturgy, which was one of the traditional subjects of polemics between the Orthodox and Catholic theologians. The Orthodox Church view, expressed by Patriarch Gerasimos, met strong objections on the part of the Christians of Aleppo, probably influenced by the Latin Church missionaries. The authors analyze the historical background and the context of the correspondence, as well as peculiarities of the Arabic manuscript tradition of the Patriarch’s epistle. As a result of the collation of the manuscripts available, the authors identify two versions of the translation of Gerasimos’ epistle and determine the features of stylistic revision of the text in the second recension.

Keywords

Christian Middle East, Patriarchate of Alexandria, Patriarchate of Antioch, Arab Christians, Catholic Unia, Anti-Catholic polemics, Eucharistic controversies, Gerasimos Palladas, Arabic Christian manuscripts

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Information about the author

Ermilov Pavel, priest

Academic Degree: Candidate of Sciences* in History;
Place of work: St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University for the Humanities; 6/1 Likhov pereulok, Moscow 127051, Russian Federation;
Post: Head of the Ecclesiastical Institutions Research Laboratory;
ORCID: 0000-0003-0881-2866;
Email: pavel_ermilov@mail.ru.

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.

Panchenko Konstantin

Academic Degree: Doctor of Sciences* in History;
Academic Rank: Associate Professor;
Place of work: Institute of Asian and African Studies, Moscow State University; 11 Mokhovaia str., Moscow 103911, Russian Federation;
Post: Professor;
ORCID: 0000-0003-4155-5187;
Email: const969@gmail.com.

*According to ISCED 2011, a post-doctoral degree called Doctor of Sciences (D.Sc.) is given to reflect second advanced research qualifications or higher doctorates.

Petrova Yulia

Academic Degree: Candidate of Sciences* in Philology;
Place of work: A. Krymsky Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; 4 Grushevskogo str., Kiev 01001, Ukraine;
ORCID: 0000-0002-5130-232X;
Email: j.arabic2011@gmail.com.

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.

Acknowledgments

The article is written within the framework of the research project “History of Eucharistic Disputes in the Christian East: Correspondence between Patriarch of Alexandria Gerasimos Palladas and Syrian Christians” with the support of the St Tikhon’s University and the Living Tradition Foundation.