Graeco-Latina et Orientalia Studia in honorem Angeli Urbani heptagenarii Edited by Samir Khalil Samir & Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala CNERU – CEDRAC __________________________________ Oriens Academic CNERU – CEDRAC Series Syro-Arabica 2 Chief Editors Samir Khalil Samir • Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala Advisory Board Sebastian Brock • Rifaat Ebied • Sidney H. Griffith Herman Teule • Dorothea Weltecke Graeco-Latina et Orientalia Studia in honorem Angeli Urbani heptagenarii Edited by Samir Khalil Samir & Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala Graeco-Latina et Orientalia : Studia in honorem Angeli Urbani heptagenarii. Edited by Samir Khalil Samir & Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala. – Cordoba : CNERU (Cordoba Near Eastern Research Unit) – Beirut : CEDRAC (Centre de Documentation et de Recherches Arabes Chrétiennes) – Oriens Academic, 2013 (Series Syro-Arabica ; vol. 2) ISBN : 978-84-695-8428-6 Edit: Oriens Academic – CNERU – CEDRAC Cordoba Near Eastern Research Unit Facultad de Filosofía y Letras Universidad de Córdoba Plaza Cardenal Salazar, 3 14071 – Córdoba, Spain CEDRAC Université Saint-Joseph B.P. 16-6778 – Achrafieh Beyrouth – Liban http://www.uco.es/cneru infoccne@uco.es Print: Imprentatecé, S.C.A. Ingeniero Torres Quevedo, s/n Córdoba (Spain) Cover design by Manuel Marcos Aldón & Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala ISBN: 978-84-695-8428-6 DL: CO-1337-2013 © Cordoba Near Eastern Research Unit © CEDRAC © The authors All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in any retrieval system, nor transmitted in any form without written permission from the Publisher Printed in Spain CONTENTS Preface ............................................................................................ xi Bibliography Professor Ángel Urbán ...................................................... xiii ARGÁRATE, Pablo A Survey of Different Liturgical Sources on the notion of “People of God” ....................................................................................................... 1 BASSAL, Ibrahim An early copy of a Christian Arabic Pentateuch: Ms Sinai Arabic 2 and its affinity to the Peshīṭta .................................................................... 13 BONHOME, Lourdes An Arabic fragmentary epistle to the Galatians preserved in El Escorial Cod. Ar. 1625 .............................................................................. 35 BROCK, Sebastian P. The position of Job in Syriac biblical manuscripts: The survival of an ancient tradition ..................................................................................... 49 CHRISTIDES, Vassilios What went wrong in the long distance Roman naval power in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean in the late third century AD ........................ 63 CORRIENTE, Federico The names of the gems in the ephod as reflected in the Leiden Glossary and their reflexes in the Islamic mystical tradition ....................................... 87 DI LUCCIO, Pino Pane, acqua e vestiti. Nella Bibbia ebraica, nella letteratura rabbinica e nel vangelo di Giovanni ....................................................................... 101 EBIED, Rifaat The Syriac Version of the Treatise on the Origin and History of the Thirty Pieces of Silver which Judas received from the Jews ......................... 123 FERNÁNDEZ ARDANAZ, Santiago La teología política bajo los Severos: hacia una nueva fundamentación de la oicoumene en el Imperio romano .................................................... 133 GONZÁLEZ CASADO, Pilar Cristo, segundo Adán: la expresión en árabe de un tema de la literatura cristiana antigua ...................................................................... 147 GRYPEOU, Emmanouela Ephraem Graecus, ʻSermo In Adventum Domini᾽: A Contribution to the Study of the Transmission of Apocalyptic Motifs in Greek, Latin and Syriac Traditions in Late Antiquity .................................................... 165 KIRAZ, George A. Textual Sources and Editorial Policies of the Antioch Bible ........................... 183 MARCOS ALDÓN, Manuel Notes sur les types d’écritures dans les marges des texts, à propos du Ms. 259-263 BNM ................................................................................ 191 MARTÍNEZ DELGADO, José Cracks, the Almond, the Grasshopper and Desire: the ailments of old age (Ecclesiastes 12:5) in the exegesis of Andalusi Hebrew philologists (10th -11th c.) ....................................................................... 205 MONFERRER-SALA, Juan Pedro Kērýssō and its Arabic renditions in a bilingual Gospel of Luke (BnF ‘Supl. grec 911’, 1043 CE) .................................................................... 221 ÖNDER, Josef Metropolit Julius Yeshu Çiçek (1942-2005): „Meine Kirche, Dich liebe ich!‟ Autobiographisches Gedicht: Text und Auslegung ...................... 237 PAZZINI, Massimo Gli Olivi del Getsemani ultimi «testimoni viventi» della Passione ................ 253 PIERRI, Rosario Codex B e Nestle-Aland a confronto. Il Vangelo di Matteo ......................... 261 viii RIUS-CAMPS, Josep Lucas-Beza silencia o soslaya cualquier referencia a la Parusía y al Juicio Final .......................................................................................... 277 SAMIR, Samir Khalil Une adaptation arabe musulmane en prose rimée des evangiles (IXe s.) ......... 295 SIDARUS, Adel Place et rôle de l᾽Antiquité gréco-romaine dans la littérature coptoarabe .................................................................................................. 327 SWANSON, Mark. N. The ‘Urban Ministry’ of Anbā Ruways .................................................... 359 TEULE, Herman G.B. Ignatius Anṭūn Samḥīrī, a 19th Century Syrian-Catholic Patriarch, and his Journey to the Low Countries ...................................................... 371 TORALLAS TOVAR, Sofía El orfebre del insulto: Filón y la lengua griega de Alejandría ....................... 383 VOLLANDT, Ronny Che portono al ritorno quì una Bibbia Arabica integra: A history of the Biblia Sacra Arabica (1671-73) .......................................................... 401 WILDE, Clare Q 33:35: Echoes of the Bnāt Qyāmā’s jihād fī sabīl allāh? ............................. 419 YOUSSEF, Youhanna Nessim A Doxology of Saint Mark al-Anṭūnī ....................................................... 433 ix Professor Ángel Urbán Fernández x Ephraem Graecus, ‘Sermo In Adventum Domini’ A Contribution to the Study of the Transmission of Apocalyptic Motifs in Greek, Latin and Syriac Traditions in Late Antiquity Emmanouela Grypeou University of Oxford Introduction This paper focuses on those pseudepigraphical traditions that circulated under the name of the renowned theologian of the 4th cent. Ephraem the Syrian with special attention to the portrayal of the eschatological figure of the antichrist. I shall focus here on the Greek tradition, which has been significantly neglected by modern scholarship. The analysis will further investigate the Greek tradition in the context of the Latin and Syriac pseudo-Ephremian apocalyptic traditions respectively. Since all texts in question are pseudepigraphical, we need to assume a dating which post-dates Ephraem the Syrian, at least in consideration of the latest redaction of these texts. Among the genuine writings of Ephraem there exist a number of sermons that deal with eschatological fears and questions and which have been significantly influential on later authors and traditions. However, none of the genuine sermons by Ephraem develop a comprehensive apocalyptic scenario or include eschatological figures such as the Antichrist. Still, there is a body of literature in Greek, Latin and Syriac, which is transmitted under the name of Ephraem the Syrian that reflects the classical apocalyptic genre and offers a comprehensive narrative on the end of the world. This body of literature demonstrates a relation with a number of other classical apocalyptic works and proves to be particularly important for the development of the motif of well-known figure of the Antichrist and his horrific reign, as it demonstrates a number of original and momentous features, which have proved to be considerably influential on the further elaboration and development of this tradition in Syria and Byzantium.1 1 See for example, the common motifs as attested in Syriac texts, such as the so-called Edessene Apocalypse (ed. Francisco Javier Martínez, The Eastern Christian Apocalyptic in the Emmanouela Grypeou The Ephraem Graecus Literary Tradition Ephraem the Syrian has been a significantly prolific writer. Among the works that circulated under his name in Late Antiquity, there exists also an impressive body of literature, which is preserved and transmitted in Greek. Ephraem’s knowledge of Greek –if any- must have been limited.2 Accordingly, this literature is largely pseudepigraphical and it bears evidence to Ephraem’s importance and popularity also outside his native language and culture. Characteristically, in the Clavis Patrum Graecorum there are more than 120 titles in Greek registered under the name of Ephraem.3 A significant part of the Greek pseudo-Ephraemian literature is dedicated to matters of an eschatological-apocalyptic outlook. More specifically, a number of writings deal with the Last Judgment and with questions of reward for the righteous and punishment for the sinners in the afterlife. These are texts of a highly paraenetic and moralistic character. The Greek writings under the name of Ephraem in Greek were edited by Thwaites in 1709 and later in the same century by Assemani in two volumes, along with a Latin translation.4 Assemani’s edition depends considerably on Thwaites edition. In Assemani’s edition there are about ten texts entitled: On the Second Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ or On Judgement and Resurrection and On Penitence. Parts of these texts are doublets, however. 2 3 4 Early Muslim Period: Pseudo-Methodius and Pseudo-Athanasius, Ph.D. dissertation, Washington D.C.: The Catholic University of America, 1985, and the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius (ed. Gerrit J. Reinink, Die Apocalypse des Pseudo-Methodius (CSCO 452: script. syr. 220-221), Louvain: Peeters, 1993) and the Greek Byzantine Daniel-Diegese (ed. Klaus Berger, Die griechische Daniel-Diegese (Studia Postbiblica, 27), Leiden: Brill, 1976) or the Apocalypse of Andreas Salos (ed. Lennard Ryden, ‘The Andreas Salos Apocalypse: Greek Text, Translation and Commentary’, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 28 [1974], pp. 197-261). See David G.K. Taylor, ‘St. Ephraim’s influence on the Greeks’, Hugoye 1:2 (1998), pp. 185196. See CPG, Ephraem Graecus 3905-4175; This literary corpus comprises works of ascetical, exegetical, paraenetic character, etc. Significantly, the figure of Ephraem as an ascetic appears to have had a significant impact on the Greek speaking monastic milieu. Accordingly, there is a great emphasis on literature of an ascetic character under his name. Demokratie Hammerdinger-Iliadou, who has studied the Ephraem Graecus corpus extensively, has demonstrated that some of the works that are transmitted under the name of Ephraem can be attributed to other Church Fathers, while some others were originally composed in Syriac, a few of them even by Ephraem himself, and were later translated into Greek; See especially her article on ‘Ephraem Graecus’, in Dictionnaire de la Spiritualité, vol. V., cols 800-821. See Edward Thwaites, S. Ephraim Syrus Graecae, Oxford: Sheldonian, 1709; Giuseppe Simone Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri opera omnia quae extant Graece, Syriacae, Latine in sex tomos distributa, Rome, 1732-46. 166 Ephraem Graecus, ‘Sermo In Adventum Domini’ The textual evidence suggests that Ephraem was highly valued as a major moral authority on issues regarding the right life-conduct and especially in the context of questions regarding the salvation of the faithful before the Second Coming of Christ and the Last Judgment. As will be shown in the discussion below, Ephraem was further considered to be an apocalyptic authority as early as by the end of the fourth century A.D. The present analysis will specifically focus on those texts of an apocalyptic character by Ephraem Graecus, which deal with the End of the World and explicitly with the figure and the times of the Antichrist. The main text, “apocalyptic” text, which I am going to present here, is entitled, Sermon on the Second Coming of Christ, on the Consummation of the World and on the Coming of the Antichrist (Sermo in Adventum Domini et de Consummatione Seculi et in Adventum Antichristi).5 The text exists in Twaites and in Assemani’s editions. In the volumes published by Assemani, the text appears in two versions, a longer and a shorter one, in the second and the third volume of his edition respectively. 6 The shorter text in the third volume overlaps with the second half of the longer version. It demonstrates, however, slight discrepancies in the formulation, in the grammar and in the spelling as well as some additions and/or omissions in the narration. There exist also Georgian, Arabic and Old Bulgarian versions of this text as well as fragments in Christian Palestinian Aramaic and in Coptic.7 The numerous versions and translations of the text attest to its popularity and 5 6 7 όγο εἰ ὴ Πα ο ία οῦ ίο , αὶ πε ὶ ῆ Σ έ ε α οῦ ό ο αὶ εἰ πα ο ία οῦ Ἀ ί ο . See Sermo in Adventum Domini et de consummatine saeculi et in adventum Antichristi (Ass. Gr. II. p. 222-230) CPG 3946; [Thwaites title 156, pp 136-140)] In Adventum Domini (Ass. Gr. III. pp 134-143); cf. Sermo in secundum adventum domini (Ass Gr I pp 167-171) CPG 3920; Sermo in secundum adventum Domini II (Ass Gr II p. 192-209) CPG 3944 and CPL 1144. On Assemani’s methodological dilettantism in his reprinting of the various versions of the text, see Wilhelm Bousset’s criticism, Der Antichrist in der Überlieferung des Judentums, des neuen Testaments und der alten Kirche, Göttingen, 1895, p. 21 (henceforth, W. Bousset, Der Antichrist); see also especially Bousset’s tables, p. 24. Thwaites’s edition is based on the 12th century Ms Bodl, Roe gr. 28, 61b-68a. For the Georgian translation, see J. Imnaišvili, K‛art‛uli enis istoriuli k‛restimat‛ia, vol. 2, Tiflis, 1971, pp. 21-25; 45-46, for the Arabic version, see Georg Graf, Geschichte der christlichen arabischen Literatur, (coll. “Studi e Testi”, 143) Città del Vaticano: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1944-53, vol I, p. 428. The edition of the Old Bulgarian translation is accompanied by a translation into German, see Georg Bojkovsky- Rudolf Aitzenmüller, Paraenesis. Die altbulgarische Übersetzung von Werken Ephraims des Syrers, vol. IV, Freiburg i. Br.: Weiher, 1988, pp. 364-403. The fragments in Christian Palestinian Aramaic were edited and translated by Hans Duensing, ‚Nachlese christlich-palästinisch-aramäischer Fragmente‘, in Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen 1, phil.-hist. Klasse nr. 5, Göttingen, 1955, pp. 126-149. On the fragments in Coptic see Delio Vania Proverbio, ‘Auctarium au dossier copte de l’Ephraem grec’, Orientalia 66 (1997), pp. 78-85, esp. 79-80. 167 Emmanouela Grypeou significance for apocalyptic tradition in Eastern Christianity.8 W. Bousset, who regarded this text as a genuine writing by Ephraem, stressed its importance for the understanding of the development of central motifs of Christian apocalyptic thought and literature.9 Furthermore, there are two pseudo-Ephremian texts preserved (and most probably also originally composed) in Latin10 and in Syriac11 respectively, which also deal –at least in part- with the times of the Antichrist. Both the Latin and the Syriac texts have been the object of several studies, editions and translations. This is not the case, however, with the Greek text. To my knowledge, there exists neither a critical edition and nor a modern comprehensive study of the text. The text has been mainly studied by Wilhelm Bousset in his classical monograph on the Antichrist in 1895, but has been nearly ‘forgotten’ ever since.12 The Greek Sermo in Adventum Domini In the following, I am going to discuss the Sermo in Adventum Domini in the context of the parallel ‘Antichrist’ literature of Late Antiquity and also in the context of the Pseudo-Ephraem apocalypses in Latin and Syriac. The sermon is dedicated almost entirely to the description of the times of the Antichrist. Perhaps the most important feature of the Sermo in Adventu Domini is that it exclusively focuses on the end of times. According to the longer version of the text, his alleged author, Ephraem, who calls himself a humble and sinful servant of God, confesses that God has awarded him knowledge of the time of the future tribulations that will be caused by the 8 9 10 11 12 Interestingly enough, this text is supposed to have been so widespread as to have influenced Romanos’ Melodos poem, On the Last Judgment, see J. Grosdidier de Matons, Hymnes, Romane le Mélode, vol. V. (Sources chretiennes, 128), Paris, 1981: Editions du Cerf, pp. 209-267; cf. Rudolf Thomas Maria Wehofer, Untersuchungen zum Lied des Romanos auf die Wiederkunft des Herrn, SB Wien, phil.-hist. Klasse 154/5, Wien, 1907. W. Bousset, Der Antichrist, p. 21, n.1 and passim. See Daniel Verhelst, ‘Scarpsum de Dictis Sancti Ephraem Prope Fine Mundi’, in Robrecht Lievens, Erik van Mingroot, Werner Verbeke (eds), Pascua Medievalia (Mediaevalia Lovaniensia; ser. 1, studia 10), Leuven: Universitaire pers Leuven, 1983; Carl Paul Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus and Isidor von Sevilla beigelegte Predigt über die letzten Zeiten, den Antichrist und das Ende der Welt. Aus zwei Handschriften saec. VIII...’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Abhandlungen und Predigten und aus den zwei letzten Jahrhunderte des kirchlichen Altertums and Anfang des Mittelalters, Christiania, 1890, esp. pp. 208-220 and 429-472. See Edmund Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Sermones III (CSCO 20/321, script. syri 138/139), Louvain: Secrétariat du CorpusSCO, 1972; Harald Suermann, Die geschichtstheologische Reaktion auf die einfallenden Muslime in der edessenischen Apokalyptik des 7. Jahrhunderts, Frankfurt a.M. et al.: Peter Lang, 1985. W. Bousset, Der Antichrist. 168 Ephraem Graecus, ‘Sermo In Adventum Domini’ ‘Dragon’. It is important to stress in this context that the Antichrist is often called a ‘dragon’ or a ‘demon’. The coming of the Dragon is explained as the result of the unfaithfulness and impiousness of the people who would prefer to love the evil instead of God’s love. The Greek sermon presents a compact narrative that recounts certain central motifs on the nature of the Antichrist and his rule. Significantly, the figure is hardly ever called “Antichrist” in the text, even if it retains certain features of the figure as a pseudo-messianic antitype of Christ. After an introductory part, which presents a summarised description of the time of the Antichrist and lists his most important features, such as his deceitful diabolic being, his illusionary signs and horrible kingship, the trials and finally the flight and ultimate salvation of the righteous, there follows the more detailed recounting of the time of the Antichrist. According to our text, this will be a time of tears and worries, and prayers for everybody. The false signs will multiply because the beast ( ίο ) will be determined to destroy everybody, as he is an adversary of God (θεομάχος). The Dragon will show himself in great power, as a God, through horrific signs and he will be accompanied in the air by numerous demons, like angels.13 He is called the snake (ὄ ), the adversary, the enemy (ἐ ό ) and the apostate. He will be born by an unclean young woman in contrast to the Lords’ birth by Virgin Mary. The tyrant will try everything, so that all people will carry the seal of the beast when he will come to lead the world astray. Especially, when food will become sparse, many will be forced to receive the seal on the right hand and on the forehead, then only those with the seal will be able to purchase food. 14 He will appear to be initially, humble, gentle, pious, hating injustice and idolatry. He will honour exceedingly the nation of the Jews and the Jews will look forward to his coming. However, he will only pretend to be good natured, in order to become popular until he gains power so that the people will announce him a king in great happiness. Then, he will destroy the world and he will pollute the souls. As he is not pious, but furious, horrible, hateful, and he will try to throw the entire generation of men into the mire of impiety, while he will multiply his false signs. He will move mountains and islands on the sea in front of the eyes of the people. These signs will be only illusions but still, many will believe and call him God.15 After that, a time of ultimate disaster, characterised by horrible drought, will arrive. People will die in all places and nobody will be there to bury the dead. 16 There will be an unbearable stench and an unbearable grief everywhere. The 13 14 15 16 G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.222-224. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.224E-225F; III.136; cf. Rev 13:16-18. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.226-227; III. 138-139. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.227. 169 Emmanouela Grypeou entire nature will be in confusion and turmoil. When the world will reach this point of outmost despair, God will send Elijah the Thesbite and Enoch to warn the people about his deceitful nature and to announce the coming of the Lord and His judgement.17 Following the revelation of the heinous signs of the Antichrist, the flight of the saints and righteous takes place, who will hide in mountains and caves in great fear.18 The whole earth will mourn. Prayer and liturgy will stop. The text concludes with the glorious coming of the Son of Man, the resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment for all nations, which will take place after the completion of three and a half weeks and the culmination of evil.19 The righteous that have not received the seal of the dragon will rejoice together with angels and archangels whereas all those who have received the seal of the dragon will not partake in Christ’s kingdom but will be thrown in the Gehenna along with the Dragon. The shorter version of the text is, as mentioned above, partly identical with the longer version but it omits the introductory summary of the time of the Antichrist. It appears to be a revised version prepared by a copyist who added his own remarks, small glossae and in certain ways ‘improved’ the original text, using a more ‘elaborate’ narrative style. The Antichrist is associated with idolatrous incidents of the Old Testament, such as the stories of Balaam and Balak and the king of Midian (Num 22-25)20. The texts stresses the fact that he is a figure encouraging idolatry, emphasising at the same time that he is an ally of the Jews and that the Jews will honour him and will rejoice during his kingdom. He will favour Jerusalem and will encourage the re-building of the Temple. Summarising, it can be observed that the Greek Ephraem sermon includes certain main apocalyptic motifs in its description of the figure of the Antichrist and his times, such s the flight and the persecution of the faithful, the ultimate natural and social disasters and the culmination of despair, the deception of the people through false signs and the final Judgement, which will restore the divine order by rewarding the faithful, who persevered and punishing the evil and all his followers. 17 18 19 20 G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.229; on the figures of Enoch and Elijah as an apocalyptic topos in relation with the antichrist, see Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala, ‘ ‘The Antichrist is coming...’ The making of an apocalyptic topos in Arabic (Ps.-Athanasius, Vat. Ar. 158/Par. ar. 153/32)’, in Dmitrij Bumazhnov et al., Bibel, Byzanz und christlicher Orient. Festschrift für Stephen Gerö zum 65. Geburtstag (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 187), Leuven: Peeters, 2011, pp. 653-678, and J. P. Monferrer-Sala, “Literatura apocalíptica cristiana en árabe. Con un avance de edición del Apocalipsis árabecopto del Pseudo Atanasio”, Miscelánea de Estudios Árabes y Hebraicos 48 (1999), pp. 231-254. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.229. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.229-230. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, III.135. 170 Ephraem Graecus, ‘Sermo In Adventum Domini’ As is well known, the figure of the Antichrist has its roots in the Jewish apocalyptic literature, where he appears as Satan or Dragon. He is portrayed as an ungodly false prophet or an impious political tyrant.21 The difference of the emphasis reveals not only a variety of popular literary traditions but possibly also the varied historical background of these traditions. Thus, it may be assumes that the shift in the focus of these texts reflected diverse historical, political or internal religious crises that needed to be addressed. We find traditions on the Antichrist again in the New Testament, notably in John’s Revelation, and in several Early Christian writings.22 The figure of the Antichrist becomes soon a popular eschatological motif in early Christian literature, where it develops to a standard albeit complex and multifaceted tradition.23 Ps. Ephraem’s sermon shares certain common traditions with the relevant Early Christian literature but it does not depend directly on any of these early texts. The text integrates general biblical references, such as the apocalyptic parts in the Gospels of Mark (13) and Matthew (24) and makes broad use of elements from the Revelation of John and the Book of Daniel. In spite of explicit references to the apocalypse of Daniel, there is no mention of a political history regarding a succession of kingdoms that would usher the end of the world. Similarly, our text does not demonstrate any concern about warfare or the end of the empire but the emphasis is placed more on a moral and religious decadence. The highly paraenetic character of the sermon underlines this outlook. The end 21 22 23 For an overview, see J. P. Monferrer-Sala, ‘Literatura apocalíptica cristiana en árabe’, Miscelánea de Estudios Árabes y Hebraicos 48 (1999), pp. 231-254; J. P. Monferrer-Sala, ‘ ‘The Antichrist is coming...’ ’, in D. Bumazhnov et al., Bibel, Byzanz und christlicher Orient, pp. 653678; Bernhard Mc Ginn, Antichrist: two thousand years of the human fascination with evil, San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 1996; cf. Neil Forsyth, The Old Enemy: Satan and the Old Combat Myth, Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989. In the New Testament and in the Early Christian literature the figure is identified with the false prophet or the apostate, who seduces the faithful to deny the true faith (Mt 24:24; Mk 13:22; 1Jn 2:18b; 2:22; 4:3; 2Jn 7; Did 16:3ff.; Asc Jes 4:5). The figure of the Antichrist as a tyrannical ruler in the end of the times, associated with the Roman Empire and its emperors is also attested in 2 Thess 2:3-12 and of course in John’s Revelation 13. Some of the earliest Christian writings that deal extensively with the figure are Adversus Haereses V.25-35 by Irenaeus of Lyon (ed. A. Rousseau-L. Doutrelau, Contre les hérésies [Sources Chrétiennes, 131], Paris: Éditions du Cerf 1965), On Christ and the Antichrist by Hippoliytus of Rome (ed. A. Achelis-N. Bonwetsch, [Griechische Christliche Schriftsteller, 1], Leipzig: Hinrichs 1897), and the Coptic Apocalypse of Elijah (ed. Albert Pietersma, and S. T. Comstock with H. W. Attridge , The apocalypse of Elijah : based on P. Chester Beatty 2018 [Pseudepigrapha, 9], Chico CA: Scholars Press, 1981); cf. Gregory Jenks, Origins and Development of the Antichrist Myth, Berlin; New York: De Gruyter, 1989 (henceforth: G. Jenks, Origins and Development). 171 Emmanouela Grypeou of the world will come as a necessity and it will be caused by the deception of the people by the Dragon and their defection from God’s faith. As W. Bousset noted, the Antichrist figure in Ephraem Graecus is a thoroughly demonic figure.24 He is the God-hating tyrant of the last days. Ps. Ephrem reflects the development of the figure as the personification of the dragon myth.25 He claims divine kingship in a supernatural magical context. He is clearly associated, even almost identified with the devil. His kingship is not related to an explicit political or historical context. The figure in our text is God’s adversary but in spite of the title of our text, he is hardly ever called ‘the Antichrist’. Neither is he described as an almost exact antitype of Christ.26 Further, he is not attributed a Jewish origin and particularly an origin from the tribe of Dan as in other relevant classical texts, but he is rather identified with a pagan ruler.27 The description of the tribulations during his rule is reminiscent of motifs from John’s Revelation and from Early Christian eschatological literature. Still, although there is an emphasis throughout the text on his demonic seal, corresponding to the seal of the beast in the Revelation of John, he is not associated with the number of the beast, that is, six-hundred-and-sixty-six (Rev 13:18). Finally, we do not find a physical description of this figure, a common feature of several texts that deal with the Antichrist.28 The text is more interested in describing the moral characteristics of the figure. Bousset believes that in Ephraem Graecus’ sermon the antichrist appears only as an instrument of Satan and not as an incarnation of the devil.29 The fact that the Antichrist is not physically described in the Ephremian literature allows for his diachronicity: it stresses his supernatural, demonic 24 25 26 27 28 29 Cf. W. Bousset, Der Antichrist, p. 90. See W. Bousset, Der Antichrist, p. 8. Cf. Hippolytus, On Christ and the Antichrist 6. The figure in Ephraem appears to be closer to Ireneaus’s of Lyon, Adversus Haereses V.25, who bases his analysis on 2 Thess. On the Jewish origin of the Antichrist, see Hippolytus, On Christ and the Antichrist 14. According to Bousset (p. 114) the fact that the Antichrist in the Greek Ephremian tradition does not include the motif of his birth from the tribe of Dan suggests that Ephraem graecus has preserved a number of ancient traditions around the figure of the Antichrist. The information that the Antichrist would sit in the Temple of Jerusalem is missing from the Ephraem gr. and Ps.-Hippolytus. Accordingly, he is not a Jewish pseudo-messianic figure. For a physical description of the Antichrist, s. the Coptic Apocalypse of Elijah (ed. PietersmaAttridge-Comstock, 1981), the Apocalypse of St. John the Theologian (ed. Konstantin von Tischendorf, Apocalypses apocryphae. Leipzig, 1866), and the Syriac Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ (ed. Ignatius Ephraem Rahmani, Testamentum Domini Nostri Christi, Mainz: Kirchheim, 1899). W. Bousset, Der Antichrist, p. 90. 172 Ephraem Graecus, ‘Sermo In Adventum Domini’ character and he is not bound to be associated with any earthly figure. Perhaps the Greek sermon reflects a transition period in the antichrist literature, in which the figure becomes a pure literary topos, disassociated from specific political or historical crises.30 The most striking feature of our text, however, remains the lack of any historical or political dimensions, which were characteristic for the representative treatises of Early Christian apocalyptic literature. W. Bousset argued that the absence of any specific political or historical elements was due to the fact that the sermon referred only to the very end of times.31 The absence of political elements could also refer to an internal church crisis, which could have triggered the composition of the eschatological writing. Another possible explanation could be that authors from the second and third centuries still lived in times of intense religious and political insecurity for the Christian communities. They were exposed thus to a more pressing political situation, when the imminent fall of the Roman Empire was maybe even aspired to as an apocalyptic necessity. Accordingly, our sermon might reflect a time period of certain stability after the official establishment of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Moreover, the text does not seem to be concerned with foreign invasions of barbarian tribes. An interesting parallel text to our sermon is, a text entitled On the Consummation of the World, which is pseudepigraphically attributed to Ps.Hippolytus32. As is well known, Hippolytus penned a famous text, called: “On Christ and Antichrist”, which had an enormous impact on the reception and development the Antichrist figure in the Christian literature for centuries to come. Accordingly, he was considered as the foremost authority on this eschatological motif. As Wilhelm Bousset has observed, Pseudo-Hippolytus’ work, De Consummatione Mundi incorporated long passages from Ps.-Ephraem’s sermon On the Second Coming of Christ although not in the same order as in the sermon.33 The dating of the text by Ps.-Hippolytus is a controversial issue, but it is probably not earlier than the late fourth century.34 Two Italian scholars, S. Gennari and O. 30 31 32 33 34 Similarly, Cyril of Jerusalem depicts an eschatological figure with no earthly origin or genealogy (Christian Badilita, ςetamorphoses de l’Antichriste chez les pères de l’ église, Paris: Éditions Beauchesne, 2005, p. 361; henceforth, C. Badilita, ςetamorphoses de l’Antichriste). W. Bousset, Der Antichrist, p. 38. Ed. GCS 1, see above n. 23. W. Bousset, Der Antichrist, p. 25-27; C. Badilita argues, however, that the opposite holds true, namely, that it must have been Pseudo-Hippolytus, who has influenced (Latin?) Pseudo-Ephraem, ςetamorphoses de l’Antichrist, p. 372. See Alice Wheatley, ʻDe Consummatione Mundi of Pseudo-Hippolytus: Another Byzantine Apocalypse from the Early Islamic Period᾽, Byzantion 66 (1996), pp. 461-469, who argues for a dating as late as in the 7th cent. She suggests, further, a Syriac or Palestinian provenance 173 Emmanouela Grypeou Andrei have argued in two different studies that the Antichrist-Devil figure of the De Consummatione Mundi can be identified with the emperor Julian, commonly known as Julian the Apostate.35 Both Gennari and Andrei even maintain that the demonisation of the Antichrist figure was influenced by the demonisation of Julian the Apostate in the patristic literature, as evidenced in writings such as Gregory of Nazianzus’ Against Julian.36 They read in the text historical events that correspond to Julian’s attitude towards the Christians, such as his change of imperial politics regarding the treatments and position of the Christian Church in the Empire, and of course his favorisation of the Jews, as documented in his treatise, Against the Galileans (Christians)37 and finally in the most obvious event of all, his attempt to re-build the temple in Jerusalem.38 The Antichrist as a friend of the Jews, who will rebuild the temple in Jerusalem is admittedly a common –and early- topos in the Antichrist literature.39 Moreover, the connection of actual historical persons and events with familiar literary motifs constitutes a standard feature of the apocalyptic genre. Thus, the hypothesis of the portrayal of Julian as an Antichrist figure sounds plausible. However, considering Ps.-Hippolytus’s probable literary dependence on Ephraem Graecus, it could have been Ps.-Ephraem, who first described Julian as a demonic king. There is further the possibility that this particular text circulated under the name of Ephraem because of his well-known polemical poem against Julian. Julian is described by Ephraem as a friend of the demons, as a worshipper of the devil and as an idolater. Moreover, the failure of his plan to re-build the temple of Jerusalem is described in vivid apocalyptic language.40 35 36 37 38 39 40 of the text, which she considers as dependent on Ephraem Graecus’ Sermon on the Second Coming of Christ, as well. S. Gennari, Aspetti del cristianesimo di età teodosiana. Il De Consummatione mundi dello Ps.Ippolito, tesi di laurea, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Università degli Studi di Siena, 19978; O. Andrei, ʻAspetti del costruirsi della (e di una) identità cristiana: l᾽Anticristo di Ippolito᾽, Annali di Storia dell᾽Esegesi 20:1 (2003), pp. 75-1 10 (monograph La costruzione dell᾽identità cristiana tra Oriente ed Occidente (I-VII secolo)). Contra Julianum Imperatorem, Patrologia Graeca 35, cols 532-720. See C. J. Neumann, Iuliani Imperatoris Librorum contra Christianos quae supersunt, Leipzig, 1880. See Glen Warren Bowersock, Julian the Apostate, London: Duckworth, 1978; Shaun Tougher, Julian the Apostate; Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007; C. Badilita, Metamorphoses de l’Antichriste, pp. 376f. See Hippolytus, On Christ and Antichrist 25; cf. G. Jenks, Origins and Development, pp. 269f. See E. Beck, Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen de Paradiso und Contra Julianum (CSCO 174/175 - script. syr. 78/79), Louvain, 1956, s. esp. IV. 18-23. See also D. Levenson, ʻJulian’s Attempt to rebuild the Temple: An inventory of ancient and medieval sources᾽, in Harold W. Aattridge et al. (eds), On Scribes and Scrolls, Lanham, Maryland, 1990, pp. 261-279. Levenson points out that Ephraem has used for this poem “a widespread oral tradition 174 Ephraem Graecus, ‘Sermo In Adventum Domini’ The pseudo-Ephrem sermon could have even originated shortly after Julian’s death in 363 under the impact of his anti-Christian policy. The sermon makes use in particular of the lore of the Antichrist as an enemy of God and of Christianity. Significantly, the focus of the sermon is precisely the hostility of the “tyrant” against true faith. Accordingly, the author would have combined cryptic historical hints with well-known mythological motifs. ιphraem λraecus’ Sermo in Adventum θomini in relation with the Latin and Syriac pseudo-ephremian apocalyptic texts As mentioned above, in the corpus, which is transmitted under the name of Ephraem there are two more apocalyptic texts that are related to the Greek sermon with respect to the literary genre: a text in Latin under the title: De Fine Mundi et de Consummatione Saeculi and a text in Syriac, under the title: A Sermon of Mar Ephraem on the End, and the Consummation, the Judgement and the Reward and on Agog and Magog and the False Messiah. These texts demonstrate important commonalities to the Greek sermon, such as, most significantly, the use of the figure of the Antichrist. However, both the Syriac and the Latin text are closer from a literary point of view, to the genre of the political apocalypse, whereas the Greek text presents a typical sermon. The Latin text shares some common passages with the Greek text and the Syriac text with the Latin but there are no apparent direct connections between the Syriac and the Greek sermons. Both Latin and Syriac texts have been dated as early as the last decades of the fourth century and as late as the end of the seventh century.41 All three texts place the focus of their narrative naturally at the end times. Syriac and Latin Ephraem stress the political aspect of the end of times by describing wars between kingdoms. There are precisely mentioned in Latin Ephraem as the Persian and Latin Empires, whereas the Syriac Ephraem mentions 41 elaborated in Christian circles” (p. 265). See also Sidney Griffith, ʻEphraem the Syrian’s Hymns ‘Against Julian’. Meditation on History and Imperial Power᾽, Vigiliae Christianae 41 (1987), pp. 238-266. W. Bousset has argued for a an early date for the Latin text, around 373C.E. (Der Antichrist, p. 21f.). Paul J. Alexander has suggested that the text must have received its final form in the late 6th cent or early 7th cent because of certain references to Syriac literary motifs that do not appear before the early 6th cent (The Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition, Berkeley & L.A., 1985, p. 147). The Syriac text is considered to be one of the earliest apocalypses to appear in Islamic times, still Bousset dated it to the late 4th cent (Der Antichrist, p. 37f.). E. Beck dates the text to the beginning of the 7th cent (Sermones, pp. 80f), which remains the communis opinio, cf. G. Reinink, ʻPseudo-Ephraem’s ‘Rede über das Ende’ und die syrische eschatologische Literatur des siebenten Jahrhunderts᾽, Aram 5 (1993), pp. 437-463. 175 Emmanouela Grypeou the Huns and the Ishmaelites.42 The troubles of the end of times bear cosmic dimensions in the Syriac Ephraem. In both Syriac and Latin Ephraem his appearance takes place after the completion of the Roman Empire. He is the very last episode of the eschatological drama, representing the absolute reign of the evil in the world. In the Syriac and Latin Ephraem, the Antichrist will enter Jerusalem, will rebuild the temple and will demand worship or he will make himself God.43 The Greek text does not place the narrative in Jerusalem but it retains the element of the false divine worship. In all three texts he is a friend of the Jews and the Jews will congratulate him.44 In the Latin, he is of Jewish origin, born from the tribe of Dan45, not so in the Syriac and Greek. Still the Greek and the Latin know that he will be born from the seed of a man and an unclean woman.46 The Syriac and Greek Ephraem stress that he will perform wonders through deception. However, the Greek Ephraem mentions only the wonders associated with natural phenomena, whereas Syriac Ephraem includes sings and wonders regarding the healing of people, etc. (but not raising the dead).47 The Jewish character of the figure is stressed in Latin Ephraem which adds the command of circumcision among the abominable deeds of the Antichrist.48 Possibly this perspective refers to communities for which the demarcation of their limits with the Jewish communities was still an important issue. In Syriac he is called “the son of destruction”, the deceiver of humanity.49 In the Latin, he is the “worthless and abominable dragon”, the crafty dragon, who will pretend to be gentle and loving until he succeeds in seizing the World dominion.50 In this point the Latin text is particularly close to the Greek. His C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 5; E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 359. 43 G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, III 139E; II 227A; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 7; E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 381; 441-445. 44 G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, III 138C; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 7; E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 387. 45 C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 6; W. Bousset thinks that the omission of Jewish genealogy from the Greek Ephraem sermon and the texts, which are dependent on it, is: “ein Beweis (…) wie altertümlich die Vorstellungen vom Antichrist sind, die sich gerade hier finden” (Der Antichrist, p. 114). 46 G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II 226B-C;III 137F; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 6. 47 E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 405-407. 48 C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 6-7. 49 E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 359. 50 G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.224F-225; 227; II.136; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 6-7. 42 176 Ephraem Graecus, ‘Sermo In Adventum Domini’ servants in Syriac and Greek are demons.51 During his rule there will be terror and fear.52 In all texts the righteous and the elect will flee to the mountains and these will be saved.53 His time, which will be mainly characterised by extreme draught and famine54 will last 3 ½ years in the Greek and Latin texts55 in accordance with John’s revelation due to God’s mercy who will not allow for the dragon to torment humankind forever. In all the texts, during that time, the tribulations would be that harsh that the living would bless the dead.56 Greek and Latin Ephrem mention the (serpentine) sign in forehead or hand and the lack of bread.57 Furthermore, both texts describe how the gold and other precious things will lie useless and unwanted in the streets because of the lack of bread.58 Obviously, in both texts the message is that, although the Evil One will demand from the people to bear his sign, promising them thus the possibility to buy food, this sign will be useless at the time of extreme drought, as there will be nothing edible to buy and even the abundance of gold and other precious items will not help the terrible need and misery.59 Then only God can ultimately control the elements of nature. During that time of extreme drought, the limits and deception of the power of the Antichrist would be unmasked.60 All these texts announce the coming of Enoch and Elijah61 and the coming of the Son of Man.62 The Syriac text includes a quite idiosyncratic tradition on Gabriel and Michael, who will descend to destroy the evil one.63 At the end, the tyrant and his believers 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.222F; E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 427428. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II. 223; 227-228; III. 139F; 140-142; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 8-9; E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 366.453. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, III 142C. E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 462. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.29E; III.143B; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 10. E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 465. C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 8. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.227E; III.140F; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 8. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.227-228; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 8. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.228 D-E; III.141; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 9; E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 489-510. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.228E; III.142A; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 9; E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 478. G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.229F; III.143C; E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 525-526; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, Cap. 10. E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 513. 177 Emmanouela Grypeou will be cast into the Gehenna or the everlasting dire, bound in Latin and in Greek.64 Thus, we observe that all three texts make use of a number of traditions, which are also attested in other texts of that genre. Accordingly, we can safely assume that the pseudo-Ephremian traditions were part of a rich apocalyptic lore on the End of the Times and the eschatological reign of the ultimate evil. As W. Bousset has already noted, some of these traditions probably circulated in oral form. Greek and Latin Ephraem share a significant amount of common motifs. However, these are not strong enough in order to suggest a direct interdependence. It rather suggests their mutual dependence on several other traditions that the scribes or authors of these texts must have used independently. G. Reinink has argued in favour of a Syriac provenance of an original Greek text, which is today lost65 and significantly, Kortekaas has proven on account of a study of the biblical quotations in the text that the Latin text was a translation from an original Greek text.66 It is possible that the Latin text could have used the Greek text as a Vorlage. The possibility remains that the Greek text, which survives in the context of the pseudo-Ephremian sermon, was originally part of longer political apocalypse and of which today only the last part is preserved; precisely that part, which deals with the last episode of the apocalyptic drama, the Antichrist saga. The original Greek text might have served, accordingly, as a model for the Latin and the Syriac apocalypses. However, the attestation of the Greek sermon in a number of versions does not support this hypothesis. Moreover, it should be noted that the popularity of the Greek sermon seems to have been significant, compared to the Latin and the Syriac apocalypses, which do not appear to have been equally or similarly widespread. The Greek sermon preserves, rather, a certain independent tradition of a demon-like Antichrist figure, presumably inspired by John’s Revelation, which was incorporated in various other texts, such as in Pseudo-Hippolytus, De Consummatione Mundi. Although this tradition must have been older than Julian’s hostile politics towards the Christians, Julian’s reign could have triggered the writing of such a literature as well as his identification with God’s enemy. The writing would have later circulated unter the name of Ephraem the Syrian. The outlook of the text is not a historical political one, because either the author does not consider the Roman Empire to be under an acute danger or he 64 65 66 E. Beck, Des Heiligen Ephraem, 521-524; C. P. Caspari, ‘Eine Ephraem Syrus’, in C. P. Caspari, Briefe, p. 10; G. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri, II.230; III.143E. G. Reinink, ʻPseudo-Methodius and the Pseudo-Ephraemian ‘Sermo de Fine Mundi’ ᾽, in Renée Nip et al. (eds), Media Latinitas, Turnhout, 1996, pp. 317-321. Georg Kortekaas, ʻThe Biblical Quotations in the Pseudo-Ephraemian Sermo de fine mundi᾽, in Renée Nip et al. (eds), Media Latinitas, pp. 237-244. 178 Ephraem Graecus, ‘Sermo In Adventum Domini’ does not consider possible current warfare as actual signs of the end. The author is more concerned with the preservation of the faith and with the admonition to his fellow-Christians. Characteristically, the text is written in the form of a sermon, in the first person singular and addresses the brethren in a very personal direct language. The sermon’s main intention is the warning of the community in front of the deception of false material gains. A possible milieu of origin could have been the monastic milieu in Palestine. According to Badilita the main traditions according to which the Antichrist represents the incarnate devil (i.e. Ps.-Hippolytus, Asc.Jes., Cyril), originated around that area.67 Cyril of Jerusalem has included in his Catechetical Homilies (XV) in the middle of the fourth century a similar treatise on the Antichrist.68 The edition of a few fragments in Christian-Palestinian-Aramaic by Duensing that appear to be related to the sermon could support this hypothesis69. Concluding, the sermon On the Antichrist by pseudo-Ephraem in Greek reflects traditions of the myth of the Antichrist that can be conclusive for the formation and development of an Antichrist tradition both in Western and in Eastern Christianity, even if only pseudepigraphically. 67 68 69 W. Bousset, ςetamorphoses de l’Antichrist, p. 354. Patrologia Graeca XXXIII, cols 869-916. See n. 7 above; see also Alain Desremaux, ʻEphraim in Christian Palestinian Aramaic᾽, Hugoye 1:2 (1998), pp. 221-226. 179