The ''Acts of Narsai'' is a

hagiographical A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

text composed in the middle of the 5th century which pertains to the priest Narsai.

Narrative

The text begins with the priest Narsai and his companion Shapur acquiring land and a land title in

Rayy Shahr-e Ray ( fa, شهر ری, ) or simply Ray (Shar e Ray; ) is the capital of Ray County in Tehran Province, Iran. Formerly a distinct city, it has now been absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran as the 20th district of municip ...

from the

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...

convert Adarparwa to build a church. Adarparwa though is persuaded by the local

mobad A Mobed, Mowbed, or Mobad (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭢𐭥𐭯𐭲) is a Zoroastrian cleric of a particular rank. Unlike an ''herbad'' (''ervad''), a ''mobed'' is qualified to serve as celebrant priest at the Yasna ceremony and other higher liturgical ...

Adurboze to renounce the church Narsai had constructed, and instead, convert it into a

Fire Temple A fire temple, Agiary, Atashkadeh ( fa, آتشکده), Atashgah () or Dar-e Mehr () is the place of worship for the followers of Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Iran (Persia). In the Zoroastrian religion, fire (see ''atar''), together wi ...

. Adarparwa complies and converts the church into a temple while Narsai is absent, but upon his return, Narsai tosses the sacred items out and extinguishes the fire. This causes a crowd to form and Narsai is brought to Adurboze in

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...

for interrogation; Adurboze requested Narsai to restore the temple but refuses. (''Acts of Narsai'', 173) Narsai was then ransomed but is later returned for interrogation by a

marzban Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from ''marz'' "border, boundary" and the suffix ''-pān'' "guardian"; Modern Persian: ''Marzbān'') were a class of margraves, warden of the marches, and by extension militar ...

who was given orders from

Yazdegerd I Yazdegerd I (also spelled Yazdgerd and Yazdgird; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 399 to 420. A son of Shapur III (), he succeeded his brother Bahram IV () after the latter's assassination. Yazde ...

to release Narsai if Narsai denies his involvement with putting out the fire or is willing to replace it. Narsai acknowledges his involvement and refuses to apologize; Narsai is condemned to death. (''Acts of Narsai'', 175-6) Narsai is then escorted to the place of execution, but while being escorted, he passes by a monastery. There, monks offer him water but he refused, but Narsai requested that they pray for him instead. In his execution, a

lictor A lictor (possibly from la, ligare, "to bind") was a Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a magistrate who held ''imperium''. Lictors are documented since the Roman Kingdom, and may have originated with the Etruscans. Orig ...

who is a Christian apostate was supposed to execute Narsai but was struck down by

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. Narsai though is eventually beheaded by a magian. (''Acts of Narsai'', 178-9) Narsai's head, blood, and body are then taken by

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

to be buried at a site built by Mar Marutha, bishop of Suf. The remains of Narsai are later taken by the author of the text and others to the place where Lawarne was martyred for the benefit and healing of the people, but also in concern that the magians would despoil the body during a new persecution. The text is concluded with a request from

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

, 'lord of the martyrs' to grant us an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven alongside the martyrs 'who were crowned with his love'. (''Acts of Narsai'', 180)

Authorship

The ''Acts of Narsai'' is one of four hagiographical works composed in a monastery near

, the others are ''Tataq'', the ''ten martyrs of Beth Garmai'', and ''Jacob the notary'' which all have been dated to the middle of the 5th century and all recount similar events to that of the ''Acts of Abda''. All texts have been contributed to the monk Abgar, the only hagiographer whose name and context was known in the fifth and sixth centuries. Abgar was living in Ctesiphon where the executions of the martyrs were taking place in the field Sliq harubta just outside the city. Sliq harubta is also where the monks of Abgar's monastery gathered the relics of the martyrs.

Citations

Bibliography

* *{{cite book , last1=Wood , first1=Philip , title=The Chronicle of Seert: Christian Historical Imagination in Late Antique Iraq , date=2013 , publisher=Oxford University Press , isbn=9780199670673 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_RBrAAAAQBAJ&dq=Acts%27+of+Narsai&pg=PA44 Texts in Syriac Syriac Christianity