Gabriel of Baṣra (fl. 884–893) was a bishop and jurist of the

Church of the East The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...

. Little is known of Gabriel's life other than that he was metropolitan of Baṣra in 884 and 893. Sometime in the last quarter of the ninth century, he compiled the first

nomocanon A nomocanon ( gr, Νομοκανών, ; from the Greek 'law' and 'a rule') is a collection of ecclesiastical law, consisting of the elements from both the civil law and the canon law. Nomocanons form part of the canon law of the Eastern Cathol ...

(collection of canon law) in the history of the Church of the East. Only fragments of the original

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

survive, but the work can be largely reconstructed because of its extensive quotation and citation in the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

collection ''Fiqh al-Naṣrāniyya'' of

Ibn al-Ṭayyib Abū al-Faraj ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ṭayyib (died 1043), known by the ''nisba'' al-ʿIrāqī and in medieval Latin as Abulpharagius Abdalla Benattibus, was a prolific writer, priest and polymath of the Church of the East. He practised medicine in ...

(11th century) and the Syriac ''Nomokanon'' of

ʿAbdishoʿ bar Brikha Abdisho bar Berika or Ebedjesu ( syc, ܥܒܕܝܫܘܥ ܕܨܘܒܐ) (died 1318), also known as Mar Odisho or St. Odisho in English, was a Syriac writer. He was born in Nusaybin. Abdisho was first bishop of Shiggar (Sinjar) and the province of Bet 'Ar ...

(14th century).

Hubert Kaufhold Hubert Kaufhold (born March 19, 1943, in Braunschweig, Germany) is a German legal scholar and judge, with special research interests in the languages and legal history of the Christian Orient. Education Kaufhold studied law (1962–1966) at the ...

performed the work of reconstruction, publishing it with a German translation in ''Die Rechtssammlung des Gabriel von Baṣra'' (1976). The original title of the work is unknown.

Sebastian Brock Sebastian Paul Brock, FBA (born 1938, London) is a British scholar, university professor, and expert in the field of academic studies of Classical Syriac language and Classical Syriac literature. His research also encompasses various aspects of c ...

calls it ''Collection of Judgements''. Gabriel's nomocanon is structured in the form of questions and answers, although this is a purely formal device for introducing quotations from his sources. Only in the section on

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

are the questions real and the answers possibly the original the work of Gabriel. Gabriel's quotations are often abbreviated and not always word for word. The work as a whole is divided into two parts. The first concerns

matrimonial law Marriage law refers to the legal requirements that determine the validity of a marriage, and which vary considerably among countries. See also Marriage Act. Summary table Rights and obligations A marriage, by definition, bestows ...

and hereditary law among other topics relating to Christians in the world. His sources were listed as "the

fathers A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

catholicoi Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient G ...

, metropolitans and the Greek emperors". Of the 48 questions in this part, only the last 28 survive in their original form. The second part concerns the liturgy and institutions of the church, such as monasteries, hospitals and schools. One of its most interesting questions concerns artisans' organizations, which includes some Arabic terminology. For this part his sources are "the synodical canons of the Western and Eastern Fathers", by which he means the synods of the

Roman church Holy Roman Church, Roman Church, Church of Rome or Church in Rome may refer to: * The Diocese of Rome or the Holy See * The Latin Church * Churches of Rome (buildings) In historical contexts ''Roman Church'' may also refer to: * The Catholic Chur ...

and the Church of the East. Only fragments of the second part survive in their original form. Among Gabriel's identifiable sources are the 73 forged canons attributed to Marutha of Maypherqaṭ, the

Syro-Roman law book The Syro-Roman law book (or Syro-Roman code) is a compilation of secular legal texts from the eastern Roman Empire originally composed in Greek in the late 5th century, but surviving only in Syriac translation. As a work of Roman law, the original ...

, the '' Synodicon Orientale'', a letter of the Catholicos

Timothy I Timothy I may refer to: * Pope Timothy I of Alexandria, Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in 378–384 * Timothy I of Constantinople, Patriarch of Constantinople in 511–518 * Timothy I (Nestorian patriarch), Catholicus-Patria ...

and a letter of the Catholicos

Ishoʿ bar Nun Ishoʿ bar Nun was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 823 to 828. He succeeded Timothy I Timothy I may refer to: * Pope Timothy I of Alexandria, Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in 378–384 * Timothy I of Constantinople ...

. He also used the legal writings of East Syriac scholars like

Ishoʿbokht Ishoʿbokht (late 7th or late 8th century) was a Persian legal scholar, Christian theologian and philosopher. He is known through his writings and a few references to them. His dates are not known precisely and little can be said of his life other t ...

, Shemʿon of Rev Ardashir and

ʿAbdishoʿ bar Bahrīz Ḥabīb ibn Bahrīz ( early 9th century), also called ʿAbdishoʿ bar Bahrīz,; ar, عبد يشوع بن بهريز, ʿAbd Īshūʿ ibn Bahrīz was a bishop and scholar of the Church of the East, famous for his translations from Syriac into Ara ...

References

Sources

* * * {{refend 9th-century births People from Basra 9th-century archbishops 9th-century bishops of the Church of the East Church of the East canonists Nestorians in the Abbasid Caliphate Church of the East writers Syriac writers