Shahlufa ( syc, ܫܚܠܘܦܐ, lit=Substitute, translit=šaḥlūfā) was a legendary
primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
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 ...
, who is conventionally believed to have reigned from 220 to 224 A.D.
Sources
Brief accounts of the life of Shahlufa are given in the ''Ecclesiastical Chronicle'' of the Jacobite writer
Bar-Hebraeus
Gregory Bar Hebraeus ( syc, ܓܪܝܓܘܪܝܘܣ ܒܪ ܥܒܪܝܐ, b. 1226 - d. 30 July 1286), known by his Syriac ancestral surname as Bar Ebraya or Bar Ebroyo, and also by a Latinized name Abulpharagius, was an Aramean Maphrian (regional prima ...
(''
fl.'' 1280) and in the ecclesiastical histories of the
Nestorian
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...
writers Mari (twelfth-century), Amr (fourteenth-century) and Sliba (fourteenth-century). These accounts differ slightly, and these minor differences are of significance for scholars interested in tracing the various stages in the development of the legend.
Although Shahlufa is included in traditional lists of primates 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 ...
, his existence has been doubted by
J. M. Fiey Jean Maurice Fiey (30 March 1914 – 10 November 1995) was a French Dominican Father and prominent Church historian and Syriacist.
Biography
Fiey was born in Armentières on 30 March 1914, he entered the Dominican Order at an early age and rece ...
, one of the most eminent twentieth-century scholars of the Church of the East. In Fiey's view, Shahlufa was one of several fictitious bishops of
Seleucia-Ctesiphon whose lives were concocted in the sixth century to bridge the gap between the late third century bishop
Papa, the first historically attested bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, and the apostle
Mari, the legendary founder of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
in
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Life of Shahlufa
The following brief account of the life of Shahlufa is given by Bar-Hebraeus:
After Ahadabui Ahadabui ( syc, ܐܚܐ ܕܐܒܘܝ) was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, who is conventionally believed to have sat from 204 to 220.
Sources
Brief accounts of the life of Ahadabui are given in the ''Ecclesiastical Chronicle'' of the J ...
, Shahlufa. He was a native of Kashkar Kashkar, also known as Kaskar, ( syc, ܟܫܟܪ), was a city in southern Mesopotamia. Its name appears to originate from Syriac ' meaning "citadel" or "town". Other sources connect it to ' "farming". It was originally built on the Tigris, across th ...
. After the death of Ahadabui Ahadabui ( syc, ܐܚܐ ܕܐܒܘܝ) was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, who is conventionally believed to have sat from 204 to 220.
Sources
Brief accounts of the life of Ahadabui are given in the ''Ecclesiastical Chronicle'' of the J ...
, the Eastern bishops assembled and consecrated him. He was the first catholicus to be consecrated by the Eastern bishops. He died at Seleucia after fulfilling his office for twenty years.[Bar Hebraeus, ''Ecclesiastical Chronicle'' (ed. Abeloos and Lamy), ii. 26–8]
See also
*
List of patriarchs of the Church of the East
Notes
References
* Abbeloos, J. B., and Lamy, T. J., ''Bar Hebraeus, Chronicon Ecclesiasticum'' (3 vols, Paris, 1877)
* Assemani, J. A., ''De Catholicis seu Patriarchis Chaldaeorum et Nestorianorum'' (Rome, 1775)
* Brooks, E. W., ''Eliae Metropolitae Nisibeni Opus Chronologicum'' (Rome, 1910)
* Fiey, J. M., ''Jalons pour un histoire de l'Église en Iraq'' (Louvain, 1970)
* Gismondi, H., ''Maris, Amri, et Salibae: De Patriarchis Nestorianorum Commentaria I: Amri et Salibae Textus'' (Rome, 1896)
* Gismondi, H., ''Maris, Amri, et Salibae: De Patriarchis Nestorianorum Commentaria II: Maris textus arabicus et versio Latina'' (Rome, 1899)
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahlufa
Legendary primates of the Church of the East
3rd-century bishops
Bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon