ʿEnanishoʿ ( Syriac: ܥܢܢܝܫܘܥ, also romanized ''ʿAnanishoʿ'' or ''ʿNānišoʿ'') was a monk, philosopher, lexicographer and translator of the

Church of the East The Church of the East ( ) or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church, the Chaldean Church or the Nestorian Church, is one of three major branches o ...

who flourished in the 7th century.

Biography

ʿEnanishoʿ was from the region of

Adiabene Adiabene ( Greek: Αδιαβηνή, ) was an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, corresponding to the northwestern part of ancient Assyria. The size of the kingdom varied over time; initially encompassing an area between the Zab Rivers, it ...

. He and his brother Ishoʿyahb studied at the

school of Nisibis The School of Nisibis (, for a time absorbed into the School of Edessa) was an educational establishment in Nisibis (now Nusaybin, Turkey). It was an important spiritual centre of the early Church of the East, and like the Academy of Gondishapur ...

at the same time as the future patriarch Ishoʿyahb III (). His brother went on to become bishop of Shenna, while he entered the monastery of Mar Abraham on Mount Izla. He later made a pilgrimage to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

and the monasteries of Scetis in Egypt, becoming well acquainted with

Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving wri ...

and Egyptian monasticism. Upon his return he joined the

monastery of Beth ʿAbe A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

Writings

At Beth ʿAbe, ʿEnanishoʿ took up writing. He wrote a philosophical treatise on "definitions and divisions" and a glossary of difficult words to aid in reading the

Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...

. He wrote ''Book of Rules for Homographs'' about Syriac

homograph A homograph (from the , and , ) is a word that shares the same written form as another word but has a different meaning. However, some dictionaries insist that the words must also be pronounced differently, while the Oxford English Dictionar ...

s, words having the same spelling (i.e., consonants) but different pronunciation (i.e., vowels) and meaning. He collaborated with Ishoʿyahb III to revise the '' Ḥudrā'', a liturgical book containing the hymns for Sunday services in the

East Syriac rite The East Syriac Rite, or East Syrian Rite (also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite), is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Liturgy of Ad ...

. Ishoʿyahb's successor, Giwargis I (), then commissioned him to compile the ''Paradise of the Fathers'', a collection of Syriac translations of Greek works. This major compilation comprises four books: the ''

Lausiac History The ''Lausiac History'' () is a seminal work archiving the Desert Fathers (early Christian monks who lived in the Egyptian desert) written in 419–420 AD by Palladius of Galatia, at the request of Lausus (eunuch), Lausus, chamberlain at the cour ...

'' of Palladius of Helenopolis, another work of history attributed to Palladius, the '' History of the Monks in Egypt'' attributed to

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

and a collection of sayings of the Desert Fathers. The sayings as compiled by ʿEnanishoʿ in Syriac are known under the title ''Paradise of the Fathers''. The ''Paradise'' contains some original material based on ʿEnanishoʿ's visit to Scetis. It is divided into fifteen chapters, with the first fourteen arranged topically and the last an unsystematic grouping. It had a major influence on East Syriac monasticism. A commentary on it was written before the end of the century by Dadīshōʿ Ḳaṭrāya. The ''Book of the Little Paradise'' of David, Bishop of the Kurds, was probably intended as a companion piece covering the native holy men of Mesopotamia. According to Thomas of Marga, a copy was kept in every monastery in the Church of the East.

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References

Bibliography

;Editions and translations * * * ;Secondary literature * * * * * * {{authority control 7th-century Christian monks Church of the East writers Monks of the Church of the East Syriac writers