Mar Sisin, ( Syriac: Mār Sîsin, ?–291/292), also known as Sisinnius (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: Sisinnius), was one of the twelve

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

of the founder of

Mani Mani may refer to: People * Mani (name), (), a given name and surname (including a list of people with the name) ** Mani (prophet) (c. 216–274), a 3rd century Iranian prophet who founded Manichaeism ** Mani (musician) (born 1962), an English ...

. He was one of the most influential

Manichaeans Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...

in the early church, as he served as a core figure of the early church and was the first Manichaean Archegos, the head of the Manichaean religion.

Mission

Mar Sisin was one of the twelve apostles chosen by Mani himself. When Mani was alive, he had a high status within Manichaeism. When Mani left

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

, he was responsible for the internal work of the church. He went to the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and preached in Central Asia. Around 261-262, Mar Sisin went to Mary to inspect and was very satisfied with the missionary situation there. He sent someone to bring two holy books and to see Mar Ammo who was preaching in Zamb. He copied these books in Mulu.

Leading the Church

In 273, Mar Ammo went to visit Mani in prison, and Mani delivered the "last letter" to Mar Ammo, explaining the affairs of the church. In 274, Mani was executed by

Bahram I Bahram I (also spelled Wahram I or Warahran I; ) was the fourth Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 271 to 274. He was the eldest son of Shapur I () and succeeded his brother Hormizd I (), who had reigned for a year. Bahram I's reign marked th ...

. In 276, Mar Sisin was appointed the first Archegos of the Manichean Babylonian Church. It is also said that Mar Sisin only became the Archegos five years after Mani's death. Mar Sisin served as the Archegos for ten years. Leading the Manichaeans to adhere to their beliefs, making

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...

the place where the Manichaean holy seat resides in Tin, and is unanimously recognized by all Manichaeans around the world. In 286, Bahram II began a new wave of persecution of Manichaeans, Mar Sisin was martyred in this persecution. In the Dunhuang manuscript " Chinese Manichaean hymn scroll", he left his absolute letter "Sigh of impermanence" to warn the faithful We should not be greedy for the material comforts of the world, and be obsessed with the physical body for the dark demon delusion. We should practice diligently before death, and ascend to

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

after death so that we can liberate ourselves and achieve

enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

Remembrance

After Mar Sisin's death, Innaios, one of the Twelve Apostles, succeeded him as the Archegos. Thanks to the diplomatic efforts of Innaios, the persecution of Manichaeism has temporarily come to an end. In order to commemorate the sacrifice of Mosshin, the Manichaeism held a two-day

Fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

becomes one of the five times " double-day Fasts" every year.Lieu, Samuel N C. Manichaeism in the later Roman Empire and medieval China M Tubingen:J. C. B. Mohr, cl992.

References

{{Manichaeism footer Manichaeans Martyrs 290s deaths

Mission

Leading the Church

Remembrance

See also

References