Gerasimos, Abbot of the Monastery of Saint Symeon

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Gerasimos (or Gerasimus) was a

Christian apologist and monk who wrote in Arabic. He lived in the Middle Ages
, sometime between the 9th and 13th centuries.

Life

Virtually nothing is known of Gerasimos' biography.

Theodore Abū Qurra, who died around 820.[2] Nor can he have been writing later than 1268, when the monastery of Saint Symeon was destroyed by Sultan Baybars during his campaign against Antioch. It was never restored.[3] The earliest surviving manuscript of his work dates to the 13th century.[2] Most authorities place his writing in the 12th or 13th century, not long before the desctruction of the monastery, as there are no earlier references to his work.[1][2]

Since Gerasimos was a rare name in

Saint Symeon the Wonderworker and his mother, the Blessed Martha.[2]

Although his work provides no biographical details, it does show that Gerasimos received a good and broad education. He was familiar with

synaxarion of Patriarch Makarios III of Antioch (died 1672) and in the patriarch's Kitāb al-naḥla (Book of the Bee).[4]

Works

According to the synaxarion of Makarios III, Gerasimos wrote works called al-Mujādalāt (The Disputations), al-Mawaʿīẓ (The Sermons) and al-Shāfī (The Healer).[5][6] Only the last work survives.[6][7] Its full title is al-Kāfī fī l-maʿnā l-shāfī.[8][9][10] It is written in Arabic and divided into five parts, the last being far longer than the rest.[11][12] It is detailed, learned, gracious and bereft of the rancor that came to characterize Christian apologia under Islam in the later Middle Ages.[7]

In parts 1 and 2, Gerasimos discusses the nature of the true religion. Its purpose, he says, is to draw humans to God through commands and prohibitions and through the promise of reward or punishment in the afterlife. Further, it must be universal, not tribal, and communicable in language the people can understand. It must also be confirmed by miracles. He argues that all religions save Christianity draw humanity to earthly glory and serve its base desires. Of all the religions he knows, only Christianity is truly universal and accessible.[7]

In parts 3 and 4, Gerasimos marshals "testimonies" in support of his views.

Qurʾān.[1][7]

In part 5, Gerasimos deals with six objections. The first objection states that Christianity cannot be the true religion because it is not the largest, has not always existed and is sometimes held in contempt. The next three objections are philosophical and allege the incompatibility of Christian doctrines (such as the

divine foreknowledge and omnibenevolence). The final two objections target the Christian view of revelation and law.[7]

Gerasimos has answers to all the objections. He argues that "the ascendancy of the

Muḥammad" and "the sword of Islam" are meant to discipline God's true children; that God's true nature demanded atonement rather than salvation by fiat; and that God reveals his law progressively as humanity passes through different stages of maturity. Thus the law of Christ supersedes the law of Moses, which supersedes the natural law.[7]

Al-Kāfī fī l-maʿnā l-shāfī or portions of it are (or were) preserved in 23 manuscripts, not all of them traceable today.[13] Only four of them are earlier than the 17th century:

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Noble & Treiger 2014, p. 29.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Bahkou & Lamoreaux 2012, pp. 666–667.
  3. ^ Noble & Treiger 2014, p. 32.
  4. ^ Noble & Treiger 2014, p. 37.
  5. ^ Walbiner 2009, p. 440.
  6. ^ a b Nasrallah 1972, pp. 146–147.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Bahkou & Lamoreaux 2012, pp. 668–669.
  8. ^ Bahkou & Lamoreaux 2012, p. 668, gloss the title as 'the sufficient, on the clear meaning'.
  9. ^ Walbiner 2009, p. 438, translates the title as The Book of Healing Concerning the Adequate Meaning.
  10. ^ Noble & Treiger 2014, p. 29, give the translated title as Exhaustive Compilation on the Doctrine that Brings Cure.
  11. ^ Noble & Treiger 2014, p. 29, have it divided into five parts.
  12. ^ Bahkou & Lamoreaux 2012, p. 668, divide it into six parts, but they describe the "last part" as "a series of detailed responses to possible objections" and "Part 5" as treating "six clusters of possible objections".
  13. ^ a b Bahkou & Lamoreaux 2012, pp. 669–670.
  14. ^ Bahkou & Lamoreaux 2012, p. 669. Fully digitized online
  15. ^ Bahkou & Lamoreaux 2012, p. 669. Fully digitized online
  16. ^ Bahkou & Lamoreaux 2012, p. 669. Fully digitized online

Bibliography

  • Bahkou, Abjar; Lamoreaux, John C. (2012). "Gerasimos". In David Thomas; Alex Mallett (eds.). Christian–Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History. Vol. 4 (1200–1350). Brill. pp. 666–671. (The name of the first author is incorrectly given as Abgar Bakhou.)
  • Bahkou, Abjar (2009). "Kitāb al-Kāfī fī al-maʻnā al-šāfī (The Complete Book of the Proper Meaning): The Christian Apology of Gerasimus". Parole de l'Orient. 34: 309–343.
  • Bahkou, Abjar, ed. (2014). Defending Christian Faith: The Fifth Part of the Christian Apology of Gerasimus. De Gruyter.
  • Khawam, René R., ed. (1996). Gérassime: Dialogues œcuméniques de guérison suivi de Traité sur la Sainte Trinité. L'Esprit des péninsules.
  • Nasrallah, Joseph (1972). "Couvents de la Syrie du Nord portant le nom de Siméon". Syria. 49 (Fasc. 1-2): 127–159.
  • Nasrallah, Joseph (1979). Histoire du movement littéraire dans l'église melchite du Ve au XXe siècle: Contribution à l'étude de la littérature arabe chrétienne. Vol. III, Tome 2: 1250–1516. Peeters.
  • Noble, Samuel; Treiger, Alexander (2014). "Introduction". In Samuel Noble; Alexander Treiger (eds.). The Orthodox Church in the Arab World, 700–1700: An Anthology of Sources. Cornell University Press. pp. 3–39.
  • Walbiner, Carsten-Michael (2009). "Preserving the Past and Enlightening the Present: Macarius b. al-Zaʿīm and Medieval Melkite Literature". Parole de l'Orient. 34: 433–441.

External links

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