Isḥaq of Edessa (fl. 6th cent.)
Priest and theological writer. Even less is known of this Isḥaq than of Isḥaq of Amid and Isḥaq of Antioch. According to a letter of Yaʿqub of Edessa to Yuḥanon of Litarba (Letter 14; ms. Brit. Libr. Add. 12,172, f. 123r–v), our only source of information, this Isḥaq was a priest of Edessa during the early part of the 6th cent. During the tenure of Pawlos as Metropolitan of Edessa (510–522), Isḥaq was of the orthodox (i.e., miaphysite) party. However, when Pawlos was deposed and subsequently replaced by Asclepius, a Chalcedonian, Isḥaq switched camps and became a Chalcedonian. In support of his new party, Isḥaq wrote a number of memre against non-Chalcedonian positions. Certain memre against ‘Nestorians’ in the collection of Isḥaq of Antioch may, however, be from this Isḥaq’s miaphysite period, when he may also have been that Isḥaq occasionally mentioned by Severus of Antioch in his letters.
Sources
- P. Bedjan, Homiliae S. Isaaci Syri Antiocheni, vol. 1 (1903), iv–v. (Syr. of ‘Letter of Yaʿqub’)
- T. J. Lamy, Sancti Ephraem Syri Hymni et Sermones, vol. 4 (1902), 361–3. (Syr. of ‘Letter of Yaʿqub’)
- E. G. Mathews, Jr., ‘A Bibliographical Clavis to the Corpus of Works attributed to Isaac of Antioch’, Hugoye 5.1 (2002). (incl. further references)
How to Cite This Entry
Footnote Style Citation with Date:
Edward G. Mathews, Jr. , “Isḥaq of Edessa,” in Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition, edited by Sebastian P. Brock, Aaron M. Butts, George A. Kiraz and Lucas Van Rompay (Gorgias Press, 2011; online ed. Beth Mardutho, 2018), https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Ishaq-of-Edessa.
Bibliography Entry Citation:
Mathews, Edward G.Jr. “Isḥaq of Edessa.” In Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Edited by Sebastian P. Brock, Aaron M. Butts, George A. Kiraz and Lucas Van Rompay. Digital edition prepared by David Michelson, Ute Possekel, and Daniel L. Schwartz. Gorgias Press, 2011; online ed. Beth Mardutho, 2018. https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Ishaq-of-Edessa.
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