THOMAS OF MARGA

This article appears in Volume V26, Page 865 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: THE-TOO

THOMAS OF MARGA , a Nestorian bishop and author of an important monastic history in Syriac, who flourished in the 9th century A.D. He was born early in the century, probably of Persian parents, in the region of Salakh to the north-

east

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

of Mosul. As a

young

man he became in 832 a monk of the famous Nestorian monastery of Beth 'Abbe, which was situated at the confluence of the

Great

GREAT

Zab with one of its tributaries, about 25 M. due

east

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

of Mosul. A few years later he was acting as secretary to Abraham, who had been abbot of Beth 'Abbe, and was catholicus (patriarch) of the Nestorians from 837 to 850. At some date during these 13 years Thomas was promoted by Abraham to be bishop of Marga, a diocese in the same

district

DISTRICT

as Beth 'Abhe, and afterwards he was further advanced to be a metropolitan of Beth Garmai, a

district

DISTRICT

farther to the

south

SOUTH
SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

-east in the mountains which border the

Tigris

TIGRIS (Old Persian Tigrd, Diklat of the cuneiform inscriptions, Hiddekel of the Old Testament, Diglath of the Targum, Digla of the Arabs)

basin. It was during the period of his life at Beth 'Abhe and his bishopric that he composed The Book of Governors, which is in the main a history of his own monastery, but includes lives of holy men in other parts of

Mesopotamia

MESOPOTAMIA (Mevoaora)

and the regions east of the

Tigris

TIGRIS (Old Persian Tigrd, Diklat of the cuneiform inscriptions, Hiddekel of the Old Testament, Diglath of the Targum, Digla of the Arabs)

. The

work

WORK

was probably planned in imitation of the famous Paradise of Palladius, the history of Egyptian

monasticism

MONASTICISM (Gr. p.ovacrnabs, living alone, µ6vos)

which had become well known to Syriac-speaking Christians in the version of 'Anan-Isho' (6th century).
The Book of Governors has been edited with an English translation and a copious introduction by E. W. Budge (2 vols., London, 1893), who claims that " it occupies a unique position in Syriac literature, and it fully deserves the veneration with which it has been and is still regarded by all classes of Nestorians to whom it is known." It gives a detailed history of the

great

GREAT

monastery cf Beth 'Abhe during its three centuries of existence down to the author's time. It is full of interesting narratives of saintly men told in a naive and candid spirit, and it throws much light on the history of Christianity in the Persian dominions. There is a later edition by P. Bedjan (Paris, 1901). (N. M.)

End of Article: THOMAS OF MARGA

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/THE_TOO/THOMAS_OF_MARGA.html">
THOMAS OF MARGA
</a>

(Previous)
THOMAS OF ERCELDOUNE

(Next)
THOMAS PHILIP ROBINSON

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email