The Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima, or simply the Library of Caesarea, was the library of the Christians of Caesarea Maritima in

Syria Palaestina Syria Palaestina ( ) was the renamed Roman province formerly known as Judaea, following the Roman suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt, in what then became known as the Palestine region between the early 2nd and late 4th centuries AD. The pr ...

in antiquity.

History

Through

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

and especially the scholarly presbyter

Pamphilus Pamphilus may refer to: * Pamphylus (mythology) * Pamphilus of Amphipolis, painter of 4th century BC, head of Sicyonian School * Pamphilus of Alexandria, grammarian in the 1st century * Saint Pamphilus of Caesarea (late 3rd century - 309), schola ...

, an avid collector of books of Scripture, the theological school of

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

gained a reputation for having the most extensive ecclesiastical library of the time, containing more than 30,000 manuscripts: Gregory Nazianzus,

Basil the Great Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379) was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who suppor ...

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 others came to study there. The Caesarean text-type is recognized by scholars as one of the earliest

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

types. Saint Pamphilus searched out and obtained ancient texts which he collected in the library that

was later to use, and established a school for theological study. In the

scriptorium A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...

, a necessary adjunct to all libraries of antiquity, he oversaw the production of edited copies of

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

. Testimonies to this work are to be found in the colophons of biblical manuscripts. Jerome's ''De Viris Illustribus'' (75) says that Pamphilus ''"transcribed the greater part of the works of Origen of Alexandria with his own hand,"'' and that ''"these are still preserved in the library of Cæsarea."'' Among other lost treasures in the library was the Gospel according to the Hebrews. Jerome knew of this copy of the so-called "Hebrew" or

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

text of the ''Gospel of Matthew'' and Eusebius refers to the catalogue of the library that he appended to his life of Pamphilus. A passage from the lost life, quoted by Jerome, describes how Pamphilus supplied impoverished scholars with the necessaries of life and gave them copies of the Scriptures, of which he kept a large supply. He likewise bestowed copies on women devoted to study. The great treasure of the library at Caesarea was Origen's own copy of the ''"

Hexapla ''Hexapla'' (), also called ''Origenis Hexaplorum'', is a Textual criticism, critical edition of the Hebrew Bible in six versions, four of them translated into Ancient Greek, Greek, preserved only in fragments. It was an immense and complex wor ...

,"'' probably the only complete copy ever made. It was consulted by Jerome. St Pamphilus was martyred in February, 309. The collections of the library suffered during the persecutions under the Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

, but were repaired subsequently by bishops of Caesarea.

Acacius of Caesarea Acacius of Caesarea (; date of birth unknown, died in 366) was a Christian bishop probably originating from Roman Syria, Syria; Acacius was the pupil and biographer of Eusebius and his successor on the Episcopal see, see of Caesarea Palestina. Acac ...

and Euzoius, successors of Eusebius, concentrated on conservation.D. C. Parker, ''Codex Sinaiticus: The Story of the World's Oldest Bible'', London: The British Library, 2010, p. 84. It was noted in the 6th century, but seems unlikely to have survived the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

invasions in the 7th century. Its collection may have been dispersed by both the conquerors or the Byzantine elite who fled the city.

Henry Barclay Swete Henry Barclay Swete (14 March 1835 in Bristol – 10 May 1917 in Hitchin) was an English biblical scholar. He became Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge in 1890. He is known for his 1906 commentary on the Book of Revelation, and other wor ...

was of the opinion that it probably did not long survive the capture of Caesarea by the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

in 638, and even if not destroyed at that moment, its collection may have been lost in the changes to the town that occurred between the 7th and 12th centuries. O'Connor says of this library, "The tradition of scholarship ... was continued by Pamphilius (d. 309). By adding to the manuscript collection of Origen he created a library second only to that of Alexandria; in 630 it had 30,000 volumes." This number is based on

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montal ...

's estimate in his ''

Etymologiae (Latin for 'Etymologies'), also known as the ('Origins'), usually abbreviated ''Orig.'', is an etymological encyclopedia compiled by the influential Christian bishop Isidore of Seville () towards the end of his life. Isidore was encouraged t ...

'',Isidorus, and Stephen A. Barney. "VI: Books and Ecclesiastical Offices." ''The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville''. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2011. N. pag. Print. likely taken from an ancient or unknown source, thus must be treated with caution.

Notes

References

* {{Authority control Ancient libraries Caesarea, Israel Libraries in Israel Ancient Christianity Christian libraries

History

See also

Notes

References