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Mandaean
Mandaeans ( ar, المندائيون ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. They may have been among the earliest religious groups to practice baptism, as well as among the earliest adherents of Gnosticism, a belief system of which they are the last surviving representatives today. The Mandaeans were originally native speakers of Mandaic, an Eastern Aramaic language, before they nearly all switched to Iraqi Arabic or Persian as their main language. After the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies in 2003, the Mandaean community of Iraq, which before the war numbered 60,000-70,000 persons, collapsed due to the rise of Islamic extremism and the absence of protection against it; with most of the community relocating to Iran, Syria and Jordan, or forming diaspora communities beyond the Midd ...
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Mandaeism
Mandaeism ( Classical Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ ; Arabic: المندائيّة ), sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnostic, monotheistic and ethnic religion. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Noah, Shem, Aram, Jesus and especially John the Baptist. Mandaeans consider Adam, Seth, Noah, Shem and John the Baptist prophets with Adam being the founder of the religion and John being the greatest and final prophet. The Mandaeans speak an Eastern Aramaic language known as Mandaic. The name 'Mandaean' comes from the Aramaic '' manda'', meaning knowledge. Within the Middle East, but outside their community, the Mandaeans are more commonly known as the (singular: ), or as Sabians (, ). The term is derived from an Aramaic root related to baptism. The term Sabians derives from the mysterious religious group mentioned three times in the Quran alongside the Jews, the Christians and the Zoroastrians as a ' People of the ...
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Gnosticism
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge ('' gnosis'') above the orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a distinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent lesser divinity (sometimes associated with the Yahweh of the Old Testament) who is responsible for creating the material universe. Consequently, Gnostics considered material existence flawed or evil, and held the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the hidden divinity, attained via mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not in concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment. Gnostic writings flourished among certain Christian groups in the Mediterranean wor ...
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List Of Mandaean Texts
This article contains a list of Mandaean texts (Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic). Well-known texts include the ''Ginza Rabba'' (also known as the ''Sidra Rabbā'') and the '' Qolastā''. Texts for Mandaean priests include ''The 1012 Questions'', among others. Some, like the ''Ginza Rabba'', are codices (bound books), while others, such as the various ''diwan'' (illustrated scrolls) are scrolls. This list is by no means exhaustive. Institutional libraries and private collections contain various Mandaean religious texts that are little known or even unknown to the international scholarly community. Background Mandaean copyists may transcribe texts as a meritorious deed for one's own forgiveness of sins, or they may be hired to copy a text for another person. Mandaean sacred scriptures, such as the ''Ginza Rabba'' are traditionally kept in wooden chests wrapped in layers of white cotton and silk cloth. These protected manuscripts are generally not touched ...
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Mandaean Australians
Mandaean Australians are Australians of Mandaean descent or Mandaeans who have Australian citizenship. Australia has the second-highest Mandaean population in the world, after Sweden. Sydney metropolitan area The Sydney metropolitan area in Australia has one of the largest Mandaean diaspora communities in the world. The community is centered in Greater Western Sydney suburbs such as Penrith and Liverpool. In Liverpool, the main mandi (Beth Manda) is the Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi. The Sabian Mandaean Association of Australia has purchased land by the banks of the Nepean River at Wallacia, New South Wales in order to build a new mandi. Another mandi in Sydney is the Yahya Yuhana Mandi. Associations The Sabian Mandaean Association in Australia is the largest Mandaean association in Australia. Religious affairs are managed by the Mandaean Synod of Australia. Notable people * Salah Choheili, the current Rishama and head of the Mandaean community in Australia * Majid Fandi al-Mubar ...
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Qolasta
The Qolastā, Qulasta, or Qolusta ( myz, ࡒࡅࡋࡀࡎࡕࡀ; mid, Qōlutā, script=Latn) is the canonical prayer book of the Mandaeans, a Gnostic ethnoreligious group from Iraq and Iran. The Mandaic word ''qolastā'' means "collection". The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms (''masbuta'') and other sacred rituals involved in the ascension of the soul (''masiqta''). Date The ''Qolasta'', and two other key texts to Mandaic literature, the ''Mandaean Book of John'' and the ''Ginza Rabba'', were compiled together. However, their date of authorship is heavily debated, some believing it to be during the second and third centuries, and others believing it to be conceived during the first century. In 1949, Torgny Säve-Söderbergh demonstrated that many passages in the Manichaean Psalms of Thomas were paraphrases or even word-by-word translations of Mandaean prayers in the Qolasta. Säve-Söderbergh also argued that the Manichaean psalms had borrowed fro ...
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John The Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Baptista; cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ ⲡⲓⲡⲣⲟⲇⲣⲟⲙⲟⲥ or ; ar, يوحنا المعمدان; myz, ࡉࡅࡄࡀࡍࡀ ࡌࡀࡑࡁࡀࡍࡀ, Iuhana Maṣbana. The name "John" is the Anglicized form, via French, Latin and then Greek, of the Hebrew, "Yochanan", which means " YHWH is gracious"., group="note" ( – ) was a mission preacher active in the area of Jordan River in the early 1st century AD. He is also known as John the Forerunner in Christianity, John the Immerser in some Baptist Christian traditions, and Prophet Yahya in Islam. He is sometimes alternatively referred to as John the Baptiser. John is mentioned by the Roman Jewish historian Josephus and he is revered as a major religious figure Funk, Robert W. & t ...
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Ginza Rabba
The Ginza Rabba ( myz, ࡂࡉࡍࡆࡀ ࡓࡁࡀ, translit=Ginzā Rbā, lit=Great Treasury), Ginza Rba, or Sidra Rabba ( myz, ࡎࡉࡃࡓࡀ ࡓࡁࡀ, translit=Sidrā Rbā, lit=Great Book), and formerly the Codex Nasaraeus, is the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. It is also occasionally referred to as the Book of Adam. Language, dating and authorship The language used is Classical Mandaic, a variety of Eastern Aramaic written in the Mandaic script (Parthian chancellory script), similar to the Syriac script. The authorship is unknown, and dating is a matter of debate. Some scholars place it in the 2nd–3rd centuries,Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press. while others such as S. F. Dunlap place it in the 1st century. The earliest confirmed Mandaean scribe was ''Shlama Beth Qidra'', a woman, who copied the ''Left Ginza'' sometime around the year 200 CE. Mandaean religious texts may have been o ...
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Mandaeans In Sweden
Sweden is home to one of the largest communities of the Mandaean ethnoreligious group, numbering between 10,000-20,000 people (2019).Hanish, Shak (2019). The Mandaeans In Iraq. In By comparison, there are now only about 3,000 Mandaeans in Iraq. Several thousand Swedish Mandaeans were granted asylum status as refugees from persecution in Iraq and Syria. History The first Mandaeans came to Sweden in the 1970s, including the al-Khafaji family who owned a goldsmithing business on Kungsgatan in Stockholm. The first Mandaean religious worship took place in 1997 when a ''tarmida'' (Mandaean priest) from the Netherlands was visiting. Following the Iraq War, there was an influx of refugees from Iraq. Religion As of 2018, there was a total of 8 ''tarmidas'' living in Sweden under the leadership of 2 '' genzibras'' (bishop or high priest). One of the genzibras is Salwan Alkhamas. The first Mandaean place of worship, or '' mandi'', was consecrated in Sandviken in 2003. Most Mandaeans in ...
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Mandaean Americans
Mandaeans in the United States refers to people born in or residing in the United States of Mandaean origin, or those considered to be ethnic Mandaeans. Immigration Mandaean immigration to the United States has been occurring for decades. Surges in Mandaean immigration happened following the Iran–Iraq War, Gulf War, and 2006 bombing of the al-Aksari Mosque. The Iraq War destabilized the country, causing Mandeans to be targeted by Islamic extremists. In 2007, ''The New York Times'' ran an op-ed piece in which Swarthmore College professor Nathaniel Deutsch called for the George W. Bush administration to take immediate action to preserve the Mandaean community and culture. The same year, Iraqi Mandaeans were given refugee status by the US State Department. Since then, more than 2,500 have entered the US. The community in Worcester is believed to be the largest in the United States and the second largest community outside the Middle East. About 2,600 Mandaeans from Iran hav ...
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Mandaean Book Of John
The Mandaean Book of John ( Mandaic language ࡃࡓࡀࡔࡀ ࡖࡉࡀࡄࡉࡀ ') is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which is believed by Mandeans to have been written by their prophet John the Baptist. The book contains accounts of John's life and miracles, as well as a number of polemical conversations with Jesus and tractates where Anush Uthra (Enosh) performs miracles in the style of Jesus's deeds in Jerusalem. Translations A German translation, ''Das Johannesbuch der Mandäer'', was published by Mark Lidzbarski in 1905. Another German translation of chapters 18–33 (the "Yahya–Yuhana" chapters) was published by Gabriele Mayer in 2021. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath published a full English translation of the Mandaean Book of John in 2020, which was printed alongside Mandaic text typesetted by Ardwan Alsabti. Another English translation was published by Carlos Gelbert in 2017. Manuscripts Archived manuscripts of the Mandaean Book of John known to ...
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Baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three times, once for each person of the Trinity. The synoptic gospel The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose co ...s recount that John the Baptist baptism of Jesus, baptised Jesus. Baptism is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance (Christian), ordinance in others. Baptism according to the Trinitarian formula, which is done in most mainstream C ...
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Mandaic Language
Mandaic is a southeastern Aramaic variety in use by the Mandaean community, traditionally based in southern parts of Iraq and southwest Iran, for their religious books. Classical Mandaic is still employed by Mandaean priests in liturgical rites. The modern descendant of Classical Mandaic, known as Neo-Mandaic or Modern Mandaic, is spoken by a small section of Mandaeans around Ahvaz and Khorramshahr in the southern Iranian Khuzestan province. Liturgical use of Classical Mandaic is found in Iran (particularly the southern portions of the country), in Baghdad, Iraq and in the diaspora (particularly in the United States, Sweden, Australia and Germany). It is an Eastern Aramaic language notable for its abundant use of vowel letters (''mater lectionis'' with ''aleph'', ''he'' only in final position, ''‘ayin'', ''waw'', ''yud'')) in writing, so-called ''plene'' spelling ( Mandaic alphabet) and the amount of Iranian and AkkadianStephen A. Kaufman, ''The Akkadian Influences on Arama ...
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