Aggai was a 1st-century primate of the

Church of the East The Church of the East ( ) or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church, the Chaldean Church or the Nestorian Church, is one of three major branches o ...

, and a disciple of Mar Addai, who is believed to have sat from 66 to 81. It was said that Aggai was one of the

seventy apostles The seventy disciples (Greek: ἑβδομήκοντα μαθητές, ''hebdomikonta mathetes''), known in the Eastern Christian traditions as the seventy apostles (Greek: ἑβδομήκοντα απόστολοι, ''hebdomikonta apostoloi''), w ...

, and was assigned the East as far as the border of India as his mission field. Mar Addai, the traditional apostle of Mesopotamia, appointed him his successor shortly before his death. Like Addai before him, Aggai preached in various regions of the East.

Sources

Brief accounts of the life of Aggai are given in the ''Ecclesiastical Chronicle'' of the Jacobite writer

Bar Hebraeus Gregory Bar Hebraeus (, b. 1226 - d. 30 July 1286), known by his Syriac ancestral surname as Barebraya or Barebroyo, in Arabic sources by his kunya Abu'l-Faraj, and his Latinized name Abulpharagius in the Latin West, was a Maphrian (region ...

(''floruit'' 1280) and in the ecclesiastical histories of the Nestorian writers

Mari ibn Suleiman Mari ibn Suleiman or Sulaiman () was a 12th-century Nestorian Christian author writing in Arabic. Nothing is known of his life. He is the author of a theological and historiographical work known as the Book of the Tower (''Kitāb al-Majdal''). The ...

(twelfth-century), ʿAmr (14th-century) and Sliba (14th-century). These accounts differ slightly, and these minor differences are of significance for scholars interested in tracing the various stages in the development of the legend.

Life of Aggai

The following account of the life of Aggai is given by Bar Hebraeus:

After Addai the preacher of the gospel, his disciple Aggai. This man used to weave Chinese cloth for Abgar, and after the death of his master Addai fled into the East. He began to preach throughout Persia,
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
,
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
,
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,
Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
and in the region of
Khuzistan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...
and among the Geles, right up to the borders of India. Then he returned to Edessa, as he was afraid that the faith there might decline, because of the native superstition of Abgar's son, who had succeeded him as king. When he reached Edessa, Abgar's son ordered him to weave Chinese cloth for him as he used to do for his father. Aggai replied to him, 'When my master was feeding the flock of Christ, I used to work for your father. But now the work of feeding has descended to me, and I cannot follow another trade.' The native ruler was angry at his words, and killed him by breaking his leg bones.

According to ''The Teaching of Addai'', Aggai was ordained by Addai to be a bishop of Edessa.Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent et al., “Aggai, bishop of Edessa” August 17, 2016
/ref> Aggai is said to have been murdered in church by one of the sons of King

Abgar V of Edessa Abgar V (c. 1st century BC – c. AD 50), called Ukkāmā (meaning "the Black" in Syriac language, Syriac and other dialects of Aramaic), was the King of Osroene with his capital at Edessa. Background Abgar was described as "king of the Ara ...

. Shortly before his death, Aggai is reported to have appointed

Palut Saint Mari �ܳܐܪܝ̣ also known as Mares or Maris �αρις and originally named Palut �ܳܠܘ̣ܛ is a saint of the Church of the East. He was converted by Thaddeus of Edessa, also known as "Addai"), and is said to have had as his spiritua ...

as his successor.

Notes

References

* Abbeloos, J. B., and Lamy, T. J., ''Bar Hebraeus, Chronicon Ecclesiasticum'' (3 vols, Paris, 1877) * Assemani, J. A., ''De Catholicis seu Patriarchis Chaldaeorum et Nestorianorum'' (Rome, 1775) * Baumer, Christoph (2006). ''The Church of the East''. London: I. B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. . * Brooks, E. W., ''Eliae Metropolitae Nisibeni Opus Chronologicum'' (Rome, 1910) * Gismondi, H., ''Maris, Amri, et Salibae: De Patriarchis Nestorianorum Commentaria I: Amri et Salibae Textus'' (Rome, 1896) * Gismondi, H., ''Maris, Amri, et Salibae: De Patriarchis Nestorianorum Commentaria II: Maris textus arabicus et versio Latina'' (Rome, 1899)

External links

Thomasine Church Patriarchs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aggai 1 Syrian Christian saints Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Ancient apocalypticists Bishops of Edessa Legendary primates of the Church of the East 1st-century bishops Assyrian Church of the East saints

Sources

Life of Aggai

See also

Notes

References

External links