Cyrus of Edessa (or Qiyore of Edessa) was a Syriac writer and teacher in 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 ...

. He was probably a native of

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

. He studied at the

school of Nisibis The School of Nisibis (, for a time absorbed into the School of Edessa) was an educational establishment in Nisibis (now Nusaybin, Turkey). It was an important spiritual centre of the early Church of the East, and like the Academy of Gondishapur ...

(c. 533–538) under

Aba ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...

, the future patriarch, and then taught at the

school of Seleucia-Ctesiphon The School of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (sometimes School of Seleucia) was a theological school of the Church of the East located in the western half of the city of Seleucia-Ctesiphon on the right bank of the Tigris. It was an independent Christian scho ...

, eventually rising to become its headmaster. He founded a monastery at Ḥirta sometime after the death of Aba (552). Cyrus was one of the earliest Syriac authors to write liturgical commentary of the "cause" or explanation ('' ʿeltā'') genre. He wrote six treatises explaining important events of the

liturgical year The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be obse ...

, namely the

Great Fast Great Lent, or the Great Fast (Greek language, Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, ''Megali Tessarakosti'' or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, ''Megali Nisteia'', meaning "Great 40 Days", and "Great Fast", respectively), is the most impor ...

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of the Lord's Supper, among other names,The day is also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries. is ...

(Pascha),

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

(Feast of the Passion),

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

(Feast of the Resurrection), the

Feast of the Ascension The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ (also called the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday) commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. It ...

and the

Feast of Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles of Je ...

. His work completed that begun by Thomas of Edessa on the feasts of Nativity and

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: Psychology * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany seaso ...

. Like Thomas, he was influenced by the theology of

Theodore of Mopsuestia Theodore of Mopsuestia (Greek: Θεοδώρος, c. 350 – 428) was a Christian theologian, and Bishop of Mopsuestia (as Theodore II) from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate. ...

. In his explanation of the Fast, Cyrus writes that " astingappears with the

Manichaeans Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...

, the

Marcionites Marcionism was an early Christian dualistic belief system that originated with the teachings of Marcion of Sinope in Rome around 144 AD. Marcion was an early Christian theologian, evangelist, and an important figure in early Christianity ...

, Macedonians, Valentinians, and Katharoi (''qtrw''), together with all of the

Mandaeans Mandaeans (Mandaic language, Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ) ( ), 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 ...

, the

Kentaeans The Kentaeans were a Gnostic religious group of Mesopotamia from around the 5th century AD. They were closely related to but distinct from the Mandaeans. Historical sources The Kentaeans are mentioned near the end of Book 3 and at the beginning ...

, and those like them." He also criticizes "the heretics, the Manichaeans, ... the Marcionites, the Bardesanites, and so on."

Editions

*ed. in W. F. Macomber, ''Six Explanations of the Liturgical Feasts'', Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, vols. 355–356 (1974).

Notes

Bibliography

* * * {{Authority control People from Edessa 6th-century Christian theologians Church of the East writers 6th-century Christian abbots Syriac writers Christians in the Sasanian Empire Christian anti-Gnosticism