Joseph Hazzaya (; born ) was an 8th-century

Syriac Christian Syriac Christianity (, ''Mšiḥoyuṯo Suryoyto'' or ''Mšiḥāyūṯā Suryāytā'') is a branch of Eastern Christianity of which formative theological writings and traditional liturgies are expressed in the Classical Syriac language, a vari ...

writer, ascetic and mystic. The nickname Hazzaya means 'the seer' or 'the visionary'. He belonged to 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 ...

.. The main source of biographical information on Joseph is the ''Book of Chastity'' of Isho'dnah of Basra, written a century or so after his death. He was born to a

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 ...

family of

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

religion in the village of

Nimrud Nimrud (; ) is an ancient Assyrian people, Assyrian city (original Assyrian name Kalḫu, biblical name Calah) located in Iraq, south of the city of Mosul, and south of the village of Selamiyah (), in the Nineveh Plains in Upper Mesopotamia. ...

about 710. During the reign of the Caliph

Umar II Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan (; February 720) was the eighth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 717 until his death in 720. He is credited to have instituted significant reforms to the Umayyad central government, by making it much more efficient and ...

(717–720), the villagers rebelled and the seven-year-old Joseph taken captive by the caliph. He was sold as a slave to an

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 ...

Sinjar Sinjar (; , ) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its population in 2013 was estimated at 88,023, and is predominantly Yazidi. History ...

, who later sold him to a Christian from Qardu. There, Joseph became familiar with the ascetic life of the monks of the monastery of John of Kamul. He requested to be baptized and was freed by his owner in order to enter the monastery of Abba Sliba as a novice. His brother also converted to Christianity and took the name Abdisho. At the end of his novitiate, Joseph moved back to Qardu and lived as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

for some years. He then became the abbot of the local monastery of Mar Bassima, before moving to Mount Zinai in

Adiabene Adiabene ( Greek: Αδιαβηνή, ) was an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, corresponding to the northwestern part of ancient Assyria. The size of the kingdom varied over time; initially encompassing an area between the Zab Rivers, it ...

to resume the life of a hermit. Again, he was persuaded to become the abbot of the local monastery of Rabban Bakhtisho. He continued in this office until his death.

Abdisho bar Berika Abdisho bar Berika or Ebedjesu () (died 1318), also known as Mar Odisho or St. Odisho in English, was a Syriac writer. He was born in Nusaybin. Abdisho was first bishop of Shiggar (Sinjar) and the province of Bet 'Arbaye (Arbayestan) around 1285 ...

claimed that Joseph wrote 1,900 treatises, but only ten were extant in Abdisho's time. He is generally regarded as a systematizer of the mystic and ascetic practices of the Church of the East. His most systematic work, ''A Letter on the Three Stages of the Monastic Life'', is misattributed to

Philoxenus of Mabbug Philoxenus of Mabbug ( Syriac: , '; died 523), also known as Xenaias and Philoxenus of Hierapolis, was one of the most notable Syriac prose writers during the Byzantine period and a vehement champion of Miaphysitism. Early life He was born, ...

in the manuscripts. Like Philoxenus, Joseph taught that the

monastic life Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

fosters the

charismatic gifts In Christianity, a spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A D ...

. He belonged to the same theological family as

Isaac of Nineveh Isḥaq of Nineveh (; Arabic: إسحاق النينوي ''Ishaq an-Naynuwī''; – c. 700), also remembered as Saint Isaac the Syrian (), Isaac of Nineveh, Abba Isaac, Isaac Syrus and Isaac of Qatar, was a 7th-century Syriac Christian bishop o ...

, Simon of Taibuteh and John of Dalyatha. He was the first to synthesise the three contemplations of the Hellenistic scholar

Evagrius Ponticus Evagrius Ponticus (), also called Evagrius the Solitary (345–399 AD), was a Christian monk and ascetic from Heraclea, a city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor. One of the most influential theologians in the late fourth-century church, ...

(4th-century) with the tripartite division of the Syriac

John of Apamea John of Apamea (), John the Solitary (), or John the Solitary of Apamea was a 5th-century Syriac Christian writer from Apamea, Syria. His writings are strongly influenced by Evagrius Ponticus's works, which were available to him via Syriac transl ...

(5th century). Among his other works are the treatise ''On the Divine Essence'', the ''Chapters of Knowledge'' and the ''Book of Questions and Answers''. Many of his works, such as the ''Treatise on the Workings of the Grace of God'', are erroneously transmitted under his brother's name. At a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

held in 786–787 or 790, the Patriarch Timothy I condemned Joseph Hazzaya and two other ascetic authors, John of Dalyatha and John the Solitary, for

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

. According to Timothy, Joseph rejected

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

and the

divine office Divine Office may refer to: * Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church * Canonical hours, the recitation of such prayers in Christianity more generall ...

as impediments to receiving the charismatic gifts. He also supposedly slipped into

Messalianism The Euchites or Messalians were a Christian sect from Mesopotamia that spread to Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and Thrace. The name 'Messalian' comes from the Syriac , ''mṣallyānā'', meaning 'one who prays'. The Greek translation is , ''euchi ...

, claiming that a (person who had achieved perfection) did not need prayer, the office, scripture reading or

manual labour Manual labour (in Commonwealth English, manual labor in American English) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word ''manual ...

. These charges are not substantiated by any of Joseph's surviving writings, but David Wilmshurst considers them unsurprising if Joseph claimed to be a "privileged recipient of divine revelation" as his nickname implies. The date of Joseph's death is unknown. Karl Pinggéra believes he was alive at the time of the synod, but Micheline Albert believes he was already dead by then.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph Hazzaya 710s births 8th-century Iranian people Iranian slaves Converts to Christianity from Zoroastrianism Iranian hermits Christians from the Umayyad Caliphate Church of the East Christians from the Abbasid Caliphate 8th-century Christian monks 8th-century Christian mystics Syrian Christian mystics Patristic mystics Monks of the Church of the East 8th-century Christian abbots Syriac writers Church of the East writers 8th-century Persian-language writers Slaves in the Umayyad Caliphate