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Document Details : Title: 'They are Called Enemies of the Truth for the Magnitude of their Lie' Subtitle: Literary Strategies for Re-Framing the Confessional Borders in Elijah of Nisibis' Kitāb al-Burhān 'alā Ṣaḥīḥ al-Īmān Author(s): POPA, Catalin-Stefan Journal: Journal of Eastern Christian Studies Volume: 73 Issue: 3-4 Date: 2021 Pages: 159-190 DOI: 10.2143/JECS.73.3.3289996 Abstract : This paper is based on the treatise Demonstration of the Correctness of the Faith written in the 11th century by the East Syriac author and bishop Elijah of Nisibis. This eulogy of the East Syriac faith attempts to legitimate a church as orthodox, and to define the criteria which make and denounce the confessional others as heretics. The author rejects the beliefs of the Christian rivals of his church, harshly criticizing two denominations, the Melkite and the Jacobite community, dismantling dogmatic aspects as well as forms of practical worship. Elijah does not discuss the current situation of East Syrians under Islam. Of paramount importance for his church is to keep the inter-confessional borders, which give to East Syrians the strength to transmit their doctrine over the centuries as the foundation of truth in a region dominated by Christian fragmentation and Arabic culture. |
