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ELIAS OF HELIOPOLIS
THE LIFE OF AN EIGHT-CENTURY SYRIAN SAINT Stamatina McGrath
INTRODUCTION
The vita of Elias of Heliopolis is a unique Life among those we find in hagiographical collections and synaxaria. It is unique not because of the various elements comprising the Life itself—the themes of apostasis, persecution by the Arab/Muslim authorities and martyrdom are common enough in the hagiography of eighth to eleventh century Syria-Palestine.
What is striking is the author’s choice of language, saint and setting to communicate his moral lesson. The author chose to write in Greek—even substituting terms for Arab officials with anachronistic Byzantine terms—at a time when that language was increasingly displaced by Arabic among the communities of the region. In the story Elias suffered martyrdom defending his Christian faith, not out of fervent desire to wit-ness his religion, as in the case of a number of accounts from this peri-od1, but because of professional jealousy and soured relations with his former employer. Elias’ cult seems to have remained localized in Damascus and the surrounding areas as there is scant evidence of this saint in martyrologies of the region and no entry for him in the Synaxarion of Constantinople.
The reader of this vita is left to ponder the choice and motivations of the author in regards to his selection of saint. It seems likely that the gen-eral audience for this didactic story would be a lay community, most cer-tainly in Syria-Palestine at a time when Christianity was challenged by the Islamic faith and an increasingly dominating Arab culture. The author may have chosen to write Elias’ story in Greek, hoping to prove that this language was still an integral part of his community’s history and culture (although this does not explain how he intended his audience to under-stand it unless he relied on the active mediation of a knowledgeable priest or reader). If indeed the vita is an eleventh-century composition the use of Greek may coincide with the resurgence of the Byzantine pres-ence in the general region.
1 See S. Griffith, “The Arabic account of ‘Abd al-Mas¬Ω an-Na™r®n¬ al-Ghass®n¬”, Le Muséon 98 fasc. 3-4 (1985) 334; Hoyland (1997) 384.
The version of Christianity that Elias may have subscribed to is also a problematic issue. Born in a small Syrian community it is possible that he was a monophysite. Evidence to this fact would be his inclusion in the thirteenth-century Martyrologion of Rabban Sliba, identified by scholars as a monophysite document.2However, this evidence is not solid since the lines between orthodox and monophysite were frequently blurred and one could occasionally see crossovers between the two.3The collection of texts within which Elias’ Life was preserved is orthodox, a fact that reveals little about Elias’ specific religious preference. There is no inter-nal evidence within the Life of Elias to support either his identification as an orthodox or monophysite Christian. It is most likely that Elias’ vita appears in both traditions because it was particularly pertinent to the experiences of the Christian community in the region, rather than because it championed the monophysite or orthodox cause.
The Life is a valuable source of social history for eighth-century Syria. Elias, born in Heliopolis/Baalbek to a pious Christian family of very modest means, was trained in carpentry from an early age, a pro-fession that was well suited for the forested area in which he lived.4There is no mention of his father in the vita, only his mother and two brothers with whom ten-year-old Elias traveled from Baalbek to Damascus in search of a better life. The decision-making authority in Elias’ family seems to have been shared between his mother and older brother, although, the mother remains a shadowy background figure with no direct voice of her own. In Damascus the saint was employed in the serv-ice of a Syrian5carpenter, who with the aid of his Arab patron, aposta-tized from Christianity and became a Muslim. The vita paints the picture of a vital community in which professional mobility was possible between geographic, cultural and religious boundaries and relations
86 STAMATINA MCGRATH
2 Elias’ feast day, commemorated on February 4 and February 1 respectively, appears in a tenth-century Palestino-Georgian ecclesiastical calendar as February 4 and the thirteenth cen-tury martyrology of Rabban Sliba as February 1. See G. Garitte, Le Calendrier Palestino-Géorgien du Sinaiticus 34 (Xe Siècle), Subsidia Hagiographica 30 (Brussels: 1958) 151; and P. Peeters (1908) 174.
3 Peeters (1908) 134.
4 The vita states that he was trained in the use of “medium-sized pieces of wood”, not in large-scale wood construction. Later it is specified that he made packsaddles for camels in Damascus and that he repaired the wooden tools of the farmers in Baalbek. His training appears to have begun before the age of ten, when he first moved to Damascus. A.
Papadopoulos-Kerameus, SullogØ palaist¤nhw ka‹ suriak∞w ègiolog¤aw, I, Pravoslavnyj Palestinskij Sbornik XIX. 3 (=57), (Petersberg 1907) 45.
5 What the anonymous author means by “Syrian” here is probably a member of the native population of Syria-Palestine who spoke Aramaic and was apt to adopt Arabic after the sev-enth century conquest. S. Griffith, “Stephen of Ramlah and the Christian Kerygma in Arabic in Ninth-century Palestine,” The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 36.1 (1985) 23.
between employer and employee were casual, similar to those among the members of an extended family group. Elias’ carpentry tasks must not have included service at a feast, but the youth’s services were called upon by his employer. This appears to have been an extension of Elias’ duties as an apprentice/assistant, suggesting a very close relationship between employer and employee that extended to the social realm.6 While serv-ing at the birthday celebration Elias came in contact with Muslims who sought to convince him to join their religion. Although he refused, the boy was tricked into removing his belt or zunn®r7 during a dance. As Christians were required by law to wear their belts in a distinctive man-ner the removal of Elias’ zunn®r was taken as a sign of apostasis and conversion to Islam and the youth was later accused by the partygoers of having recanted his newly acquired Islamic faith—a capital crime under Islamic law.8 Elias’ Syrian employer initially offered protection, but when Elias’ family attempted to remove the boy from his service out of fear of the Muslim community and redeem his pending wages the Syrian refused payment and threatened to report the youth’s ‘conversion’ to the Islamic authorities. By family decision, Elias returned to Baalbek where he stayed for eight years. After that time it was deemed safe for him to return to Damascus and open his own business, but his old employer rec-ognized him and asked him to join his workshop. When Elias declined, the Syrian with the aid of his Arab patron’s son brought charges against him. Regardless of enticements, torture and imprisonment, Elias remained before the authorities steadfast in his Christian faith. After refusing numerous opportunities to recant Elias was executed.
Miracles immediately followed the death of the saint. A bright star shone at the place where his dead body was crucified, and there were reports of visions of the saint in and around Damascus. Fearing that these reports would inflame the faith of the Christians who might attempt to venerate Elias as a saint, the Islamic ruler ordered the incineration of Elias’ remains. As further evidence of Elias’ sanctity, his body remained unharmed by the fire. Still, the corpse was dismembered and thrown into 87
THE LIFE OF AN EIGHT-CENTURY SYRIAN SAINT
6 One can see this family-like intimacy in the behavior of the Syrian the day after the birth-day party, who offered Elias protection from the pressures of his Arab friends on the under-standing that Elias continued to work efficiently. The accusation by Elias’ family that the youth had not received wages for a whole year further exemplifies the lax relations and presumed trust between the Syrian employer and Elias. When Elias attempted to open his own shop eight years later, his former Syrian master tried to restore the relationship and employ Elias once more and it was only when he was rejected that he brought charges against the saint.
7 See, Translation, footnotes 42 and 43.
8 J. Kraemer, “Apostates, Rebels and Brigands”, Israel Oriental Studies 10 (1980) 36-48 and M. Ayoub, “Religious Freedom and the Law of Apostasy in Islam”, Islamochristiana [Journal of the Vatican Secretariat for Non-Christians] 20 (1994) 75-91.
the river Barad®. Parts of his corpse were recovered by pious Christians and venerated in secret, while the saint continued his miracles through healings and intercessions on behalf of the faithful.
The chronology of the saint can be reasonably determined based on the internal evidence of the vita. The anonymous author states that the saint was martyred in the year 6287.9This would coincide with the year 779 of the Byzantine era or the year 795 of the Alexandrian era.10The scholarly opinion on the matter is divided with valid arguments present-ed on both sides.11The evidence in favor of the year 779 is in my opin-ion more convincing but not entirely secure. The Arab caliph identified in the vita is al-MaΩd¬ (775-85), and the years of his rule fit well with the year of Elias’ execution. However, the text mentions al-MaΩd¬ only to identify the emir of Damascus, MuΩammad, not to state that the events in the saint’s life took place during his caliphate. Most likely MuΩammad, the emir of Damascus, was MuΩammad ibn-Ibr®Ω¬m (739/740-801), a relative of al-MaΩd¬, whose emirate covers both possi-ble martyrdom dates.12Another figure identified in the vita is al-LaytΩ (Leithi), who appears in the role of eparch and judge.13He may be iden-tified with al-LaytΩ ibn ‘Abd al-RaΩm®n al-FaΩm¬, a renowned Islamic jurist who journeyed to Damascus in the years 777/78 and may have stayed for a year or so in the city. In this case, al-LaytΩ could have been the judge of Elias’ case, but the title of eparch does not fit based on our knowledge of the jurist’s career. Strictly speaking, as eparch, al-LaytΩ would have been not only the supreme authority on judicial matters, but also commander of the police force and prisons, and regulator of the city’s commercial and industrial activities.14 These duties would be beyond the scope of the responsibilities of a visiting legal authority in eighth-century Damascus.
88 STAMATINA MCGRATH
9 Papadopoulos-Kerameus (1907) 55.
10 V. Grumel, La Chronologie (Paris: 1958) 249-250.
11 Among others Ch. Loparev, “Vizantijskie zitija svjatych VIII-IX vekov”, Vizantinskij vre-mennik 19 (1912) 36-40; I. Sevcenko, “Constantinople Viewed from the Eastern Provinces in the Middle Byzantine Period, Harvard Ukranian Studies 3/4, pt. 2 (1979/80) 712-747 argue for the year 795 and Hoyland (1997) 365; V. Grumel, “Elia il Giovane, santo, martire a Damasco”, Bibliotheca Sanctorum, vol.4 (Rome: 1964) 1046; Dumbarton Oaks Hagiography Database Project (DOHP), Introduction, edd. A. Kazhdan and A.-M. Talbot, “Elias of Heliopolis” (Washington, DC: 1998) 68-69 for the year 779.
12 Ibn- ‘As®kir, Mukhtasar T®r¬kh Dimashq, ed. Sak¬na al-SΩiΩ®b¬ (Damascus: 1990) 21:
340-42. I wish to acknowledge Prof. Irfan Shahid who provided the references for MuΩammad and al-LaytΩ for the DOHP in 1998.
13 According to the history of Ibn- ‘As®kir (Ibn- ‘As®kir (1990) 21: 246-55) al-LaytΩ visit-ed Damascus in the year 777/78; see also EI2, art. “Al-LaytΩ ibn ‘Abd al-RaΩm®n al-FaΩm¬, Abu’l H®ritΩ”, 5:711-12 A. Merad.
14 On the title of eparch and for bibliography, see ODB 705.
The date of composition of the vita is more difficult to discern than the precise chronology of the martyrdom. The author does not seem to be writing close to the date of Elias’ execution, and he does not provide statements indicating he was an eyewitness or had spoken personally to eyewitnesses regarding the saint and his life. There are no individuals identified by name in the vita beyond Elias, the two Arab officials and the caliph. The vita itself survives in a tenth/eleventh-century manuscript containing a collection of saints’ lives from Egypt, Palestine and Syria as well as some ascetic writings.15Several references in the text suggest that this vita was not an original composition of the author but was rewritten, perhaps from a shorter narrative, and expanded to include a number of episodes emphasizing demonstrations of Elias’ faith before his Muslim captors and the saint’s posthumous miracles.16If the original shorter ver-sion of the Life was written in Syriac or Arabic, the author took pains to remove any such evidence from his text, leaving a nicely flowing Greek narrative. There are no rhetorical figures or classical allusions in this vita. The overall evidence suggests a date of composition between the beginning of the eighth and the end of the eleventh-century AD.17
The author of the vita of Elias is anonymous. There are no indications as to his ethnicity or origin, but based on the limited geographic circula-tion of informacircula-tion regarding the Life of St. Elias, it is likely the author was a native of Syria-Palestine. By his own admission he has written two other saints’ lives. Based on the author’s remarks in the introduction of Elias’ Life, it is probable that these other narratives also dealt with mar-tyrdoms of Christian saints. The author’s concern over spiritual issues regarding the faithful in general implies that his responsibilities may have centered on a secular community rather than a monastic establish-ment.
The Christian communities in Syria-Palestine no doubt felt the pres-sures of adjusting to a well-established and powerful Islamic rule that expanded its authority by the growing use of the Arabic language in the administration and the increasing appeal of Islamic religion and culture.18 Christian converts to Islam were released from the obligation to pay poll tax according to ‘Abd al-Malik’s tax reform of 685.19 In the seventh cen-89
THE LIFE OF AN EIGHT-CENTURY SYRIAN SAINT
15 For the Vita of Elias of Heliopolis, see Devreesse (1945) 303 (10th c.) ff. 238-249, with partial edition by F. Combefis, Christi martyrum lecta trias (Paris: 1666) 155-206, and com-plete edition by Papadopoulos-Kerameus (1907) 42-59.
16 See Translation, notes 30, 37 and 52.
17 See also Devreesse (1945) 286-88 and DOHP Introduction (1998) 69.
18 Schick (1995) 159-178.
19 D. Dennett, Conversion and the Poll Tax in Early Islam (Cambridge, MA: 1950) 45-8.
tury apocalyptic text of Pseudo-Methodius there was great concern with voluntary Christian conversions to Islam.20The same sentiment is echoed in other contemporary sources.21 Without a doubt the combination of eco-nomic and social pressures made apostasy from Christianity an attractive alternative for many members of the community. The vita of Elias belongs to the literature produced in the region for the purpose of shoring up the faith of the Christian community and instructing its members of the dangers of close association with Christian apostates and Muslims.
Elias’ story offers a unique glimpse of the social pressures experienced by Christians and their efforts to maintain their culture and religion under Islamic rule.
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20 G.J. Reinink, “Pseudo-Methodius und die Legende vom römischen Endkaiser”, in W.Verbeke, D. Verhelst, and A. Welkenhuysen, edd., The Use and Abuse of Eschatology in the Middle Ages (Leuven: 1988), 104; also G.J. Reinink, “Ps.-Methodius: A Concept of History in Response to the Rise of Islam”, in Av. Cameron and L.Conrad, edd., The Byzantine and Islamic Near East I. Problems in the Literary Source Material (Princeton, NJ: 1992), 159, 178, 186-7.
21 Hoyland (1997) 343.
TRANSLATION February 1.22
Memorial regarding the account of the martyrdom of the holy great martyr Elias the Younger23, who came from Helioupolis24and suffered martyrdom in Damascus25.
1. We have already refuted the arguments or disbelief of the many regarding the holy great martyrs, having cleansed the faithful from impiety in our two previous accounts26. Now, in this one as well, the third one after the others, we start by announcing to all those who have even a small hope of salvation as comfort and encouragement the forgiveness that is always bestowed upon sinners.
2. For it is written in the gospel of Luke27that “A Pharisee invited” our Lord Jesus Christ “to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. Now, there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster container of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,
‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner’. Jesus said to 91
THE LIFE OF AN EIGHT-CENTURY SYRIAN SAINT
22 Concerning the saint’s feast date, see the bibliography listed in the Introduction, footnote 2. See also BHG 578-9.
23 For the manuscript and editions of Elias’ vita, see the Introduction, footnote 15. I wish to thank A.-M. Talbot and P. Magdalino for making valuable comments on the present transla-tion.
24 Heliopolis/Baalbek, a city in Syria between the mountains of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, was captured by the Arabs in 637. ODB 909-10.
25 Damascus, a city in southern Syria and metropolitan bishopric of Phoenicia Libanensis, was held by the Persians between 612 and 628 and then fell to the Arabs in 635. ODB 580.
26 Beyond what is stated here nothing is known of these two previous accounts mentioned by the anonymous author.
27 The long quotation that follows is from Luke 7: 36-50. The selection of this text in the context of the anonymous author’s didactic scope of forgiveness of sins and salvation is not by chance and follows a long tradition in Syriac theological writings beginning with the works of Ephaim the Syrian (4th century). For complete analysis of this theme in the works of Ephraim see, S. Brock, “The Sinful Woman and Satan: Two Syriac Dialogue Poems”, Oriens Christianus 72 (1988) 21-62; B.P. Robinson, “The Anointing by Mary of Bethany”, Downside Review (April 1997) 99-111; and H. Hunt, “The Tears of the Sinful Woman: a Theology of Redemption in the Homilies of St. Ephraim and His Followers”, Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies [http://syrcom.cua.edu/syrcom/Hugoye] vol.1, no.2 (1998) par. 1-38.
him in reply, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ ‘Tell me, teacher,’ he said. ‘Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other owed fifty. Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?’ Simon said in reply, ‘The one, I suppose, whose larg-er debt was forgiven.’ He said to him, ‘You have judged rightly.’ Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman?
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since