Syriac evidences in The Witness of God is Greater

Steven Avery

Administrator
Gehazi also who mocked and was mocked, tried to escape his master's notice and was disgraced. The daring
men try to escape men's notice [when pretending] that they baptize in the Three Names. Now at the mouth of
Three the judges [PAGE 197] decide. See here be Three Witnesses Who put an end to all strife! And who
would doubt about the holy Witnesses of His Baptism? (Ephraem, Rhythm the Twenty Eighth. #7, 1847,
Translated by J.B. Morris, p. 195-197).
○ Latin: [Latin translation from the Syriac by Assemani] Poenam tulit similem Giezius, qui Prophetam
illudere conatus, ipse egregie illusus fuit, cum magistrum vellet capere, captus est. Subdoli Scrutatores
vulgo imponere volunt, quo et ipse trinis nominibus baptizare volunt : trium testium consona testificatione
judicia constant, tres hic audis testes, quorum testimonio omnis dirimitur quaestio. Jam eritne aliquis, qui
sanctissimos sui baptismi testes habeat suspectos? (Ephraem Syrus, Sermo XXVIII, Ephraem Syrus.
Opera omnia graece, syriace, latine, ed. G.S. Assemani, P. Benedictus, S.E. Assemani, 6 vols. Rome:
Typographia, Vaticana, 1737-1743, Tome, Ser. 2, Syriace et latine 3 (1743) [6th volume]. Translated into
Latin by Assemani., 6:51D-E.)

Comment:
• [J.B. Morris] The words “try to escape men's notice” seem to refer to 1 John v. 9 “if we receive the witness of men the
witness of God is greater.” As this passage seems to contain an allusion to the controverted text 1 John v 7... The
drift of the whole passage then would admit of being stated thus:”Those who will not believe 'the record that God gave of
His Son' (1 John V 10) are obliged to approach the most sacred rites with a lie in their right hand; they are worse than
Gehazi, who thought that none would witness the sacrilegious use he was making of the type of the Sacrament of
Baptism seen in Naaman, (see on the place, p. 532, c.d.) which was 'by water only;' but these daring men make the most
solemn adjuration a mere trap for men's souls, and while they calls to witness the Three that bear record in Heaven, they
thereby constitute all, that keep alive a religious sense of the honour of having had God's Name sealed upon them at
Baptism, judges of their own sacrilegious intentions; they summon from Heaven Three Witnesses against themselves,
and prove the Church's doctrine by the counterfeit of her rites, which to save appearances they are compelled to adopt.
(see note d.) It may, in conclusion, be right to remind the reader, that it is not St. E.'s usual practice to quote Scripture; he
alludes to it in by far the great number of instances. (Ephraem, Rhythm the Twenty Eighth. #7 fn. c, translated into English
by Rev. J. B. Morris, 1847, p. 195-197)
 

Steven Avery

Administrator
[Sermon on the Transfiguration] And he is the Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten from the
Father, and only begotten from a mother. I confess the same to be perfect God and perfect man,
acknowledged in the two natures united hypostatically, or in person, indivisibly, unconfusedly and
unchangeably; having put on flesh that is animated by a rational and intelligent soul, in all things
becoming passible like us, sin alone excepted. He is both earthly and heavenly, temporary and eternal,
starting and without beginning, timeless and subject to time, created and uncreated, passible and
impassible, God and man, perfect in both, one in two and in two one. One person of the Father, one
person of the Son, and one person of the Holy Spirit. One godhead, one power, one kingship in
three persons or hypostases. So we glorify the Holy Unity in Trinity, and the Holy Trinity in
Unity. In this the Father cried out, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him”.
All this the holy Catholic Church of God has received. In this Holy Trinity it baptizes for eternal life. Into
this Trinity it sanctifies with equal honour, confesses it without separation, without division; worships it
without error, confesses and glorifies it. To this Unity in three persons belong glory, thanksgiving,
honour, might, majesty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
(Ephraem, Sermon on the Transfiguration of Christ; CPG 3939)
o Greek: Καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός, ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ μονογενὴς ἐκ Πατρός, καὶ ἐκ μητρὸς
μονογενής. Ὁμολογῶ τὸν αὐτὸν Θεὸν τέλειον καὶ ἄνθρωπον τέλειον, ἐν δύο ταῖς φύσεσι καθ'
ὑπόστασιν, ἤτοι πρόσωπον, ἡνωμέναις γνωριζόμενον ἀδιαιρέτως τε καὶ ἀσυγχύτως καὶ
ἀτρέπτως· σάρκα ἐνδυσάμενον τὴν ἐμψυχωμένην ψυχῇ λογικῇ τε καὶ 30 νοερᾷ, κατὰ πάντα
γενόμενον ἡμῖν ὁμοιοπαθῆ, δίχα μόνης τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Ὁ αὐτὸς ἐπίγαιος καὶ οὐράνιος,
πρόσκαιρος καὶ ἀΐδιος, ἠργμένος καὶ ἄναρχος, ἄχρονος καὶ ὑπὸ χρόνον, κτιστὸς καὶ ἄκτιστος,
παθητὸς καὶ ἀπαθής, Θεὸς καὶ ἄνθρωπος, κατ' ἄμφω τέλειος, εἷς ἐν δύο, καὶ ἐν δυσὶν εἷς. Ἓν
πρόσωπον τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ ἓν πρόσωπον τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ ἓν πρόσωπον τοῦ Ἁγίου
Πνεύματος. Μία θεότης, μία δύναμις, μία βασιλεία ἐν τρισὶ προσώποις ἤτοι ὑποστάσεσιν.
Οὕτω δοξάζομεν τὴν Ἁγίαν Μονάδα ἐν Τριάδι, καὶ τὴν Ἁγίαν Τριάδα ἐν Μονάδι. Ἐν ᾧ
ἔκραξεν ὁ Πατὴρ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ· οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός· αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε. Ταῦτα
ἐδέξατο ἡ ἁγία τοῦ Θεοῦ καθολικὴ Ἐκκλησία. Ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ Ἁγίᾳ Τριάδι βαπτίζει εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
Εἰς αὐτὴν ἁγιάζει ἰσοτιμίᾳ, καὶ εἰς αὐτὴν ὁμολογεῖ ἀμερίστως, ἀχωρίστως, καὶ αὐτῇ προσκυνεῖ μὴ
σφαλλομένη, καὶ ὁμολογεῖ καὶ δοξάζει. Αὐτῇ τῇ τρισυποστάτῳ Μονάδι πρέπει δόξα, εὐχαριστία,
τιμή, κράτος, μεγαλωσύνη· τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ Υἱῷ καὶ τῷ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς
αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. (Ephraem, Sermon on the Transfiguration of Christ; Assemani,
Sancti patris nostri Ephraem Syri Opera omnia quae extant graece, syriace, latine, vol. 2,
Rome, 1743, p. 49; Add MS 9348, f35v; CPG 3939)
Comments:
• [Dikova] Even though of dubitable authorship, this sermon was most probably first created in Syriac.
Yet, the earliest found Syriac manuscript of it – burnt later on – was noted to attribute the work to St.
John Chrysostom. [fn. 7, p. 127. Cf. M. Geerard, Clavis Patrum Graecorum, vol. 2: Ab Athanasio ad
Chrysostomum, Turnhout, 1974, p. 390. On the same attribution see also S. P. Brock, St. Ephrem: A
Brief Guide to the Main Editions and Translations, s. loc., 2012. Available at
<http://syri.ac/brock/ephrem> (04.04.2020). Here CPG 3939 is seen as part of the group of 15 texts
attributed to Ephrem “which have a Syriac original that can be identified” but some of which “cannot be
genuine Ephrem”. M. Geerard, Clavis Patrum.., p. 390 notes – after D. Hemmerdinger-Iliadou – not
only the attribution of the same sermon to Isaac of Antioch but also another Syriac manuscript (a
fragment) in which the homily is anonymous. In the Georgian manuscript tradition the homily was
occasionally attributed also to Тheodoros Abu Qurra (Ch. Hannick, Maximos Holobolos in der
kirchenslavischen homiletischen Literatur, Wien, 1981, 244). The overall authorship, manuscript, and
translation traditions of St Ephrem’s works are extremely complicated in all languages – also due to his

The Witness of God is Greater

Mike Ferrando Page 119
vast popularity even during his lifetime.] (Ekaterina Dikova, "The Sermon on the Transfiguration of
Christ (CPG 3939) Ascribed to St. Ephrem the Syrian in South Slavonic Translation: The Construction
of Rhetorical Rhythm" in Translations of Patristic Literature in South-Eastern Europe, 2020, p. 127)
 

Steven Avery

Administrator
Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom (circa 4th to 9th century)
• The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is the principal liturgy of the Byzantine Rite, used by both the Eastern
Orthodox churches and Byzantine Catholics. The anaphora is plausibly attributed to John Chrysostom, Archbishop of
Constantinople from 398 to 404, but the liturgy as a whole is a composite derived from earlier West Syriac tradition, with
additional elements introduced between the 6th and 9th centuries. (Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. Wikipedia.
<en.wikisource.org/wiki/Divine_Liturgy_of_Saint_John_Chrysostom>)
HIT:
• Glory. The Father is light, the Son and Logos is light, the Holy Spirit is light, but the three are one light; for
there is one God in three persons, but in one nature and principle, indivisible, unconfused, eternal. (Liturgy of
St. John Chrysostom, The Beatitudes. Resurrectional. Glory)
Greek: Δόξα. Φῶς ὁ Πατήρ, φῶς ὁ Υἱὸς καὶ Λόγος, φῶς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἀλλ' ἓν φῶς τὰ τρία· εἷς
γὰρ Θεός, ἐν τρισὶ μὲν προσώποις, μιᾷ δὲ φύσει καὶ ἀρχῇ, ἄτμητος, ἀσύγχυτος, πέλων προαιώνιος.
(Λειτουργια Αγιου Χρυσοστομου, Οἱ Μακαρισμοί. Ἀναστάσιμα. Δόξα.; Orthodox Eastern Church, 1858, p.
551)
 

Steven Avery

Administrator
● [Letter to Monks] Who then or what is truth, if not Jesus Christ, the God Who is over all, He Who said, «I am the
Truth, and the Light, and the Life». This Jesus, God the Word, is our truth, with His Father and with His Holy
Spirit: one Trinity, one essence, one divinity, one nature from everlasting and from eternity. For there is not in
Him (God) nature and nature, nor essence and essence, nor anything recent or old, but One in Three and
Three in One ; an eternal nature and eternal persons, one essence adored with its persons from everlasting and
from eternity. (Philoxenus,”Letter to the Monks”(p. 93-105) in Three Letters of Philoxenus, Translated by
Vaschalde, 1902, p. 96)
○ Note: Vaschalde used Syriac MSS. 135, 136, and 138 of the Vatican library, transcribed and edited by
Prof. Guidi, 1902.
 

Steven Avery

Administrator
● [Letter LXV. TO Eupraxius the Chamberlain 479] : When we speak of the divine nature, we mean the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, separating the hypostases, but |183 uniting the Godhead. And, as the name 'Father'
and the fact that he is not begotten by anything is the peculiar characteristic of the hypostasis of the Father, so
also the name 'Son' and the fact that he is begotten by the Father is the peculiar characteristic of the hypostasis
of the Son: similarly also the appellation 'Holy Spirit' and the fact that he is not begotten but proceeds from the

Father is the peculiar characteristic of the hypostasis of the Holy Spirit. While therefore the hypostases or persons
are recognised by the peculiar characteristics, and the Father is not converted into the Son or the Holy Spirit, nor
does the Son pass into the Holy Spirit or the Father, nor yet is the Holy Spirit transformed so as to become the
Father or the Son, the three are one, in that they are of the same essence of the Godhead; for the Father is
God, and the Son God, and the Holy Spirit God, and, while |184 the hypostases remain unconfused, the Trinity is
invariable in all points: for its essence 494 is one, its glory one, its everlastingness one, its kingship one, its power
one, its will one, its operation one, and through it we hold that the Trinity is one God. (Severus of Antioch, Letter
65 to Eupraxius the Chamberlain 479 AD. Translated by E. Brooks, 1915, vol 2, p. 177-184)
○ Note: English and Syriac facing pages. See Brooks’ for the original Syriac.
 

Steven Avery

Administrator
● On the Holy Mysteries: The sanctuary to the saints, the soul and the body and reason, sanctified by three
sanctuaries, by water and blood and spirit, and further by the Father and by the Son and by the Spirit, and
indeed man is in position a likeness of God by virtue of this trinity of its composition, the soul as well as
the father, the body as well as the corporeality of the Son, of reason as well as of the Holy Spirit, and thereby He
is a parable of God. (Jacob of Edessa, On the Holy Mysteries from Baumstark,”Ein syrisches Citat des 'Comma
Johanneum'“in Oriens christianus, 1902, vol. 2, p. 438-441; Translated by Brian Daley, SJ, correspondence,
March 2019).
○ Note: Syriac in Baumstark's article.
 
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