ʿeltā

In the Syriac literature, an ÃÂ¿eltÃÂ (plural ÃÂ¿ellÃÂtÃÂ) is a work explaining the reasons behind feast days, aspects of the liturgy or some other part of church tradition. It is a distinctive literary genre of the Church of the East and is strongly associated with the schools, such as the School of Nisibis and the School of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. It flourished between the 6th and 8th centuries.

The word ÃÂ¿eltÃÂ is Syriac for "cause" or "explanation". The genre may be called "cause literature" in English.

Works

Most surviving examples of the genre are derived from a single 16th-century manuscript collection called "Explanations of the Feasts of the Economy". All of these date to the 6th century:

Cyrus of Edessa
On the Fast
On the Pascha
On the Passion
On the Resurrection
On the Ascension
On Pentecost
Thomas of Edessa
On the Birth of Christ
On the Epiphany
Ishai
On the Feast of the Martyrs
Henana of Adiabene
On Good Friday
On the Rogation
Posi
On the Fast
Anonymous
On the Commemoration of Mary

Outside of this collection are the ÃÂ¿eltÃÂ on the Trisagion by the 6th-century Patriarch Ishoyahb I and the Cause of the Foundation of the Schools by a certain Barhadbshabba, either Barhadbshabba of Hulwan or Barhadbshabba Arbaya.

Many ÃÂ¿ellÃÂtÃÂ were written that no longer survive. They are known only through the bibliography compiled in the early 14th century by Abdisho bar Brikha. These include:

Henana of Adiabene
On the Friday of Gold
On the Discovery [of the Cross]
Babai the Great
On Palm Sunday
On the Feast of the Cross
Book of Causes on Matthew the Wavering, Abraham of Nisibis and Gabriel Qatraya
Joseph Hazzaya
On the Glorious Festival
Abraham of Mahoze
On All the Festivals
Cyriacus of Nisibis
On the Birth of Christ
On the Epiphany
Gregory of Shushtre
On the Festivals

Abdisho also records that Shallita of Reshaina in the 8th century, the Patriarch Isho bar Nun in the 9th and the Patriarch Abdisho I in the 10th wrote ÃÂ¿ellÃÂtÃÂ, without specifying on what topics.

ʿeltā

Works

References

Bibliography