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Syriac Christianity ( / ''mšiḥāiūṯā suryāiṯā'') encompasses the multiple Churches of Eastern Christianity whose services tend to feature liturgical use of ancient Syriac, a dialect of Middle Aramaic that emerged in Edessa in the early 1st century AD, and is closely related to the Aramaic of Jesus.〔Allen C. Myers, ed (1987). "Aramaic". The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans. p. 72. ISBN 0-8028-2402-1. "It is generally agreed that Aramaic was the common language of Palestine in the first century A.D. Jesus and his disciples spoke the Galilean dialect, which was distinguished from that of Jerusalem (Matt. 26:73).". Israeli scholars have established that Hebrew was also in popular use. Most Jewish teaching from the first century is recorded in Hebrew.〕 Jesus Christ was known as ''Yešua` mšiḥā'' in Aramaic. With a history going back to the 1st century AD, in modern times Syriac Christianity is represented by denominations primarily in the Middle East, Asia Minor and in Kerala, India. Christianity began in the Middle East in Jerusalem among Jewish Aramaic-speaking Semitic peoples of Judah (modern Israel, Palestinian Territories and Jordan). It quickly spread, initially to other Semitic peoples, in Parthian-ruled Assyria and Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), Roman-ruled Syria (ancient Aramea), Phoenicia (modern Lebanon), southern and eastern Asia Minor (modern Turkey), and northwestern Persia (modern Iran) and Malta. From there it spread to Greece, Armenia, Egypt, Georgia, the Caucasus region and on into The Balkans, India, North Africa, Rome, Ethiopia, Nubia (modern Sudan) and Arabia, and eventually southern and western Europe. Syriac Christianity is divided into two major Rite traditions: The East Syrian Rite, historically centered in Assyria/Upper Mesopotamia, and the West Syrian Rite, centered in Antioch and the Mediterranean coast (the Levant). The ''East Syrian Rite'' tradition was historically associated with the Assyrian founded Church of the East, and is currently employed by the Middle Eastern churches that descend from it, the Assyrian Church of the East, the Ancient Church of the East, and the Chaldean Catholic Church (the members of these churches are Eastern Aramaic-speaking ethnic Assyrians), as well as by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church of India. The ''West Syrian Rite'' tradition is used by the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Maronite Church, as well as by the Malankara Churches of India, which follow the Saint Thomas Christian tradition. ==History== Syriac Christian heritage is transmitted through various Neo Aramaic dialects (particularly the Syriac dialect of Assyria and Upper Mesopotamia) of old Aramaic. Unlike the Greek Christian culture, Assyrian Christian culture borrowed much from early Rabbinic Judaism and its own indigenous ancient Mesopotamian culture. Whereas Latin and Greek Christian cultures became protected by the Roman and Byzantine empires respectively, Syriac Christianity often found itself marginalised and sometimes actively persecuted by the Zoroastrian rulers of the Parthian Empire and succeeding Sassanid Empire. Antioch was the political capital of this culture, and was the seat of the Patriarchs of the church. However, Antioch was heavily Hellenized, and the Assyrian cities of Edessa, Nisibis and Sassanid Ctesiphon became Syriac cultural centres. The early literature of Syriac Christianity includes the Diatessaron of Tatian; the Curetonian Gospels and the Syriac Sinaiticus; the Peshitta Bible; the Doctrine of Addai and the writings of Aphrahat; and the hymns of Ephrem the Syrian. The first division between Syriac Christians and Western Christianity occurred in the 5th century, following the First Council of Ephesus in 431, when the Assyrian Christians of the Sassanid Persian Empire were separated from those in the west over the Nestorian Schism. This split owed just as much to the politics of the day as it did to theological orthodoxy. Ctesiphon, which was at the time also the Sassanid capital, eventually became the capital of the Church of the East. After the Council of Chalcedon in 451, many Syriac Christians within the Roman Empire rebelled against its decisions. The Patriarchate of Antioch was then divided between a Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian communion. The Chalcedonians were often labelled 'Melkites' (Emperor's Party), while their opponents were labelled as Monophysites (those who believe in the one rather than two natures of Christ) and Jacobites (after Jacob Baradaeus). The Maronite Church found itself caught between the two (allegedly embracing Monothelitism), but claims to have always remained faithful to the Catholic Church and in communion with the bishop of Rome, the Pope.〔Moosa, Matti. The Maronites in history. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1986〕 The church has persisted as a separate entity under Islamic rule. The community was one of those granted autonomy in governing itself in religious and family matters under the millet system.〔Ye'Or, Bat. The decline of eastern Christianity under Islam: from jihad to dhimmitude. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, US, 1996〕 In the 19th century many left for other parts of Christendom, creating a substantial diaspora.〔Chaillot, Christine. "The Syrian Orthodox Church Of Antioch And All The East. Geneva: Inter-Orthodox Dialogue 1998〕 Over time, some groups within each of these branches have entered into communion with the Church of Rome, becoming Eastern Catholic Churches. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Syriac Christianity」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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