works are the only Syrian patristic writings that have taken a prominent place in ecclesiastical literature. The Doctrine of Addai contains the legend of Abgar, the missionary work of Addai, that is to say, the apostle Thaddæus, and the labours of his disciple and successor, the martyr Aggai. Although it is manifestly apocryphal and unreliable, it contains much ancient material; but this has been worked over so that in its present form the book cannot be ascribed to an earlier date than the fourth century. Its theology is post-Nicene. The Homilies of Aphraates are twenty-two in number, ten of which are asssigned to the year 337, and twelve to the year 344. A separate homily, On the Cluster, is assigned to the year following. Aphraates, or Afrahat, was a monk and a bishop said by tradition to be the head of the convent of St. Matthew near Mosul. The Homilies constitute one work which is a systematic exposition of the Christian faith, arranged as an acrostic, each homily beginning with one of the twenty-two letters of the alphabet in order. The work, however, does not consist of speculative theology; it deals chiefly with the relation of faith to the Christian life and to moral conduct, especially emphasising the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ in men, who thus become temples of God.
The Holy Spirit is referred to in the feminine gender, as in the Gospel according to the Hebrews, and probably for the same reason; while the Greek word for Spirit is neuter,[1] the Syriac is feminine.[2] But innocent as was the cause of it, this custom easily lends itself to the Gnostic idea of couples. Aphraates holds firmly to the Divinity of Christ; but he defends it in a way that shows how little he is influenced by contemporary discussions among the Greek theologians. Following the remarkable argument of Christ in the Fourth Gospel,[3] he supports the doctrine by appealing to instances of the name of Divinity being given to men. He also uses the argumentum ad hominem, urging that it
- ↑ πνεῦμα.
- ↑ ܕܢܝܳܐ
- ↑ John x. 33–36.
