Rabbula

Rabbula of Edessa ( * ca 350 in Chalkis - Qennešrin; † 435/36 in Edessa ) was 412-435 / 436 Bishop of Edessa in the Syrian border area of the Eastern Roman Empire against the Persian Empire and one of the " Syrian church fathers " of the Syrian Orthodox Church.

Rabbula was the son of a pagan priest who is said to have offered together with the Emperor Julian victims. His mother was a Christian. Rabbula was initially a civil servant, but also had contact with Christians. Rabbula had a conversion experience on the pilgrimage shrine of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Cyrus. The decisive factor for his conversion were the encounters with the hermit Abraham and the bishops Eusebius of Chalcis and Acacius of Beroia. He then undertook a pilgrimage to Palestine, where he was baptized in the Jordan. From then on he led an ascetic life, sought actively martyred, the terrible was bestowed to him.

In the spring of 412 Rabbula was elected bishop of Edessa and was consecrated in Antioch. He organized the diocese new, a native of his pontificate collection of 59 canons gives an insight into his reformist activity against priests, monks and ascetics. In addition, Rabbula strongly bordered with his views of orthodoxy against the (Christian ) from heretics, of which there were a number of groups in the Syrian region: Arians, Marcionites, Manichaeans, Borborianer, Audianer, Messalians and not least the Nestorians.

At the end of his pontificate, perhaps even before the Council of Ephesus (431 ), is Rabbula dedicated to the question about the two natures of Christ in the driving seat of the Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria († 444 ) for the Alexandrian Christ notions against the Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople Opel ( † 450/51 ) and his teacher Theodore of Mopsuestia (ca. 350-428 ). Rabbula goal was to improve the fight against the Nestorian doctrine not only in Edessa - here would be the theological school at the place and Ibas of Edessa call - he took his position in a letter to Bishop Andrew of Samosata and against the Armenian church leaders. Rabbula died on August 8, 435 or 436, maybe he lived to see the condemnation of Nestorius by the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II ( 408-450 ) on August 3, 435.

Expenditure

• Gustav Bickell (ed.): Selected Writings of the Syriac Church Fathers Aphraates, Rabulas and Isaac v. Nineveh. Kempten 1874 ( BKV 38).