A Passionate Patriarch at a Turning Point: Isho-yahbh II and His Letters of Rebuke and Ambiguity

Three decades after Prophet Muhammed's death in 632, the Patriarch of the Church of the East, Isho-yahbh III, was aware of the growing influence of the new faith of Islam and how many Christians were converting to it. In his letters, the sense of ambiguity and questions that many had about the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transformation
Main Author: Cochrane, Steve (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage [2019]
In: Transformation
Year: 2019, Volume: 36, Issue: 3, Pages: 164-172
RelBib Classification:BJ Islam
CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations
KAD Church history 500-900; early Middle Ages
KBL Near East and North Africa
Further subjects:B unpredictable future
B pastoral concern
B material gain
B Apostasy
B Ambiguity
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:Three decades after Prophet Muhammed's death in 632, the Patriarch of the Church of the East, Isho-yahbh III, was aware of the growing influence of the new faith of Islam and how many Christians were converting to it. In his letters, the sense of ambiguity and questions that many had about the nature of this faith was apparent and brought out the passionate struggle the Patriarch was feeling as he saw "so many thousands of men called Christians going into apostasy," many not as the result of compulsion but for economic reasons. A sense of helplessness of the Christian leader comes through in his letters and perhaps contributes to a sense of an unpredictable future. This article explores some of Isho-yahbh's letters, interacting with the context of Islam spreading further into the areas of Mesopotamia and Persia, yet with a vibrant and widespread Church of the East also spreading to India and China from its homelands in West Asia.
ISSN:1759-8931
Contains:Enthalten in: Transformation
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0265378819853177