From High Priest to Patriarch

History and Authority in the 'Ecclesiastical History' of Bar 'Ebroyo

The Ecclesiastical History of Bar ‘Ebroyo has long been recognized as a crucial source for the history of the Eastern churches in the Mongol period but it has hardly been appreciated as a literary work on its own. Over the past decades, further study on Bar ‘Ebroyo has permitted to dismiss his undeserved label of unoriginal epistomist and to reassess the value of his work. This book seeks to inject that perspective into the study of Bar ‘Ebroyo as an ecclesiastical historian and it argues that his Ecclesiastical History offers an original historical narration that encompasses geo-ecclesiology, theology and political theory. Often read as a mere abridgment of Michael the Great’s Chronicle, the Ecclesiastical History incorporates a number of additional sources and deploys specific narratological tools to convey a unique vision of history that results from the cultural, political and personal circumstances in which Bar ‘Ebroyo wrote his work. In short, the Ecclesiastical History shows how the long-lived tradition of the Church history writing was adjusted to respond to the specific challenges that the political and religious landscape of 13th century Middle East posed to the Syrian Orthodox community.