ʿeltā
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In Syriac literature, an ʿeltā (plural ʿellātā) is a work explaining the reasons behind feast days, aspects of the liturgy or some other part of church tradition.[1] It is a distinctive literary genre of the Church of the East and is strongly associated with the schools, such as the School of Nisibis and the School of Seleucia-Ctesiphon.[2] It flourished between the 6th and 8th centuries.[3]
The word ʿeltā is Syriac for "cause" or "explanation".[4] The genre may be called "cause literature" in English.[5]
Works
Most surviving examples of the genre are derived from a single 16th-century manuscript collection called "Explanations of the Feasts of the Economy". All of these date to the 6th century:[4]
- Cyrus of Edessa
- On the Fast
- On the Pascha
- On the Passion
- On the Resurrection
- On the Ascension
- On Pentecost
- Thomas of Edessa
- On the Birth of Christ
- On the Epiphany
- Ishai
- On the Feast of the Martyrs
- Henana of Adiabene
- On Good Friday
- On the Rogation
- Posi
- On the Fast
- Anonymous
- On the Commemoration of Mary
Outside of this collection are the ʿeltā on the Trisagion by the 6th-century Patriarch Ishoyahb I[2] and the Cause of the Foundation of the Schools by a certain Barhadbshabba, either Barhadbshabba of Hulwan or Barhadbshabba Arbaya.[6]
Many ʿellātā were written that no longer survive. They are known only through the bibliography compiled in the early 14th century by Abdisho bar Brikha. These include:[7]
- Henana of Adiabene
- On the Friday of Gold
- On the Discovery [of the Cross]
- Babai the Great
- On Palm Sunday
- On the Feast of the Cross
- Book of Causes on Matthew the Wavering, Abraham of Nisibis and Gabriel Qatraya
- Joseph Hazzaya
- On the Glorious Festival
- Abraham of Mahoze
- On All the Festivals
- Cyriacus of Nisibis
- On the Birth of Christ
- On the Epiphany
- Gregory of Shushtre
- On the Festivals
Abdisho also records that Shallita of Reshaina in the 8th century, the Patriarch Isho bar Nun in the 9th and the Patriarch Abdisho I in the 10th wrote ʿellātā, without specifying on what topics.[8]