History of the Za'faraan Monastery

Description

The History of the Za'faran Monastery is for the first time offered in English translation to the readers. It was written in 1917 by Patriarch Ignatius Aphram Barsoum (d. 1957) when he was still a monk at the monastery. The book details the history of the monastery from its inception until modern times. It deals with with everything, from construction to its significance as a center of Syriac learning and learned men. Without this small book, the first of its kind, a great and significant page of the history of the Syrian Church of Antioch would have been lamentably lost. Table of Contents Foreword Sources 1. The Location of the Za’faran Monastery 2. The Origin of the Za’faran Monastery 3. Monasticism in Mardin and its Outskirts 4. The Different Names of the Za’faran Monastery 5. The Biography of Metropolitan Yuhanna of Mardin 6. Yuhanna’s Narrative about the Za’faran Monastery 7. The Rebuilding of the Za’faran Monastery 8. Biographies of the Known Superiors of the Za’faran Monastery 9. The Monastic Order of the Za’faran Monastery in its Early Ages 10. The Za’faran Monastery as Center of the Patriarchal See of Antioch 11. The Councils Convened at the Za’faran Monastery to Elect Patriarchs 12. The Names of Patriarchs and Maphryone Ascribed to the Za’faran Monastery 13. The Metropolitans Who Graduated from the Za’faran Monastery 14. The Fathers Buried in the Za’faran Monastery 15. The Councils Convened at the Za’faran Monastery and Their Canons 16. Learning and Learned Men at the Za’faran Monastery 17. The Library of the Za’faran Monastery 18. The Properties of the Za’faran Monastery 19. The Monasteries Neighboring the Za’faran Monastery 20. Mardin: Its Diocese and Bishops About the Translator