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Members of the Covenant
The Members of the Covenant were a proto-monastic group in early Syriac Christianity. The first record of them is found in the fourth century. The practice is in the process of being revived today in the Syriac churches and there exists communities of monks part of this.
Before the advent of true monasticism (which developed in the desert of Egypt), most Syriac churches consisted of a community focused around the "members of the covenant": men and women who had committed themselves to celibacy and the service of the church.
With only a few exceptions, Syrian monks learned to live among the people, both Christian and non-Christian, living the strict ascetic lifestyle while still maintaining full cohesion in the world. The eastern ascetics saw their spiritually disciplined life as a journey of steps, each finding oneself on a stairway of godliness that led ultimately towards eternity with God.
The name is the English translation of the Syriac bnay qyāmâ (ܒܢܝ ܩܝܡܐ) (or benai qyama), literally sons of the covenant. A male member of the covenant was called bar qyāmâ (ܒܪ ܩܝܡܐ) (or Bnay Qyām), son of the covenant; a female member was bat qyāmâ (ܒܪܬ ܩܝܡܐ) or Bnāt Qyāmā), daughter of the covenant. Members were also known as ihìdaye, or ‘single-minded ones’.
From its beginning, Syriac Christianity was intrinsically an ascetical faith built on its reactions to, and adoptions from Marcionism and Manichaeism, among other cultural influences, which promoted the Christian faith as one of radical dedication and sacrifice. Where many Egyptian monks saw Anthony the Great as their figurehead and felt they needed to escape Roman rule in order to live ascetic lives, Syriac ascetics remained enmeshed in the church and the ‘lost’ culture that surrounded them.
The overwhelming presence of Western monasticism was not foreign to Syrian Christians seeking ascetic life. Theodoret gives historians a rendition of the early individualistic tendencies of Syrian monks in his book about their history. Notable examples of extreme asceticism included the βοσκοί boskoi "grazers", monks who lived in the wild and were often mistaken for strange animals. Wrapped in goatskins or straw mats, they avoided all forms of artificial clothing or shelter and only ate what they were given or they found growing on the ground. St Ephrem, writing in the mid-4th century, gave a very similar description of the Syriac ascetics who rejected all forms of civilization and lived out in the open in a primeval manner.
During the early centuries of Christianity, Christian groups in the regions of the Sasanian Empire were developing and expressing themselves in radically different ways as there was no overarching rule for the new faith (unlike Christians living in Roman Empire). In contrast to the staunch individualistic faith seen in the rural wildernesses around them, Christians in Persian urban areas were more intent on creating a community of believers by creating and transforming it through Christian discipleship. "From the earliest times asceticism played an integral and affirming role in the communities and the faith of Syrian Christians ... discipleship to Christ, lived out by laymen and women through varying degrees ... constituted the highest expression of Christian life."[citation needed] Communal monasticism became more and more common during the early part of the fourth century, leaving behind the influences of the Egyptian ascetic paradigm.
During the fourth century and beyond, the image of Christians as "strangers" emerged. Monks of this lineage acted as a missionary to their communities, building a life around hospitality to others, serving the poor such as by becoming service personnel in hospitals. The Qeiama were listed together with the priests and deacons, and were instructed to "remain continually in the worship service of the church and not cease the times of prayer and psalmody night and day." Moreover, the Sons of the Covenant had administrative duties; no one was permitted to be a rabbaita ("steward") of the church unless no qeiama was available. "We must be reminded that the first Christian impulses in the lands of the Euphrates and Tigris did not come from Hellenistic Christianity via Antioch but from Palestinian Jewish Christianity ... these archaic conditions, which understood the qeiama as the whole congregation of celibates who alone were admitted to baptism and sacramental life, were tenacious and were able to last for generations.". St Aphrahat, writing between 337 and 345, described the ascetic life as being a separation from the world, noting in his 6th Demonstration: "We should be aliens from this world, just as Christ did not belong to this world." He equated the term "holiness" with "virgin" in both a literal sense and to symbolize uncontamination from the world.
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Members of the Covenant
The Members of the Covenant were a proto-monastic group in early Syriac Christianity. The first record of them is found in the fourth century. The practice is in the process of being revived today in the Syriac churches and there exists communities of monks part of this.
Before the advent of true monasticism (which developed in the desert of Egypt), most Syriac churches consisted of a community focused around the "members of the covenant": men and women who had committed themselves to celibacy and the service of the church.
With only a few exceptions, Syrian monks learned to live among the people, both Christian and non-Christian, living the strict ascetic lifestyle while still maintaining full cohesion in the world. The eastern ascetics saw their spiritually disciplined life as a journey of steps, each finding oneself on a stairway of godliness that led ultimately towards eternity with God.
The name is the English translation of the Syriac bnay qyāmâ (ܒܢܝ ܩܝܡܐ) (or benai qyama), literally sons of the covenant. A male member of the covenant was called bar qyāmâ (ܒܪ ܩܝܡܐ) (or Bnay Qyām), son of the covenant; a female member was bat qyāmâ (ܒܪܬ ܩܝܡܐ) or Bnāt Qyāmā), daughter of the covenant. Members were also known as ihìdaye, or ‘single-minded ones’.
From its beginning, Syriac Christianity was intrinsically an ascetical faith built on its reactions to, and adoptions from Marcionism and Manichaeism, among other cultural influences, which promoted the Christian faith as one of radical dedication and sacrifice. Where many Egyptian monks saw Anthony the Great as their figurehead and felt they needed to escape Roman rule in order to live ascetic lives, Syriac ascetics remained enmeshed in the church and the ‘lost’ culture that surrounded them.
The overwhelming presence of Western monasticism was not foreign to Syrian Christians seeking ascetic life. Theodoret gives historians a rendition of the early individualistic tendencies of Syrian monks in his book about their history. Notable examples of extreme asceticism included the βοσκοί boskoi "grazers", monks who lived in the wild and were often mistaken for strange animals. Wrapped in goatskins or straw mats, they avoided all forms of artificial clothing or shelter and only ate what they were given or they found growing on the ground. St Ephrem, writing in the mid-4th century, gave a very similar description of the Syriac ascetics who rejected all forms of civilization and lived out in the open in a primeval manner.
During the early centuries of Christianity, Christian groups in the regions of the Sasanian Empire were developing and expressing themselves in radically different ways as there was no overarching rule for the new faith (unlike Christians living in Roman Empire). In contrast to the staunch individualistic faith seen in the rural wildernesses around them, Christians in Persian urban areas were more intent on creating a community of believers by creating and transforming it through Christian discipleship. "From the earliest times asceticism played an integral and affirming role in the communities and the faith of Syrian Christians ... discipleship to Christ, lived out by laymen and women through varying degrees ... constituted the highest expression of Christian life."[citation needed] Communal monasticism became more and more common during the early part of the fourth century, leaving behind the influences of the Egyptian ascetic paradigm.
During the fourth century and beyond, the image of Christians as "strangers" emerged. Monks of this lineage acted as a missionary to their communities, building a life around hospitality to others, serving the poor such as by becoming service personnel in hospitals. The Qeiama were listed together with the priests and deacons, and were instructed to "remain continually in the worship service of the church and not cease the times of prayer and psalmody night and day." Moreover, the Sons of the Covenant had administrative duties; no one was permitted to be a rabbaita ("steward") of the church unless no qeiama was available. "We must be reminded that the first Christian impulses in the lands of the Euphrates and Tigris did not come from Hellenistic Christianity via Antioch but from Palestinian Jewish Christianity ... these archaic conditions, which understood the qeiama as the whole congregation of celibates who alone were admitted to baptism and sacramental life, were tenacious and were able to last for generations.". St Aphrahat, writing between 337 and 345, described the ascetic life as being a separation from the world, noting in his 6th Demonstration: "We should be aliens from this world, just as Christ did not belong to this world." He equated the term "holiness" with "virgin" in both a literal sense and to symbolize uncontamination from the world.