THE MYSTERY OF THE TRIPLE GRADATED CHURCH
A Theological Analysis of the Kṯ āṯā DMassqāṯ ā (Book of Steps) with Particular Reference to the Writings of Aphrahat and John the Solitary
Keywords:
Church, KaaD-Massqaa, Book of Steps, Aphrahat, JohnAbstract
The ‗Church of God,‘ being a divine mystery, is beyond any human comprehension. However, several persons have tried to describe her nature in different languages and multiple styles, using definitions, descriptions, images, types, allegories, etc. The present study is based on such an attempt of an anonymous person, the author of the Book of Steps (Kṯāḇā d-Massqāṯā) from the late 4th or beginning of the 5th cent. AD of Syriac milieu. The Kṯāḇā d-Massqāṯā (KM) is a collection of thirty homilies (mēmrē) and a preface (mamlā) of the Syriac editor who compiled these 30 mēmrē. This anonymous work is well known by the title given to its Latin translation Liber Graduum (LGr). The attention of this dissertation falls on the anonymous author‘s teaching on the ―triple gradation‖ regarding the Church. For him the Church exists on three levels viz., the ‗visible Church,‘ the ‗Church of the heart‘ and the ‗heavenly Church.
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