04-14-2011, 10:12 PM
Dear sister Christina in Yashua, Berek Alaha! I know this is in responce to a post you made several years ago,but I coulnt help but to respond and say I couldnt agree more about an official,Church sponsered and supervised English translation of the Peshitta to be made that would be acceptable by not only the COE but also by the Syrian Orthodox,who by the way,are not monophysite contrary to the false picture some history has painted them with together with the other Oriental-non chalcedonian Orthdox churches which are the Syrian,Syrian Malankara Orthodox,Armenian,Coptic,and Ethiopain and Eretrian Orthodox churches.The Syrian Orthodox,together with the other Oriental Orthodox churches that they are in union with have never been monophysites but have always believed in the proper,orthodox christology that our Lord has 2 natures,the perfectly Divine and the perfectly human,but they are united into one composite nature in the one prosopon-person of our Lord and Saviour Yashua.They have always professed the proper Orthodox teaching of the fulness and completeness of both of our Lord's Divine nature,and human nature,but that since the incarnation both our Lord;s Divine and human nature are united into the one united composite nature of our Lord,God and Saviour Yashua Msheekha.The Chalcedonians (Eastern Orthodox)also properly confess the fulness and completeness of bot our Lord's Divine and Human nature which are united in te hypostatic union of our Lord and in the one prosopon -person of our Lord. This is the same christology that Mar Nestorius confessed properly from the Antiochian school,the need to acknowledge both the distinctness of the 2 natures of our Lord,the divine and human,and to recognise the fulness and perfection of both natures,but that they are united in the one prosopon -person of our Lord,God and Saviour Yashua Mshieekha.We all believe the same christicological truth and need to come together as we,the ancient Syriac Christian churches are the direct daughter church of the original mother church of Jerusalem and have preserved by the power of the Ruach Ha Kodesh the original Orthodox,semitic,Judao-Christian spirituality,mysticism,liturgy,praxis,idealogy,practice,Apostolic succesion and Holy manner and methods of the true original church founded by our Mari and Alaha Yashua.Exspecially the COE and the Syrian Orthodox,but also the Maronites(although they have been severely latinised)and the Chaldean who although being united with Rome still maintain the fulnness of the practice and theology of the COE(with the exception of the RCatholic use of statues)and also the Syrian Malankara Orthodox church who are Indian but under the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch and Syrian rite.There is also the independent Malankara Syrian church of India who are united with the Oriental Orthodox but have there own Catholicose. We all share such a beautiful common tradition it would be wonderful to see the true Orthodox Syriac churches,both COE with Syrian Orthodox and Syrian Rite Catholics come together and make a unified translation into English of the Holy Peshitta with commentary from the great Syriac fathers like Theodore of Mopsuestia,St.Ephrem the Syrian,Narsai,Aphrahaat,Diodore,St.Issac the Syrian,St.John of ?Dalyatha,Macarius,Jacob of Sarug,ect,ect,ect.We have so much in common we shoul be able to come together.This is wishful thinking but with God all things are possible./as our Lord says in St.John:17:21-23-"That they may be one,as you my Father in Me and I in You,so that they also may be one in Us so that the world will know that You have sent Me.And the glory which You gave Me I gave to Them so that they may be one as We are one.I in them and You in Me that they may be perfected into one and that the world may know that You have sent Me and that You have loved them also as You have Loved Me".I own and study all of the good published English trans of the Peshitta and have truthfully learned from all of them./shamasha Pauls trans is the best but not published into syntaxical English. I love Roth's trans but really feel his own Netzari Jewish faith has couloured his trans in a handful of areas that disturb me. I enjoy Alexanders new edition of the Aramaic New Testament as he has inserted the proper Divine names of Alaha and Eashua but has left out Maryah which Roth should have used instead of Master YWHW and Elohim which are of course Hebrew and not Aramaic and the Peshitta is Aramaic.His(Roth)translating the word for cross into stake is wrong and also because of his religious sentiments as it is commonly known the Romans crucified thier victims on a horizontal beam with the victims outstreched arms through the wrists which was affixed to the upright vertical beam where the feet were nailed through./alexanders idiomatic trans is beautiful but has a handful of errors.Murdocks is good but outated in its English as is Etheridges.Paskas is good.I like Magiera's messianic version best as she has used the Divine names properly,Maryah,Alaha, Yashua,Mshieekha,ect plus reads very thoroughly and smooth while being faithful to the Peshitta text.Her trans is also free of any Lamsaisms which is remarkable considering her previous connection with him and his underlings.I still respect Lamsa's but obviously dissagree with his heretical disbelief in demons and the devil.His old tstament is quite good and accurate.It would be great to see an official Syriac church endorsed trans from any of the Syriac churches.There is a project underway which is Church endorsed by the Syriac churches in translating the Peshitta into the modern vernaculars of Aramaic called Aramaic translations.org I believe.I will post it on my next post for those who are interested.It would be nice if they were to make a unified English translation.In Yashua,Deacon Michael.