Abgar V: Difference between revisions

Saint Abgar
Saint Abgar
Venerated in	Catholic Church; Eastern Orthodox Church; Oriental Orthodox Church

Abgar V of Edessa
Abgar V of Edessa
Ruler of the kingdom of Osroene
	Icon of Abgar holding the mandylion, the image of Christ (encaustic, 10th century, Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai).
Born	1st century BC
Died	c. AD 50

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Abgar V (c. 1st century BC – c. AD 50), called Ukkāmā (meaning "the Black" in Syriac and other dialects of Aramaic),^[a] was the King of Osroene with his capital at Edessa.^[1]

Background

Abgar was described as "king of the Arabs" by Tacitus, a near-contemporary source.^[2]^[3] Moses of Chorene depicted Abgar as an Armenian,^[4]^[5] but modern scholarly consensus agree that the Abgarids were in fact an Arab dynasty.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

Armenian historian Moses of Chorene (ca. 410–490s AD) notes that Abgar V's chief wife was Queen Helena of Adiabene,^[12] who according to Josephus was the wife of King Monobaz I of Adiabene.

Letter of Abgar to Jesus

Abgar V is said to be one of the first Christian kings, having been converted to the faith by Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the seventy disciples.^[13]^[14]

The church historian Eusebius recorded that the Edessan archives contained a copy of a correspondence exchanged between Abgar of Edessa and Jesus.^[15]^[16] The correspondence consisted of Abgar's letter and the answer dictated by Jesus. On 15 August 944, the Church of St. Mary of Blachernae in Constantinople received the letter and the Mandylion. Both relics were then moved to the Church of the Virgin of the Pharos.^[17]

This account enjoyed great popularity in the East and in the West during the Middle Ages. Jesus' letter was copied on parchment, inscribed in marble and metal, and used as a talisman or an amulet. Of this correspondence, there survives not only a Syriac text, but an Armenian translation as well, two independent Greek versions, shorter than the Syriac, and several inscriptions on stone.^{[citation needed]}

Scholars have disputed many aspects of this account such as whether Abgar suffered from gout or from leprosy, or whether the correspondence was on parchment or papyrus.^[18]

The text of the letter was:

Abgar, ruler of Edessa, to Jesus the good physician who has appeared in the country of Jerusalem, greeting. I have heard the reports of you and of your cures as performed by you without medicines or herbs. For it is said that you make the blind to see and the lame to walk, that you cleanse lepers and cast out impure spirits and demons, and that you heal those afflicted with lingering disease, and raise the dead. And having heard all these things concerning you, I have concluded that one of two things must be true: either you are God, and, having come down from heaven, you do these things, or else you, who does these things, are the son of God. I have therefore written to you to ask you if you would take the trouble to come to me and heal all the ill which I suffer. For I have heard that the Jews are murmuring against you and are plotting to injure you. But I have a very small yet noble city which is great enough for us both.^[19]

Jesus gave the messenger the reply to return to Abgar:

Blessed are you who hast believed in me without having seen me. For it is written concerning me, that they who have seen me will not believe in me, and that they who have not seen me will believe and be saved. But in regard to what you have written me, that I should come to you, it is necessary for me to fulfill all things here for which I have been sent, and after I have fulfilled them, thus to be taken up again to him that sent me. But after I have been taken up, I will send to you one of my disciples, that he may heal your disease and give life to you and yours.^[20]

Egeria wrote of the letter in her account of her pilgrimage in Edessa. She read the letter during her stay around 384, and remarked that the copy in Edessa was "fuller" than the copies in her home (which was likely France).^[21]

In addition to the importance it attained in the apocryphal cycle, the correspondence of King Abgar also gained a place in liturgy for some time. The Syriac liturgies commemorate the correspondence of Abgar during Lent. The Celtic liturgy appears to have attached importance to it; the Liber Hymnorum, a manuscript preserved at Trinity College, Dublin (E. 4, 2), gives two collects on the lines of the letter to Abgar. It is even possible that this letter, followed by various prayers, may have formed a minor liturgical office in some Catholic churches.^[19]

This event has played an important part in the self-definition of several Eastern churches. Abgar is counted as saint, with feasts on 11 May and 28 October in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Thursday of the Third Week of Lent (Mid-Lent) in the Syriac Orthodox Church,^[22] and daily in the Mass of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Critical scholarship

A number of contemporary scholars have suggested origins of the tradition of Abgar's conversion apart from historical record. Walter Bauer argued the legend was written without sources to reinforce group cohesiveness, orthodoxy, and apostolic succession against heretical schismatics.^[23] However, several distinct sources, known to have not been in contact with one another, claimed to have seen the letters in the archives, so his claim is suspect.^[24]

Significant advances in scholarship on the topic have been made^[25] including Desreumaux's translation with commentary,^[26] M. Illert's collection of textual witnesses to the legend,^[27] and detailed studies of the ideology of the sources by Brock,^[28] Griffith^[29] and Mirkovic.^[30] The majority of scholars now claim the goal of the authors and editors of texts regarding the conversion of Abgar were not so much concerned with historical reconstruction of the Christianisation of Edessa as the relationships between church and state power, based on the political and ecclesiological ideas of Ephraem the Syrian.^[31]^[32]^[30] However, the origins of the story are still far from certain,^[33] although the stories as recorded seem to have been shaped by the controversies of the third century CE, especially as a response to Bardaisan.^[31]

Letters of Abgar to Tiberius

Letters between Abgar V and the Roman Emperor Tiberius are also recorded in history, by for instance the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi, scholars have argued for the core of these being essentially authentic based on:^[34]

This work seems to preserve very ancient material, such as the information on the friendship between Abgar, correctly called toparkhês of Edessa, and the prefect of Egypt, in my view probably A. Avillius Flaccus, who ruled Egypt AD 32 to 38—just the years of Vitellius’ mandate in the Near East and of the Abgar-Tiberius correspondence—and is well known to us thanks to Philo, In Flaccum, 1-3; 25; 40; 116; 158. He was one of the most intimate friends of Tiberius; he was born and grew up in Rome with Augustus’ nieces, obtained the government of Egypt, a direct possession of the emperor, and probably helped the good relationship between Abgar and Tiberius that is evident in their correspondence.

Abgar's initial letter to Tiberius read:^[35]

Abgar, king of Armenia, to my Lord Tiberius, emperor of the Romans, greeting:— I know that nothing is unknown to your Majesty, but, as your friend, I would make you better acquainted with the facts by writing. The Jews who dwell in the cantons of Palestine have crucified Jesus: Jesus without sin, Jesus after so many acts of kindness, so many wonders and miracles wrought for their good, even to the raising of the dead. Be assured that these are not the effects of the power of a simple mortal, but of God. During the time that they were crucifying Him, the sun was darkened, the earth was moved, shaken; Jesus Himself, three days afterwards, rose from the dead and appeared to many. Now, everywhere, His name alone, invoked by His disciples, produces the greatest miracles: what has happened to myself is the most evident proof of it. Your august Majesty knows henceforth what ought to be done in future with respect to the Jewish nation, which has committed this crime; your Majesty knows whether a command should not be published through the whole universe to worship Christ as the true God. Safety and health.

Tiberius' reply read:

Tiberius, emperor of the Romans, to Abgar, king of the Armenians, greeting:— Your kind letter has been read to me, and I wish that thanks should be given to you from me. Though we had already heard several persons relate these facts, Pilate has officially informed us of the miracles of Jesus. He has certified to us that after His resurrection from the dead He was acknowledged by many to be God. Therefore I myself also wished to do what you propose; but, as it is the custom of the Romans not to admit a god merely by the command of the sovereign, but only when the admission has been discussed and examined in full senate, I proposed the affair to the senate, and they rejected it with contempt, doubtless because it had not been considered by them first. But we have commanded all those whom Jesus suits, to receive him among the gods. We have threatened with death any one who shall speak evil of the Christians. As to the Jewish nation which has dared to crucify Jesus, who, as I hear, far from deserving the cross and death, was worthy of honour, worthy of the adoration of men — when I am free from the war with rebellious Spain, I will examine into the matter, and will treat the Jews as they deserve.

Notes

^ Arabic: أَبْجَر ٱلْخَامِس أُوكَامَا, romanized: ʾAbǧar al-Ḫāmis ʾŪkāmā,^{[citation needed]} Syriac: ܐܒܓܪ ܚܡܝܫܝܐ ܐܘܟܡܐ, romanized: ʾAḇgar Ḥmīšāyā ʾUkkāmā,^{[citation needed]} Armenian: Աբգար Ե Եդեսացի, romanized: Abgar Hingerord Yedesatsi,^{[citation needed]} Greek: Ἄβγαρος, Latin: Abgarus.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Vailhé, Siméon (1913). "Edessa" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^ Ring, Steven. "History of Syriac texts and Syrian Christianity - Table 1". www.syriac.talktalk.net. Archived from the original on 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
^ "The Annals 12.12".
^ Nersessian, Vrej (2001). Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art. Oxford University Press. p. 224. ISBN 978-0892366392.
^ Armenian Van/Vaspurakan - p.68, Richard G. Hovannisian
^ Bowman, Alan; Garnsey, Peter; Cameron, Averil (2005). The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521301992.
^ "Osroëne | ancient kingdom, Mesopotamia, Asia".
^ Skolnik, Fred; Berenbaum, Michael (2007). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Macmillan Reference USA. ISBN 9780028659435.
^ Roberts, John Morris; Westad, Odd Arne (2013). The History of the World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199936762.
^ "ABGAR Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org.
^ Laet, Sigfried J. de; Herrmann, Joachim (1996). History of Humanity: From the seventh century B.C. to the seventh century A.D. UNESCO. ISBN 9789231028120.
^ Movses Khorenatsi. "History of Armenia" . In Roberts, Alexander; Donaldson, James; Coxe, Arthur Cleveland; Schaff, Philip (eds.). Memoirs of Edessa And Other Ancient Syriac Documents. Ante-Nicene Fathers. Vol. VIII. Translated by Pratten, Benjamin Plummer. Chapter 10..
^ Chapman 1913.
^ Fortescue, Adrian (1913). Lesser Eastern Churches. ISBN 978-0-9715986-2-1.
^ Walsh, Michael J. (1986). The triumph of the meek: why early Christianity succeeded. Harper & Row. p. 125. ISBN 9780060692544. The story about this kingdom which Eusebius relates is as follows. King Abgar (who ruled from AD 13 to 50) was dying. Hearing of Jesus' miracles he sent for him. Jesus wrote back - this correspondence, Eusebius claims, can be found in the Edessan archives - to say that he could not come because he had been sent to the people of Israel, but he would send a disciple later. But Abgar was already blessed for having believed in him.
^ In his Church History, I, xiii, ca AD 325.
^ Janin, Raymond (1953). La Géographie ecclésiastique de l'Empire byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères (in French). Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines. p. 172.
^ Norris, Steven Donald (2016-01-11). Unraveling the Family History of Jesus: A History of the Extended Family of Jesus from 100 Bc Through Ad 100 and the Influence They Had on Him, on the Formation of Christianity, and on the History of Judea. WestBow Press. ISBN 9781512720495.
^ ^a ^b Leclercq, Henri (1913). "The Legend of Abgar" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^ "CHURCH FATHERS: Church History, Book I (Eusebius)".
^ Bernard, John. "The Pilgrimage of Egeria". University of Pennsylvania. Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society.
^ "Feast: Mid-Lent/King Abgar".
^ Bauer 1971, Chapter 1.
^ "CHURCH FATHERS: History of Armenia (Moses of Chorene)".
^ Camplani 2009, p. 253.
^ Histoire du roi Abgar et de Jésus, Présentation et traduction du texte syriaque intégral de la Doctrine d’Addaï par. A. Desreumaux, Brepols, Paris 1993.
^ M. Illert (ed.), Doctrina Addai. De imagine Edessena / Die Abgarlegende. Das Christusbild von Edessa (Fontes Christiani, 45), Brepols, Turnhout 2007
^ S.P. Brock, Eusebius and Syriac Christianity, in H.W. Attridge-G. Hata (eds.), Eusebius, Christianity, and Judaism, Brill, Leiden-New York-Köln 1992, pp. 212-234, republished in S. Brock, From Ephrem to Romanos. Interactions between Syriac and Greek in Late Antiquity (Variorum Collected Studies Series, CS644), Ashgate/Variorum, Aldershot-Brookfield-Singapore- Sydney 1999, n. II.
^ Griffith, Sidney H. (2003). "The Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm of Christian Thought in Edessa in the Fifth Century". Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies. 6 (2): 269–292. doi:10.31826/hug-2010-060111. ISSN 1097-3702. S2CID 212688514. Archived from the original on 21 August 2003. Retrieved 25 January 2017.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ ^a ^b Mirkovic 2004.
^ ^a ^b Camplani 2009.
^ Griffith 2003, §3 and §28.
^ Mirkovic 2004, pp. 2–4.
^ Ramelli, Ilaria (2011). "Possible Historical Traces in the Doctrina Addai". Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies.
^ "CHURCH FATHERS: History of Armenia (Moses of Chorene)". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 7 May 2023.

Sources

Bauer, Walter (1971). Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press. Archived from the original on 18 August 2000. Retrieved 25 January 2017. (German original published in 1934)
Camplani, Alberto (2009). "Traditions of Christian foundation in Edessa: Between myth and history". Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni (SMSR). 75 (1): 251–278.
Chapman, Henry Palmer (1913). "Doctrine of Addai" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Eisenman, Robert (1992), "The sociology of MMT and the conversions of King Agbarus and Queen Helen of Adiabene" (PDF), Paper presented at SBL conference, retrieved 21 March 2017
Eisenman, Robert (1997). "Judas the brother of James and the conversion of King Agbar". James the Brother of Jesus.
Holweck, F. G. (1924). A biographical dictionary of the saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co.
Mirkovic, Alexander (2004). Prelude to Constantine: The Abgar tradition in early Christianity. Arbeiten zur Religion und Geschichte des Urchristentums. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
von Tischendorf, Constantin. "Acta Thaddei (Acts of Thaddeus)". Acta apostolorum apocr. p. 261ff.
Wilson, Ian (1991). Holy faces, secret places. ISBN 9780385261050.

External links

Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. VIII: Acts of the Holy Apostle Thaddeus, One of the Twelve
Epistle of Jesus Christ to Abgarus King of Edessa from Eusebius
St. Apkar Armenian Apostolic Church of Arizona
Correspondence between Abgarus Ouchama, King of Edessa, and Jesus of Nazareth (J.Lorber, 1842)
English translation of ancient documents on the conversion of Abgar, including relevant passages from Eusebius and the Doctrine of Addai are available in Cureton, W. (1864). Ancient Syriac documents. London, UK: Williams and Norgate. pp. 1–23. Retrieved 15 June 2017.

[1] Arabic: أَبْجَر ٱلْخَامِس أُوكَامَا, romanized: ʾAbǧar al-Ḫāmis ʾŪkāmā,^{[citation needed]} Syriac: ܐܒܓܪ ܚܡܝܫܝܐ ܐܘܟܡܐ, romanized: ʾAḇgar Ḥmīšāyā ʾUkkāmā,^{[citation needed]} Armenian: Աբգար Ե Եդեսացի, romanized: Abgar Hingerord Yedesatsi,^{[citation needed]} Greek: Ἄβγαρος, Latin: Abgarus.^{[citation needed]}

[vailhe-2] Vailhé, Siméon (1913). "Edessa" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

[3] Ring, Steven. "History of Syriac texts and Syrian Christianity - Table 1". www.syriac.talktalk.net. Archived from the original on 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2018-02-26.

[4] "The Annals 12.12".

[5] Nersessian, Vrej (2001). Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art. Oxford University Press. p. 224. ISBN 978-0892366392.

[6] Armenian Van/Vaspurakan - p.68, Richard G. Hovannisian

[7] Bowman, Alan; Garnsey, Peter; Cameron, Averil (2005). The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521301992.

[8] "Osroëne | ancient kingdom, Mesopotamia, Asia".

[9] Skolnik, Fred; Berenbaum, Michael (2007). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Macmillan Reference USA. ISBN 9780028659435.

[10] Roberts, John Morris; Westad, Odd Arne (2013). The History of the World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199936762.

[11] "ABGAR Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org.

[12] Laet, Sigfried J. de; Herrmann, Joachim (1996). History of Humanity: From the seventh century B.C. to the seventh century A.D. UNESCO. ISBN 9789231028120.

[13] Movses Khorenatsi. "History of Armenia" . In Roberts, Alexander; Donaldson, James; Coxe, Arthur Cleveland; Schaff, Philip (eds.). Memoirs of Edessa And Other Ancient Syriac Documents. Ante-Nicene Fathers. Vol. VIII. Translated by Pratten, Benjamin Plummer. Chapter 10..

[FOOTNOTEChapman1913-14] Chapman 1913.

[15] Fortescue, Adrian (1913). Lesser Eastern Churches. ISBN 978-0-9715986-2-1.

[16] Walsh, Michael J. (1986). The triumph of the meek: why early Christianity succeeded. Harper & Row. p. 125. ISBN 9780060692544. The story about this kingdom which Eusebius relates is as follows. King Abgar (who ruled from AD 13 to 50) was dying. Hearing of Jesus' miracles he sent for him. Jesus wrote back - this correspondence, Eusebius claims, can be found in the Edessan archives - to say that he could not come because he had been sent to the people of Israel, but he would send a disciple later. But Abgar was already blessed for having believed in him.

[17] In his Church History, I, xiii, ca AD 325.

[ja172-18] Janin, Raymond (1953). La Géographie ecclésiastique de l'Empire byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères (in French). Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines. p. 172.

[19] Norris, Steven Donald (2016-01-11). Unraveling the Family History of Jesus: A History of the Extended Family of Jesus from 100 Bc Through Ad 100 and the Influence They Had on Him, on the Formation of Christianity, and on the History of Judea. WestBow Press. ISBN 9781512720495.

[Leclercq-20] Leclercq, Henri (1913). "The Legend of Abgar" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

[21] "CHURCH FATHERS: Church History, Book I (Eusebius)".

[Egeria-22] Bernard, John. "The Pilgrimage of Egeria". University of Pennsylvania. Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society.

[23] "Feast: Mid-Lent/King Abgar".

[FOOTNOTEBauer1971Chapter_1-24] Bauer 1971, Chapter 1.

[25] "CHURCH FATHERS: History of Armenia (Moses of Chorene)".

[FOOTNOTECamplani2009253-26] Camplani 2009, p. 253.

[27] Histoire du roi Abgar et de Jésus, Présentation et traduction du texte syriaque intégral de la Doctrine d’Addaï par. A. Desreumaux, Brepols, Paris 1993.

[28] M. Illert (ed.), Doctrina Addai. De imagine Edessena / Die Abgarlegende. Das Christusbild von Edessa (Fontes Christiani, 45), Brepols, Turnhout 2007

[29] S.P. Brock, Eusebius and Syriac Christianity, in H.W. Attridge-G. Hata (eds.), Eusebius, Christianity, and Judaism, Brill, Leiden-New York-Köln 1992, pp. 212-234, republished in S. Brock, From Ephrem to Romanos. Interactions between Syriac and Greek in Late Antiquity (Variorum Collected Studies Series, CS644), Ashgate/Variorum, Aldershot-Brookfield-Singapore- Sydney 1999, n. II.

[Griffith-30] Griffith, Sidney H. (2003). "The Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm of Christian Thought in Edessa in the Fifth Century". Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies. 6 (2): 269–292. doi:10.31826/hug-2010-060111. ISSN 1097-3702. S2CID 212688514. Archived from the original on 21 August 2003. Retrieved 25 January 2017.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[FOOTNOTEMirkovic2004-31] Mirkovic 2004.

[FOOTNOTECamplani2009-32] Camplani 2009.

[FOOTNOTEGriffith2003§3_and_§28-33] Griffith 2003, §3 and §28.

[FOOTNOTEMirkovic20042–4-34] Mirkovic 2004, pp. 2–4.

[35] Ramelli, Ilaria (2011). "Possible Historical Traces in the Doctrina Addai". Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies.

[36] "CHURCH FATHERS: History of Armenia (Moses of Chorene)". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 7 May 2023.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{short description|1st century AD King of Osroene and 1st Christian King}}
-{{redirect|Abgar}}
+{{redirect|Abgar|other people with the given name or surname|Abgar (name)}}
 {{Infobox royalty
 | name         = Abgar V of Edessa
@@ Line 95: / Line 95: @@
 | death_date =
 | death_place =
-| venerated_in = [[Catholic Church]]<br>[[Oriental Catholicism]]<br>[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<br>[[Oriental Orthodox Church]]
+| venerated_in = [[Catholic Church]]<br>[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<br>[[Oriental Orthodox Church]]
 | beatified_date =
 | beatified_place =
@@ Line 114: / Line 114: @@
 | major_works =
 }}
-'''Abgar V''' (c. 1st century BC – c. AD 50), called '''Ukkāmā''' (meaning "the Black" in [[Syriac language|Syriac]] and other dialects of [[Aramaic]]),and meaning the big and portly in Arabic <ref>https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D8%B9%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%85/</ref>,{{efn|{{lang-ar |أَبْجَر ٱلْخَامِس أُوكَامَا أبجر الخامس عكامة |ʾAbǧar al-Ḫāmis ʾŪkāmā}},{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}  {{lang-syr|ܐܒܓܪ ܚܡܝܫܝܐ ܐܘܟܡܐ|ʾAḇgar Ḥmīšāyā ʾUkkāmā}},{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} {{lang-hy|Աբգար Ե Եդեսացի|Abgar Hingerord Yedesatsi}},{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} {{lang-grc-gre|Ἄβγαρος|Abgaros}},{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} {{lang-la|Abgarus}}.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}}} was the King of [[Osroene]] with his capital at [[Edessa]].<ref name="vailhe">{{Cite CE1913|last=Vailhé|first=Siméon|wstitle=Edessa}}</ref>
+'''Abgar V''' (c. 1st century BC – c. AD 50), called '''Ukkāmā''' (meaning "the Black" in [[Syriac language|Syriac]] and other dialects of [[Aramaic]]),{{efn|{{lang-ar|أَبْجَر ٱلْخَامِس أُوكَامَا|ʾAbǧar al-Ḫāmis ʾŪkāmā}},{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} {{lang-syr|ܐܒܓܪ ܚܡܝܫܝܐ ܐܘܟܡܐ|ʾAḇgar Ḥmīšāyā ʾUkkāmā}},{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} {{lang-hy|Աբգար Ե Եդեսացի|Abgar Hingerord Yedesatsi}},{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} {{lang-grc-gre|Ἄβγαρος}}, {{lang-la|Abgarus}}.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}}} was the King of [[Osroene]] with his capital at [[Edessa]].<ref name="vailhe">{{Cite CE1913|last=Vailhé|first=Siméon|wstitle=Edessa}}</ref>
 == Background ==
 [[File:100,000_Armenian_dram_-_2009_(obverse).jpg|250px|thumb|left|Abgar V on an Armenian banknote]]
-Abgar was described as "king of the [[Arabs]]" by [[Tacitus]], a near-contemporary source.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.syriac.talktalk.net/chron_tab1.html|title=History of Syriac texts and Syrian Christianity - Table 1|last1=Ring|first1=Steven|website=www.syriac.talktalk.net|access-date=2018-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227034200/http://www.syriac.talktalk.net/chron_tab1.html|archive-date=2018-02-27|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Annals_(Tacitus)/Book_12|title = The Annals}}</ref> [[Movses Khorenatsi|Moses of Chorene]] depicted Abgar as an [[Armenians|Armenian]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art|last=Nersessian|first=Vrej|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0892366392|pages=224}}</ref><ref>Armenian Van/Vaspurakan - p.68, Richard G. Hovannisian</ref> but modern scholarly consensus agree that the [[Abgarids]] were in fact an Arab dynasty. Irfan Shahid mentions Abgar V asan Arab king <ref>{{cite book|last1=Bowman|first1=Alan|last2=Garnsey|first2=Peter|last3=Cameron|first3=Averil|title=The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521301992|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&q=%22arab+principality+of+edessa%22&pg=PA508|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Osroene|title = Osroëne &#124; ancient kingdom, Mesopotamia, Asia}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Skolnik|first1=Fred|last2=Berenbaum|first2=Michael|title=Encyclopaedia Judaica|date=2007|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|isbn=9780028659435|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JD0OAQAAMAAJ&q=%22the+Arab+kingdom%22|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Roberts|first1=John Morris|last2=Westad|first2=Odd Arne|title=The History of the World|date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199936762|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A2cfZkU5aQgC&q=Abgar+%22nabataean+arabic+state%22&pg=PA246|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ABGAR Encyclopaedia Iranica|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abgar-dynasty-of-edessa-2nd-century-bc-to-3rd-century-ad|website=www.iranicaonline.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Laet|first1=Sigfried J. de|last2=Herrmann|first2=Joachim|title=History of Humanity: From the seventh century B.C. to the seventh century A.D.|date=1996|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=9789231028120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGUz01yBumEC&q=%22Abgar+family%22&pg=PA140|language=en}}. Professor Irfan Shahid mentions Osroene as an Arab Kingdom alongside other Arab kingdoms during the Roman pre-Byzantine era like the Palmerene and Nabatean Arab</ref>Byzantium And The Arabs In The Fourth Century by Irfan Shahid, Page 20 para 3 point2</ref>
+Abgar was described as "king of the [[Arabs]]" by [[Tacitus]], a near-contemporary source.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.syriac.talktalk.net/chron_tab1.html|title=History of Syriac texts and Syrian Christianity - Table 1|last1=Ring|first1=Steven|website=www.syriac.talktalk.net|access-date=2018-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227034200/http://www.syriac.talktalk.net/chron_tab1.html|archive-date=2018-02-27|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Annals_(Tacitus)/Book_12#12|title = ''The Annals'' 12.12}}</ref> [[Movses Khorenatsi|Moses of Chorene]] depicted Abgar as an [[Armenians|Armenian]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art|last=Nersessian|first=Vrej|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0892366392|pages=224}}</ref><ref>Armenian Van/Vaspurakan - p.68, Richard G. Hovannisian</ref> but modern scholarly consensus agree that the [[Abgarids]] were in fact an Arab dynasty.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bowman|first1=Alan|last2=Garnsey|first2=Peter|last3=Cameron|first3=Averil|title=The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521301992|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&q=%22arab+principality+of+edessa%22&pg=PA508|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Osroene|title = Osroëne &#124; ancient kingdom, Mesopotamia, Asia}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Skolnik|first1=Fred|last2=Berenbaum|first2=Michael|title=Encyclopaedia Judaica|date=2007|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|isbn=9780028659435|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JD0OAQAAMAAJ&q=%22the+Arab+kingdom%22|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Roberts|first1=John Morris|last2=Westad|first2=Odd Arne|title=The History of the World|date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199936762|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A2cfZkU5aQgC&q=Abgar+%22nabataean+arabic+state%22&pg=PA246|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ABGAR Encyclopaedia Iranica|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abgar-dynasty-of-edessa-2nd-century-bc-to-3rd-century-ad|website=www.iranicaonline.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Laet|first1=Sigfried J. de|last2=Herrmann|first2=Joachim|title=History of Humanity: From the seventh century B.C. to the seventh century A.D.|date=1996|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=9789231028120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGUz01yBumEC&q=%22Abgar+family%22&pg=PA140|language=en}}</ref>
 Armenian historian [[Movses Khorenatsi|Moses of Chorene]] (ca. 410–490s AD) notes that Abgar V's chief wife was Queen [[Helena of Adiabene]],<ref>{{ws|{{cite book |author=Movses Khorenatsi |chapter=[[s:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VIII/Memoirs of Edessa And Other Ancient Syriac Documents/Moses of Chorene/Chapter 10|History of Armenia]] |translator-last=Pratten |translator-first=Benjamin Plummer |title=Memoirs of Edessa And Other Ancient Syriac Documents |editor1-last=Roberts |editor1-first=Alexander |editor2-last=Donaldson |editor2-first=James |editor3-last=Coxe |editor3-first=Arthur Cleveland |editor4-last=Schaff |editor4-first=Philip |series=[[Ante-Nicene Fathers (book)|Ante-Nicene Fathers]] |volume=VIII |at=Chapter 10}}}}</ref> who according to [[Josephus]] was the wife of King [[Monobaz I]] of [[Adiabene]].
 == Letter of Abgar to Jesus ==
+{{Wikisource|The suppressed Gospels and Epistles of the original New Testament of Jesus the Christ/Chapter 6|Christ and Abgarus}}
-[[File:Edessa Abgar king with Christ image.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Fresco from Varaga St. Gevorg church chapel showing king Abgar with image of Christ]]
-{{Details|Abgar Legend}}
-Abgar V is said to be one of the first [[Christianity|Christian]] kings in history, having been converted to the faith by [[Thaddeus of Edessa]], one of the [[seventy disciples]].{{sfn|Chapman|1913}}<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2_eAKmK7KkYC&pg=PA22 |title= Lesser Eastern Churches |isbn= 978-0-9715986-2-1 |last1= Fortescue |first1= Adrian |date= December 2001 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
+Abgar V is said to be one of the first [[Christianity|Christian]] kings, having been converted to the faith by [[Thaddeus of Edessa]], one of the [[seventy disciples]].{{sfn|Chapman|1913}}<ref>{{Cite book |title= Lesser Eastern Churches |isbn= 978-0-9715986-2-1 |last1= Fortescue |first1= Adrian |date=1913}}</ref>
 The church historian [[Eusebius]] recorded that the Edessan archives contained a copy of a correspondence exchanged between Abgar of Edessa and Jesus.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jp7jAAAAMAAJ|title=The triumph of the meek: why early Christianity succeeded|last=Walsh|first=Michael J.|date=1986|publisher=Harper & Row|isbn=9780060692544|pages=125|language=en|quote=The story about this kingdom which Eusebius relates is as follows. King Abgar (who ruled from AD 13 to 50) was dying. Hearing of Jesus' miracles he sent for him. Jesus wrote back - this correspondence, Eusebius claims, can be found in the Edessan archives - to say that he could not come because he had been sent to the people of Israel, but he would send a disciple later. But Abgar was already blessed for having believed in him.}}</ref><ref>In his ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Church History]]'', I, xiii, ''ca'' AD 325.</ref> The correspondence consisted of Abgar's letter and the answer dictated by Jesus. On 15 August 944, the [[Church of St. Mary of Blachernae (Istanbul)|Church of St. Mary of Blachernae]] in [[Constantinople]] received the letter and the [[Image of Edessa|Mandylion]]. Both relics were then moved to the [[Church of the Virgin of the Pharos]].<ref name=ja172>{{cite book|last=Janin|first=Raymond|author-link=Raymond Janin|title=La Géographie ecclésiastique de l'Empire byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères|publisher=Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines|language=fr|location=Paris|year=1953|page=172}}</ref>
@@ Line 134: / Line 135: @@
 The text of the letter was:
-{{blockquote|Abgar, ruler of Edessa, to Jesus the good physician who has appeared in the country of Jerusalem, greeting. I have heard the reports of you and of your cures as performed by you without medicines or herbs. For it is said that you make the blind to see and the lame to walk, that you cleanse lepers and cast out impure spirits and demons, and that you heal those afflicted with lingering disease, and raise the dead. And having heard all these things concerning you, I have concluded that one of two things must be true: either you are God, and having come down from heaven you do these things, or else you, who does these things, are the son of God. I have therefore written to you to ask you if you would take the trouble to come to me and heal all the ill which I suffer. For I have heard that the Jews are murmuring against you and are plotting to injure you. But I have a very small yet noble city which is great enough for us both.<ref name="Leclercq"/>}}
+{{blockquote|Abgar, ruler of Edessa, to Jesus the good physician who has appeared in the country of Jerusalem, greeting. I have heard the reports of you and of your cures as performed by you without medicines or herbs. For it is said that you make the blind to see and the lame to walk, that you cleanse lepers and cast out impure spirits and demons, and that you heal those afflicted with lingering disease, and raise the dead. And having heard all these things concerning you, I have concluded that one of two things must be true: either you are God, and, having come down from heaven, you do these things, or else you, who does these things, are the son of God. I have therefore written to you to ask you if you would take the trouble to come to me and heal all the ill which I suffer. For I have heard that the Jews are murmuring against you and are plotting to injure you. But I have a very small yet noble city which is great enough for us both.<ref name="Leclercq"/>}}
 Jesus gave the messenger the reply to return to Abgar:
-{{blockquote|Blessed are you who hast believed in me without having seen me. For it is written concerning me, that they who have seen me will not believe in me, and that they who have not seen me will believe and be saved. But in regard to what you have written me, that I should come to you, it is necessary for me to fulfill all things here for which I have been sent, and after I have fulfilled them thus to be taken up again to him that sent me. But after I have been taken up I will send to you one of my disciples, that he may heal your disease and give life to you and yours.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250101.htm|title = CHURCH FATHERS: Church History, Book I (Eusebius)}}</ref>}}
+{{blockquote|Blessed are you who hast believed in me without having seen me. For it is written concerning me, that they who have seen me will not believe in me, and that they who have not seen me will believe and be saved. But in regard to what you have written me, that I should come to you, it is necessary for me to fulfill all things here for which I have been sent, and after I have fulfilled them, thus to be taken up again to him that sent me. But after I have been taken up, I will send to you one of my disciples, that he may heal your disease and give life to you and yours.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250101.htm|title = CHURCH FATHERS: Church History, Book I (Eusebius)}}</ref>}}
-[[Egeria (pilgrim)|Egeria]] wrote of the letter in her account of her pilgrimage in Edessa. She read the letter during her stay, and remarked that the copy in Edessa was fuller than the copies in her home (which was likely France).<ref name="Egeria">{{cite web|last1=Bernard|first1=John|title=The Pilgrimage of Egeria|url=http://www.digital.library.upenn.edu/women/egeria/pilgrimage/pilgrimage.html|website=University of Pennsylvania|publisher=Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society}}</ref>
+[[Egeria (pilgrim)|Egeria]] wrote of the letter in her account of her pilgrimage in Edessa. She read the letter during her stay around 384, and remarked that the copy in Edessa was "fuller" than the copies in her home (which was likely France).<ref name="Egeria">{{cite web|last1=Bernard|first1=John|title=The Pilgrimage of Egeria|url=http://www.digital.library.upenn.edu/women/egeria/pilgrimage/pilgrimage.html|website=University of Pennsylvania|publisher=Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society}}</ref>
 In addition to the importance it attained in the apocryphal cycle, the correspondence of King Abgar also gained a place in liturgy for some time. The Syriac liturgies commemorate the correspondence of Abgar during Lent. The Celtic liturgy appears to have attached importance to it; the ''[[Liber Hymnorum]]'', a manuscript preserved at Trinity College, Dublin (E. 4, 2), gives two collects on the lines of the letter to Abgar. It is even possible that this letter, followed by various prayers, may have formed a minor liturgical office in some Catholic churches.<ref name="Leclercq">{{Cite CE1913 |last=Leclercq |first=Henri |wstitle=The Legend of Abgar}}</ref>
@@ Line 145: / Line 146: @@
 This event has played an important part in the self-definition of several Eastern churches. Abgar is counted as  saint, with feasts on 11 May and 28 October in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Thursday of the Third Week of Lent (Mid-Lent) in the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://syriacorthodoxresources.org/Feast/Abgar.html|title = Feast: Mid-Lent/King Abgar}}</ref> and daily in the Mass of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]].
+[[File:Edessa Abgar king with Christ image.jpg|thumb|Fresco from Varaga St. Gevorg church chapel showing king Abgar with image of Christ]]
-The Armenian Apostolic Church in [[Scottsdale, Arizona]], is named after Saint Abgar (also spelled as Apkar).{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
 === Critical scholarship ===
+A number of contemporary scholars have suggested origins of the tradition of Abgar's conversion apart from historical record. [[Walter Bauer]] argued the legend was written without sources to reinforce [[group cohesiveness]], [[orthodoxy]], and [[apostolic succession]] against [[heretical]] [[schism]]atics.{{sfn|Bauer|1971|loc=Chapter 1}} However, several distinct sources, known to have not been in contact with one another, claimed to have seen the letters in the archives, so his claim is suspect.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://newadvent.org/fathers/0859.htm|title = CHURCH FATHERS: History of Armenia (Moses of Chorene)}}</ref>
+Significant advances in scholarship on the topic have been made{{sfn|Camplani|2009|p=253}} including Desreumaux's translation with commentary,<ref>Histoire du roi Abgar et de Jésus, Présentation et traduction du texte syriaque intégral de la Doctrine d’Addaï par. A. Desreumaux, Brepols, Paris 1993.</ref> M. Illert's collection of textual witnesses to the legend,<ref>M. Illert (ed.), Doctrina Addai. De imagine Edessena / Die Abgarlegende. Das Christusbild von Edessa (Fontes Christiani, 45), Brepols, Turnhout 2007</ref> and detailed studies of the ideology of the sources by Brock,<ref>S.P. Brock, Eusebius and Syriac Christianity, in H.W. Attridge-G. Hata (eds.), Eusebius, Christianity, and Judaism, Brill, Leiden-New York-Köln 1992, pp. 212-234, republished in S. Brock, From Ephrem to Romanos. Interactions between Syriac and Greek in Late Antiquity (Variorum Collected Studies Series, CS644), Ashgate/Variorum, Aldershot-Brookfield-Singapore- Sydney 1999, n. II.</ref> Griffith<ref name="Griffith">{{cite journal|last1=Griffith |first1=Sidney H. |title=The Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm of Christian Thought in Edessa in the Fifth Century |journal=Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies |date=2003 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=269–292 |doi=10.31826/hug-2010-060111 |s2cid=212688514 |url=http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/Vol6No2/HV6N2Griffith.html |access-date=25 January 2017 |issn=1097-3702 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030821112810/http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/Vol6No2/HV6N2Griffith.html |archive-date=21 August 2003 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and  Mirkovic.{{sfn|Mirkovic|2004}} The majority of scholars now claim the goal of the authors and editors of texts regarding the conversion of Abgar were not so much concerned with [[historiography|historical reconstruction]] of the [[Christianisation]] of Edessa as the relationships between [[church and state]] power, based on the political and ecclesiological ideas of [[Ephraem the Syrian]].{{sfn|Camplani|2009}}{{sfn|Griffith|2003|loc=§3 and §28}}{{sfn|Mirkovic|2004}} However, the origins of the story are still far from certain,{{sfn|Mirkovic|2004|pp=2-4}} although the stories as recorded seem to have been shaped by the [[History of late ancient Christianity|controversies of the third century CE]], especially as a response to [[Bardaisan]].{{sfn|Camplani|2009}}
-A number of contemporary scholars have suggested origins of the tradition of Abgar's conversion apart from historical record. S. K. Ross suggests the story of Abgar is in the genre of a [[genealogy|genealogical]] [[myth]] which traces the origin of a community back to a mythical or divine ancestor.<ref>S.K. Ross, Roman Edessa. Politics and Culture in the Eastern Fringe of the Roman Empire, Routledge, London 2001, p. 135</ref> [[Francis Crawford Burkitt|F. C. Burkitt]] argues that the conversion of Edessa at the time of [[Abgar VIII]] was retrojected upon the Apostolic age.<ref>[[Francis Crawford Burkitt|Burkitt, F. C.]], Early Eastern Christianity, John Murray, London 1904, chap. I</ref> William Adler suggests the origin of the story of the conversion of Abgar V was an invention of an [[antiquarian]] researcher employed by Abgar VIII, who had recently converted to Christianity, in an effort to securely root Christianity in the history of the city.<ref name="Mason">{{cite book |last=Adler |first=William |chapter=Christians and the Public Archive |editor-last=Mason |editor-first=E.F. |title=A Teacher for All Generations: Essays in Honor of James C. VanderKam |publisher=Brill |series=Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism |year=2011 |isbn=978-90-04-22408-7 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wc8yAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA937 |access-date=25 January 2017 |page=937}}</ref> [[Walter Bauer]], on the other hand, argued the legend was written without sources to reinforce [[group cohesiveness]], [[orthodoxy]], and [[apostolic succession]] against [[heretical]] [[schism]]atics.{{sfn|Bauer|1971|loc=Chapter 1}}
+==Letters of Abgar to Tiberius==
-Significant advances in scholarship on the topic have been made{{sfn|Camplani|2009|p=253}} including Desreumaux's translation with commentary,<ref>Histoire du roi Abgar et de Jésus, Présentation et traduction du texte syriaque intégral de la Doctrine d’Addaï par. A. Desreumaux, Brepols, Paris 1993.</ref> M. Illert's collection of textual witnesses to the legend,<ref>M. Illert (ed.), Doctrina Addai. De imagine Edessena / Die Abgarlegende. Das Christusbild von Edessa (Fontes Christiani, 45), Brepols, Turhout 2007</ref> and detailed studies of the ideology of the sources by Brock,<ref>S.P. Brock, Eusebius and Syriac Christianity, in H.W. Attridge-G. Hata (eds.), Eusebius, Christianity, and Judaism, Brill, Leiden-New York-Köln 1992, pp. 212-234, republished in S. Brock, From Ephrem to Romanos. Interactions between Syriac and Greek in Late Antiquity (Variorum Collected Studies Series, CS644), Ashgate/Variorum, Aldershot-Brookfield-Singapore- Sydney 1999, n. II.</ref> Griffith<ref name="Griffith">{{cite journal|last1=Griffith |first1=Sidney H. |title=The Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm of Christian Thought in Edessa in the Fifth Century |journal=Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies |date=2003 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=269–292 |doi=10.31826/hug-2010-060111 |s2cid=212688514 |url=http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/Vol6No2/HV6N2Griffith.html |access-date=25 January 2017 |issn=1097-3702 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030821112810/http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/Vol6No2/HV6N2Griffith.html |archive-date=21 August 2003 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and  Mirkovic.{{sfn|Mirkovic|2004}} The majority of scholars now claim the goal of the authors and editors of texts regarding the conversion of Abgar were not so much concerned with [[historiography|historical reconstruction]] of the [[Christianisation]] of Edessa as the relationships between [[church and state]] power, based on the political and ecclesiological ideas of [[Ephraem the Syrian]].{{sfn|Camplani|2009}}{{sfn|Griffith|2003|loc=§3 and §28}}{{sfn|Mirkovic|2004}} However, the origins of the story are still far from certain,{{sfn|Mirkovic|2004|pp=2-4}} although the stories as recorded seem to have been shaped by the [[History of late ancient Christianity|controversies of the third century CE]], especially as a response to [[Bardaisan]].{{sfn|Camplani|2009}}
+Letters between Abgar V and the Roman [[Emperor Tiberius]] are also recorded in history, by for instance the Armenian historian [[Movses Khorenatsi]], scholars have argued for the core of these being essentially authentic based on:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ramelli |first1=Ilaria |title=Possible Historical Traces in the Doctrina Addai |journal=Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies |date=2011 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31826/hug-2011-090104/html}}</ref>
+<blockquote> This work seems to preserve very ancient  material, such as the information on the friendship between Abgar, correctly called toparkhês of Edessa, and the prefect of Egypt, in my view  probably [[Aulus Avilius Flaccus|A. Avillius Flaccus]], who ruled Egypt AD 32 to 38—just the years of Vitellius’ mandate in the Near East and of the Abgar-Tiberius correspondence—and is well known to us thanks to Philo, ''In Flaccum'', 1-3; 25; 40; 116; 158. He was one of the most intimate friends  of  Tiberius;  he  was  born  and  grew  up  in  Rome  with  Augustus’  nieces,  obtained  the  government  of  Egypt,  a  direct  possession   of   the   emperor,   and   probably   helped   the   good   relationship  between  Abgar  and  Tiberius  that  is  evident  in  their  correspondence.</blockquote>
+Abgar's initial letter to Tiberius read:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0859.htm|title=CHURCH FATHERS: History of Armenia (Moses of Chorene)|website=www.newadvent.org|accessdate=7 May 2023}}</ref>
+<blockquote>Abgar, king of Armenia, to my Lord Tiberius, emperor of the Romans, greeting:—
+I know that nothing is unknown to your Majesty, but, as your friend, I would make you better acquainted with the facts by writing. The Jews who dwell in the cantons of Palestine have crucified Jesus: Jesus without sin, Jesus after so many acts of kindness, so many wonders and miracles wrought for their good, even to the raising of the dead. Be assured that these are not the effects of the power of a simple mortal, but of God. During the time that they were crucifying Him, [[Crucifixion darkness|the sun was darkened, the earth was moved, shaken]]; Jesus Himself, three days afterwards, rose from the dead and appeared to many. Now, everywhere, His name alone, invoked by His disciples, produces the greatest miracles: what has happened to myself is the most evident proof of it. Your august Majesty knows henceforth what ought to be done in future with respect to the Jewish nation, which has committed this crime; your Majesty knows whether a command should not be published through the whole universe to worship Christ as the true God. Safety and health.</blockquote>
+Tiberius' reply read:
+<blockquote>Tiberius, emperor of the Romans, to Abgar, king of the Armenians, greeting:—
+Your kind letter has been read to me, and I wish that thanks should be given to you from me. Though we had already heard several persons relate these facts, Pilate has officially informed us of the miracles of Jesus. He has certified to us that after His resurrection from the dead He was acknowledged by many to be God. Therefore I myself also wished to do what you propose; but, as it is the custom of the Romans not to admit a god merely by the command of the sovereign, but only when the admission has been discussed and examined in full senate, I proposed the affair to the senate, and they rejected it with contempt, doubtless because it had not been considered by them first. But we have commanded all those whom Jesus suits, to receive him among the gods. We have threatened with death any one who shall speak evil of the Christians. As to the Jewish nation which has dared to crucify Jesus, who, as I hear, far from deserving the cross and death, was worthy of honour, worthy of the adoration of men — when I am free from the war with rebellious Spain, I will examine into the matter, and will treat the Jews as they deserve.</blockquote>
 ==See also==
@@ Line 163: / Line 180: @@
 == Sources ==
-{{Wikisource|The suppressed Gospels and Epistles of the original New Testament of Jesus the Christ/Chapter 6|Christ and Abgarus}}
 * {{cite book|last1=Bauer|first1=Walter|author-link1=Walter Bauer|title=Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity|date=1971|publisher=Fortress Press|location=Philadelphia, PA|url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Resources/Bauer/bauer01.htm|access-date=25 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000818212534/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Resources/Bauer/bauer01.htm|archive-date=18 August 2000}} (German original published in 1934)
-* {{cite journal|last1=Camplani|first1=Alberto|title=Traditions of Christian foundation in Edessa: Between myth and history|journal=Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni (SMSR)|date=2009|volume=75|issue=1|pages=251–278|url=https://www.academia.edu/download/31469043/Camplani_SMSR_75.pdf|access-date=25 January 2017}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
+* {{cite journal|last1=Camplani|first1=Alberto|title=Traditions of Christian foundation in Edessa: Between myth and history|journal=Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni (SMSR)|date=2009|volume=75|issue=1|pages=251–278}}
 * {{Cite CE1913 |last=Chapman |first=Henry Palmer |wstitle=Doctrine of Addai }}
 * {{citation |last=Eisenman |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Eisenman |date=1992 |contribution=The sociology of MMT and the conversions of King Agbarus and Queen Helen of Adiabene |title=Paper presented at SBL conference |contribution-url=http://roberteisenman.com/articles/mmt_agbarus.pdf |access-date=21 March 2017 }}
@@ Line 183: / Line 199: @@
 {{Authority control}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Abgar 05 Of Edessa}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Abgar 05}}
+[[Category: Syrian Christian saints]]
 [[Category:Syriac Orthodox Church saints]]
-[[Category:Osroene]]
 [[Category:1st-century BC births]]
-[[Category:1st-century Arabs]]
+[[Category:1st-century Arab people]]
-[[Category:1st-century BC Arabs]]
+[[Category:1st-century BC Arab people]]
 [[Category:50 deaths]]
 [[Category:1st-century Christian saints]]
 [[Category:Kings of Osroene]]
-[[Category:Converts to Christianity from pagan religions]]
+[[Category:Converts to Christianity from ancient Roman religions]]
 [[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
 [[Category:Christian royal saints]]
@@ Line 198: / Line 215: @@
 [[Category:Arab Christian saints]]
 [[Category:Legendary Arab people]]
+[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]

Authority control databases
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