Babai the Great

Saint Babai the Great
Abbot of Abraham's Monastery
Bornc. 551
Beth Ainata in Beth Zabdai
Diedc. 628
Abraham's Monastery on Mt. Izla, Nisibis
Venerated inChurch of the East
ControversyChristology

Babai the Great (ܒܵܒܲܝ ܪܲܒܵܐ bābay rabbā,[1] c. 551 – 628) was an early church father of the Church of the East. He set several of the foundational pillars of the Church, revived the monastic movement, and formulated its Christology in a systematic way. He served as a monastic visitor and coadjutor with Mar Aba as unofficial heads of the Church of the East (formerly falsely referred to as "Nestorian Church")[2] after Catholicos Gregory until 628 AD, leaving a legacy of strong discipline and deep religious Orthodoxy. He is revered in the modern Assyrian Church of the East and Ancient Church of the East.

  1. ^ Walters, James E.; et al. (et al.) (2016-08-17). Michelson, David A.; Gibson, Nathan P. (eds.). "Babai the Great". Qadishe: A Guide to the Syriac Saints. The Syriac Biographical Dictionary vol. 1. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
    For the vowels of the name, this webpage cites: bar Brikha, ʿAbdishoʿ (1924). Ktābā d-metqre margānitā d-ʿal šrārā da-kresṭyānutā (2nd ed.). Mosul: Mṭabbaʿtā ātoraytā d-ʿēdtā ʿattiqtā d-madnḥā. p. 71.
  2. ^ Brock 1996, p. 23–35.