Thaddeus of Edessa Saint Addai ܡܪܝ ܐܕܝ | |
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| Born | c. 1st centuryAD Edessa,Osroene,Roman Empire |
| Died | c. 2nd century AD |
| Venerated in | Church of the East Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Church Church of Caucasian Albania |
| Feast | August 5 |
| Patronage | Assyrians[1] |
According toEastern Christian tradition,Addai of Edessa (Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܐܕܝ,Mar Addai orMor Aday sometimesLatinizedAddeus) orThaddeus of Edessa[2] was one of theseventy disciples ofJesus.
Based on variousEastern Christian traditions,[3] Addai was aJew born inEdessa (nowŞanlıurfa,Turkey). He came toJerusalem for a festival where he heard the preaching ofJohn the Baptist (St. John the Forerunner). After being baptized in the Jordan River, he remained in Judea and became a follower of Jesus. He was chosen as one of theseventy disciples sent in pairs to preach in the cities and places.[4]
AfterPentecost and theascension of Jesus, Addai started preachingthe gospel inMesopotamia,Syria andPersia.[4] He ordained priests in Edessa, converted many to Christianity and built up the church there. He also went toBeirut to preach, and many believe that he founded a church there.[5]
The Syriac liturgy referred to as theLiturgy of Addai and Mari originated around the year 200 AD and is used by theAssyrian Church of the East and theChaldean Catholic Church (both of which are based in Iraq); it is also used by the Eastern Syriac Churches in India which trace their origins toThomas the Apostle, namely, theChaldean Syrian Church[6] andSyro-Malabar Catholic Church .
His feast is celebrated on August 5 in the Christian calendar.[1]
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Among theEastern Orthodox faithful, Addai was a disciple of Christ[7] sent bySt. Thomas the Apostle toEdessa in order to healKing Abgar V ofOsroene, who had fallen ill. He stayed to evangelize, and so converted[8] Abgar—or Agbar, or in one Latin version "Acbar" — and his people includingSaint Aggai andSaint Mari.[9]
The story of how King Abgarus V[10][11][12] andJesus had corresponded was first recounted in the 4th century by the church historianEusebius of Caesarea.[13] In the origin of the legend, Eusebius had been shown documents purporting to contain the official correspondence that passed between Abgar and Jesus, and he was well enough convinced by their authenticity to quote them extensively in hisEcclesiastical History. According to Eusebius:
Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, under divine impulse sent Thaddeus, who was also numbered among the seventy disciples of Christ, to Edessa, as a preacher and evangelist of the teaching of Christ. (Historia Ecclesiastica, I, xiii)
The story of the healing and Addai's evangelizing efforts resulted in the growing of Christian communities in southern Armenia, northern Mesopotamia and in Syria east of Antioch. Thaddeus' story is embodied in the Syriac document,Doctrine of Addai,[14] which recounts the role of Addai and makes him one of the72 Apostles sent out to spread theChristian faith.[15] By the time thelegend had returned toSyria, the purported site of the miraculousimage, it had been embroidered into a tissue of miraculous happenings.[16]
St. Addai also appears in theFirst Apocalypse of James and theSecond Apocalypse of James.[17]
In Roman Catholic tradition, he andSaint Mari are considered patrons ofPersian andAssyrian people.[1]
| Church of the East titles | ||
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| Preceded by Mar Thoma (c. 34–c. 50) | Patriarch of the East Bishop of Edessa (c. 50–c. 66) | Succeeded by Mar Aggai (c. 66–c. 81) |
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