[Monica Kellogg]

After having been moved by the beautiful “Musical Arameic rendition of Our Father” of the Assyrian girl and priest, I went on to read “Christianity in the First 1000 Years” and was further intrigued with the Syrian Christians. These Arameic-speaking (or Arameic-singing) ascetics who are known to have been “healing the sick, feeding the poor and preaching the gospel (T.V. Phillip)” sound a lot like Jesus and his first twelve disciples! According to Murray they were “authentically Semitic, a true native growth, the spontaneous response of hearts touched by grace, without any constraint of foreign forms.”
I had previously noticed a similarity of Buddhist monks and Christian monks and nuns. In the First Seven Hundred Years of this essay, we see that there is a probable correlation or origin / traditioncoming from Indian traveling monks.
The cultural nuances and etymology that surfaces in language is interesting, such as with the Syrian word ihiduyuta used to more specifically define a type of singleness (“singleness in a physical celibate sense, single-mindedness in devotion, and a special relationship to Christ in singleness as the Heavenly Bridegroom”). I have to wonder if the Messalians were fans of Paul and his advice in 1 Corinthians 7 to stay unmarried.
The sharp decline of Christian churches in Asia during the 1000’s is concerning, especially when coupled with the growing Islamic population. As Dr. Steve Cochrane says in closing, let’s remember who is on the throne and already victorious, and (I would add) pray for more souls to come to adore Him!