English

Syriac

In the Roman archives of the Society of Jesus a letter, or rather a short treatise, has been preserved, written in Syriac and in Latin by Father Francis Roz, S. J., missionary in S. India, where he became Bishop of Angamali. It was discovered by P. Castets, S. J., a member of the Jesuit mission at Trichinopoly (in S. India, Tamil Nadu, to the N. E. of Maduray). It has been edited by Fr Hausherr S.J., with a foreword by Castets in Orientalia Christiana, Vol. XI/I (= No 40), Rome 1928, pp. 1-35 : De Erroribus Nestorianorum qui in hae India Orientali versantur, Auctore, Francisco Roz S.I., Inédit Latin-Syriaque de la fin de 1585 ou du début de 1587, retrouvé par le P. Castets S. I., missionnaire à Trichinopoly. Annoté par le P. Irénée Hausherr S.I. In his historical introduction (pp. 5-10) Castets refers to other unedited documents of the same time (not in Syriac) and preserved in the Roman archives of the Society. He is not favourably disposed towards the Mesopotamian Bishops Joseph and Abraham but he praises Roz (who was certainly a man of genius, as his curriculum vitae reveals). Roz was born in Catalonia in 1557, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1575, went to India in 1583 where he became Professor of Syriac in 1584. He also knew Malayãlam and preached in that language. In 1585 he accompanied Mar Abraham to a Provincial Council at Goa, where he suppressed the name and the Office of Nestorius from the liturgy. He tried to compile a personal collection of Syriac books, but in most cases he had to be content with reading those belonging to indigenous priests and to take notes. He was the first to compose religious books in Malayālam (among which is a book of Christian doctrine and a collection of prayers). In 1600 he became Latin Bishop of Angamali, in 1608 Archbishop of the diocese, to which the See of Cranganore was added in 1610. He died at Cranganore on 16-2-1624. Two years later his body was found “incorrupted” when it had to be translated. Castets does not say where the mortal remains of the Bishop found their last resting place, but Tisserant-Hambye notes (p. 75, note 1) that his tomb-stone can be seen in the old church of northern Parur, one of the churches said to have been founded by St Thomas.
Roz found the first Nestorian christological text with an old priest who held it in great esteem “because of his ignorance”, p. 20/2. Nevertheless, he says, they publicly call the blessed Virgin the “Mother of God”. This custom was certainly not Pre-Portuguese, but either introduced by the Latins or by Mar Joseph and Mar Abraham, who were catholics even before they left the Middle East.
He lists 43 texts considered by him Nestorian, found among the Syriac books he consulted. Of those 30 are christological ones, 10 are words of praise for Theodore, Diodore and Nestorius and three others. Besides he has listed 4 texts in Latin, the first three of which he had found “long ago” (olim) and which he still remembered having translated them into Latin. He mentions the book Paresman, condemned by Diamper, Actio III, Decr. 14 (end) because of its magic contents. Hausherr thinks that the quotation is rather from the Liber Sortium, equally condemned by Diamper in the middle of the same decree). Using this book, many priests predicated the future by touching with closed eyes letters arranged in a special way etc.

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