Primary source · Syriac
The Acts of Mār Mārī the Apostle
Anonymous (Church of the East) · c. 6th–7th century
What this text is
The legendary Acts of the apostle of Babylonia — disciple of Addai, founder of the church of Kokhe — written some five centuries after his traditional mission.
Public-domain translations
Summarized (from the Syriac)
[The Acts relate that Mari carried the gospel from Edessa down the Tigris, healed the king at Seleucia-Ctesiphon, founded the church of Kokhe, and died in peace at Dur-Qunni — 'the apostle of the whole East.']
Manuscript witnesses
Syriac manuscript tradition (East Syriac)
from the 13th c.Late copies of the Acts, edited by Abbeloos (1885) and Bedjan (1890) from monastery libraries of the Church of the East.
Abbeloos / Bedjan editions
1885 / 1890The first critical printings of the Syriac text with Latin translation.
Provenance
Mesopotamia; the foundation legend of the see of Seleucia-Ctesiphon
Editions & scholarship
Critical editions and standard translations behind the text above.
- The Acts of Mār Mārī the ApostleAmir Harrak, 2005Syriac text with English translation and historical commentary (SBL Writings from the Greco-Roman World).
- The Church of the East: A Concise HistoryBaum & Winkler, 2003Standard orientation to the tradition that venerates Mari as founder.