The Council of Mar Yahbalaha (AD 420)
Key Facts:
| Date | 420 |
| Location | Seleucia-Ctesiphon |
| Summoned by |
Yazdgard I |
| Chaired by | Mar Yahbalaha , bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon |
| Number of Participants |
12 |
| Key Participants |
Bishop Mar Yahbalaha, Bishop Mar Acacius (representative of the West) |
| Purposes | To deal with internal difficulties in the church; to ease tensions among Zoroastrians concerned about the growth of the church; to confirm the decisions of western councils after Mar Yahbalaha’s mission to Theodosius II |
| Key Events |
The council asserts Mar Yahbalaha’s authority as catholicos; the council requests Yazdgard to provide copies of the canons of the western councils so that their churches might follow them; Yazdgard grants this request; the council affirms the canons of the council of Mar ‘Ishaq (410). |
Surviving Documents:
Description and Canons as found in Synodicon Orientale for 420. Syriac Text: Chabot, Synodicon Orientale, pp. 37-42.French: Chabot,Synodicon Orientale, pp. 276-84. English: M.J. Birnie, The Synod of Mar Yahbalaha.
Bibliography
M.J. Birnie, The Synod of Mar Yahbalaha AD 420 (unpublished).
Wilhelm Baum and Dietmar W. Winkler, The Church of the East: A Concise History, (London: Routledge, 2003), pp. 17-19.
Ehsan Yar Shater, The Cambridge History of Iran, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 940.
Created by JCB
Last updated: 3-3-2011
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