Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The great figure of Afraate the Wise, “one of the most important and at the same time most enigmatic personages of Syrian Christianity of the 4th century”, was the subject of Pope Benedict XVI's reflection during his weekly Wednesday Audience in St Peter's Square on 21 November. “On our excursion into the world of the Church Fathers - the Pope said as he began his catechesis -, I wish today to guide you in a less known part of this universe of the faith, namely, in the territories in which flourished the Churches of Semitic language, not yet influenced by Greek thought. These Churches in the 4th century developed in the near East, from the Holy Land to Lebanon and to Mesopotamia… They are Churches in which asceticism under various hermitic forms (hermits of the desert, caves, confined, stylites), and monasticism under various forms of community life, exercise a role of vital importance in the development of theological and spiritual thought ”.
One of the leading members of Syrian Christianity of those times is Afraate, who came from the region of Ninive-Mossul, today Iraq. We have little information about his life, some sources say he was in charge of a monastery and was consecrated a bishop. He wrote 23 discourses known under the name of “Expositions” or “Demonstrations”, in which he treats various themes of Christian life such as faith, love, fasting, humility, prayer, the ascetic life, and also the relation between Judaism and Christianity, between Old and New Testament. He writes in a simple style, with short sentences and parallelisms, at times conflicting. Afraate came from an ecclesial community at the frontier between Judaism and Christianity, a community which sought to remain faithful to the Judeo-Christian tradition, from which it came, while remaining closely connected with the Jewish world and Jewish Holy Books.
“Afraate develops various questions in his Expositions- the Holy Father explained -. Faithful to Syrian tradition, he often presents the salvation brought by Christ as a healing and, therefore, Christ as the doctor. Sin instead is seen as a wound which only penance can heal… another important aspect in the work of Afraate is his teaching on prayer, and especially on Christ as the master of prayer. The Christian prays following the teaching of Jesus and his example of one who prays… For Afraate, Christian life is centred on the imitation of Christ, shouldering his yoke and following him on the path of the Gospel. One of the virtues most suited to the disciple of Christ is humility… By being humble, also in the earthly reality in which he lives, the Christian can enter into a relationship with the Lord … The vision which Afraate has of man and his corporal reality is very positive: the human body, following the example of humble Christ, is called to beauty, joy, light… Often in Afraate Christian life is presented in a clear ascetic and spiritual dimension: faith is its basis, its foundation; faith makes man a temple where Christ himself lives. It therefore renders possible sincere charity, which is expressed in love of God and love of neighbour. Another important aspect in Afraate is fasting, which he understands in a broad sense. He speaks of fasting from food as a practice necessary to be charitable and virgin, fasting consisting of continence in view of holiness, fasting from vane or detestable words, fasting from anger, fasting from possession of goods in view of the ministry, fasting from sleep in order to attend to prayer.”
At the end of his catechesis, the Holy Father cited one of Afraate's texts on prayer and he commented: “According to this ‘Wise’ man of the past, prayer happens when Christ lives in the heart of the Christian, and urges him to coherently live charitable commitment for neighbour … Afraate calls us to prayer which becomes Christian life, lived life, life penetrated by the faith, by openness to God and so, open to love of neighbour.”
Before ending his general audience Pope Benedict XVI made an appeal for Somalia: “We continue to receive sad news with regard to the precarious humanitarian situation in Somalia, especially in Mogadishu, affected by growing social insecurity and poverty. I watch the development of the events with trepidation and I appeal to those in positions of political responsibility, at the local and international level, to find peaceful solutions and to assist those beloved people. I also encourage the efforts of those who despite insecurity and difficulties, remain in the region to offer the people comfort and help ”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 22/11/2007 - righe 51, parole 749)
