The Patriarch and the Caliph: An Eighth-Century Dialogue between Timothy I and al-Mahdi [Hardcover]

The Patriarch and the Caliphpresents the famous “dialogue without resolution” between the third Abbasid Caliph, al-Mahdi, and the first Nestorian Patriarch, Timothy I, in Baghdad in 781 CE. The abundance of versions of this intellectually rich debate between adherents of Islam and of Christianity is a testimony to its historic importance. Of particular note is the mutual respect shown between the interlocutors in a period when Islam was the dominant political and intellectual influence in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean worlds.

This volume collates an abridged sixteenth-century Arabic version based on Timothy I’s Syriac original. Parallel English translations accompany the Arabic. Including annotations, indexes, glossaries, and bibliographies to further assist the reader,The Patriarch and the Caliphreveals important insights into the complex relationship between two historical figures, and through them, two major world religions.

Samir Khalil Samiris professor at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, and the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.Wafik Nasryis professor of Arab Christian heritage, Islam, and interreligious dialogue at the Pontifical Oriental Institute and Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Preface: Dialogues without Resolution
Note on Conventions
System of Transliteration
Introduction
Summary of Questions and Answers
The First Question: The Spiritual Sonship of Christ
The Second Question: The Two Births of Christ
The Third Question: The Messiah is One Person of Two Natures
The Fourth Question: God Is Christ’s Father and God- Commentary on John 20:17
The Fifth Question: The How of the Spiritual Birth
The Sixth Question: The Blessed Trinity Is One God
The Seventh Question: The Word and the Spirit Are Eternal
The Eighth Question: The Three Persons Unil3G