Joseph Assemani on George of Arbela

 

Joseph Assemani on George of Arbela (Bibliotheca Orientalis 3, p.525; Bibiliotheca Orientalis 3.2/4, p.344; it should be noted that, perhaps, Assemani is attributing to George works than modern scholars do not, see e.g.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_of_Arbela )

I transliterated the Latin text that in some cases was difficult to read and translated it via Google (so there is uncertainty in what follows):

“It is clear from what has been said above that the Nestorians have drawn many errors concerning the future world from the work of Origen, Theodore, and Diodorus. George distinguishes himself from the vulgar heresy of that heretic in that he establishes the eternity of Paradise and Hell; yet he betrays these trifles about the future world. First, he imagines men of a fourfold condition; some, namely, absolutely good, such as Christ the Lord, who has sinned nothing at all; others, absolutely evil, such as Antichrist, whom he fables will sin in all things, so that he will commit no acts that are not evil; others partly good and partly evil, who, namely, sin in some powers of the soul or limbs of the body, but not in others at all; others, finally, neither good nor evil, or rather equally good and evil, who, namely, sin as much as they cultivate virtues. These, says George, will be affected in the future world neither by rewards nor by punishments; those, if they have sinned in many things, e.g. if in the four senses of the body, they are called evil, and in the resurrection they are subject to punishments in those senses in which they have sinned; but in the others, in which they have sinned the least, they enjoy pleasure: but if in a smaller part of the senses they abstain from sins, they are called good, and rejoice in that part, otherwise in the others: but Antichrist, because he becomes evil in every way, will perish in every way; and furthermore he says that he is called the son of perdition, because he will be reduced to perdition, that is, to nothing.”

“Nestorianos ex Origenis, Theodori, ac Diodori officina plurimos circa futurum saeculum errores hausisse, ex suprà dictis liquet. Georgius esti à vulgari illius fectae haerefi in eo difentit, quod Paradisi Infernique aeterinitatem adstruat; has tamen nugas de futuro saecul traidt. Primum homines quadruplicis conditionis fingit; quosdam nimirùm absolutè bonos, ut Christum Dominum, qui nihil omninò peccavit; alios absolutè malos, ut Antichristum, quem in cunctis delicturum fore fabulatur, itaut nullos commissurus sit actus, qui mali non sint: alios partim bonos et partim malog qui scilicet in aliquibus animae potentiis corporisve fensibus peccant, in aliis nequamquam; alios demùm neque bonos neque malos, vel potiùs aequè bonos atque malos, qui nimirùm tantumdem peccant, quantum virtutes colunt. Hos, inquit Georgius, in futuro saeculo neque praemiis neque poenis affici: illos si in pluribus peccaverint, e.g. si in quatuor corporis sensibus, malos appellari, et in resuttrction poenis subiici in iis sensibus, in quibus peccaverinti; il alis verò, in quibus mnimé peccaverunt, voluptate frui: sin autem in portiori sensuum parte à peccatis abstinuerint, bonus nuncupari, in eaque parte gaudere, secus in aliis: Antichristum verò, quod omninò malus fit, omninò interiturum; ac proterea filium perditionis illum vocari ait, quod in perditionem, hoc est, ad nihilum redigetur.” (source Latin text: https://archive.org/details/DeScriptoribusSyrisNestorianis/page/n566/mode/1up )

“Origen, Diodorus, Theodore, and Solomon of Bassorus tell stories about evil demons and sinful men who are in Gehenna, after they have been purified and have paid the prescribed punishment, and will finally obtain mercy from God. George of Arbela and Ebedjesus of Sob deny that the punishments of Hell have an end.

Finally, from what has been said, it follows that Purgatory was exploded by the Nestorians: for they admit nothing but an earthly Paradise for the just, and a deep place near the same Paradise for sinners. Why then do they pray for the deceased? Why do they celebrate their funerals on the first day of their deposition, the third, the seventh, the fifteenth, and the thirtieth? George of Arbela will answer in Declarat. Offici Defunctorum Tract. 7. cap. 6:

“If this bread and wine, which our Lord gave, were given for the remission of the living and the dead, and the same Lord said, Whosoever shall eat my body and drink my blood, though he were dead, shall live; and he that liveth and believeth in them shall not die for ever: so also we, when we make the commemoration of the Dead, and partake of them (the Sacraments) on the third day of the dead, are likened to the Lord rising again: so that as he himself rose again on the third day, so also he, on the third day of whose commemoration the commemoration of Christ is made, whereby we remember his death and resurrection, shall rise again with him above the noxious affections of nature. Likewise, when we make the commemoration, we mystically designate the passion, death, and resurrection, by which the debts of the deceased are remitted. But we say that the soul of the deceased rests when his commemoration is performed, and therefore the commemoration of the dead is made.”

Therefore, Arbelensis confesses that the deceased can be in such a state that their debts are forgiven.”

“Daemones malos, hominique peccatores, qui in Gehenna sunt, postquam purgati passiquem sunt, statutamque poenam persolverint, misericordiam tandem à Deo impetraturos, fabulantur Origenem, Diodorus, Theodorus & Salomon Bassorensis. Negant poenarum Inferni finem inem Georgius Arbelensis , & Ebedjesus Sobensis.

Denique ex dictis sequitur, à Nestorianis Purgatorium explodi : non enim admittunt, nisi Paradisum terrestrem pro justis, et profundum locum juxta eundem Paradisum pro peccatoribus . Quare ergo orant pro Defunctis? Cur exequias eorum celebrant prima depositionis die, tertia, septima, decimaquinta, et trigesima? Rispondet Georgius Arbelensis in Declarat. Offici Defunctorum Tract. 7. cap. 6:

Si hic panis, et vinum, quae Dominus noster dedit in remissionem vivrum mortumque tradita sunt, idemque Dominus ait, quicumque manducaverit corpus meum, et biberit meum sanguinem, etiamsi mortuus fuerit, vivet; et qui vivit et credit in ea, non morietur in aeternum: ita et nos quum Defunctorum memoriam facimus, eaque (Sacramenta) participamus die terita defunctorum, Domino resurgenti assimilamur: ut quemadmodum ipse tertia die resurrexit, ita et is, cujus commemotationis tertia die fit Christi commemoratio, qua mortem ejus et resurrectionem recolimus, resurrecturus est cum eo suprà noxias naturae affectiones. Item quum memoriam facimus, passionem, mortem, et resurrectionem mysticè designamus, quibus DEBITA DEFUNCTI dimittuntur. Dicimus autema animam defuncti requiescere, quum ejus commemoration peragitus, et ideo commemorationedm defunctorum fieri.

Itaque confitetur Arbelensis ie eo statu defunctos esse posse, ut debita iis dimittitantur.” (https://archive.org/details/assemani-1728-bibliotheca-orientalis-clementino-vaticana-3.2/page/CCCXLIV/mode/1up )

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