Aramaic Peshitta
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Appendix B – The Church of the East (COE) is not a Perfect Church
I realize that the following has the potential to isolate me from the Peshitta-believing community, as the Assyrian COE is one of the very few churches that still holds to the Peshitta. However, the truth must be dealt with promptly. Better to find out the truth about this church now, then to find it later and disregard anything to do with the church – including the Peshitta NT. Please note that rejecting the Peshitta NT as the original, due to questionable doctrines of the COE, is akin to rejecting the Greek NT as the original, due to the practices of the Roman Catholic Church and many other Western churches.
That this Church and other Churches who use Aramaic Bibles aren’t perfect does not take anything away from the Peshitta or the Aramaic Primacy movement. Shall we disregard the Greek Bibles as unoriginal because many false Churches use them? Rather, we should disregard the Greek Bibles because of the mounds of internal and external evidence that the Greek is a copy of the original Aramaic.
While unfortunate, this great defender of the Peshitta is, like most Churches, wrong in many issues. It may seem odd to “attack” the only major Church that adheres to the Peshitta, but this is necessary in keeping the Aramaic Primacy movement open and honest.
Abandoning the Peshitta
Of course, the COE stance that the Aramaic Peshitta New Testament is the original is correct. Thankfully, they still hold this stance officially, to this very day. However, it seems that they start abandoning this centuries-old belief. As usual, the COE continues to make concessions to the Roman Catholic church and one of them is the language of the original NT. I have anecdotal evidence of the abandoning of their stance that the Aramaic is the original, though one cannot condemn a church based on anecdotal evidence. So I had a look at their website… Their website (cired.org – interestingly showcasing the many COE efforts to “reconcile” [merge?!] with the Roman Catholic Church) quoted a version of “Hebrews” that could NOT have been translated from the Aramaic. Yeshu’ bar Nun was translated “Jesus”, instead of “Joshua son of Nun”. This is due to the Greek texts lacking “son of Nun”, leaving “Joshua” to be translated into English either as Joshua son of Nun or Joshua (Jesus) Son of God. The Peshitta clearly reads “Joshua son of Nun” while their website says “Jesus”, so clearly they are not using the Peshitta. This also goes against the Sabbath…
To be fair, the “official website” of the COE (cired.org) is part of an ecumenical group within the COE. But the Assyrian COE allows these things to happen, and has indeed conceded to the Roman Catholic church many times in the past, as will be discussed later in this article, in the name of ecumenism.
The Sabbath
Though this was once a great Sabbath-keeping Church, they have abandoned it and now honour Sunday. In the words of a former friend of mine who is a COE member “they [the Assyrian COE] couldn’t give a stuff about the Sabbath”. This is yet another concession to the Roman Catholic church (RCC). The big irony is that their own Scriptures (well used to be...), the Peshitta, clearly teaches the observance of the Sabbath in Hebrews 4:9 (“Therefore the observing of the Sabbath remains for the people of God”). I don't think it is any coincidence that their rejection of centuries-old Sabbath-keeping coincides with their gradual rejection of the Aramaic Peshitta. In fact, many COE members do honour the Sabbath also (no doubt due to the Peshitta’s clear Sabbath teachings) despite the COE “not giving a stuff about the Sabbath”.
A Triune Godhead
Like most Churches, the COE has accepted the doctrine of some sort of “3-in-1 god”, even though the Peshitta makes clear that Yeshua is “Alaha Abba”, “God the Father”. Their explanation says that there are not three persons in the Godhead, but three “Qnome”. It makes little difference, for the Aramaic Peshitta NT (nor the Greek NT) never says anything about there being three, and only three Qnome.
Take a look at this scathing attack on non-trinitarians. I wouldn’t dare call a trinitarian “cursed” or “false Christian”.
“Again, "In the beginning was the Word," this showing his Godhead, which exists eternally and for ever, which created all that is seen and all that is unseen, and exists in three qnome, without beginning, without change, without passion, and without division, which are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As our Lord said - for by him the eternal Trinity was made known - as he spoke concerning himself, "Destroy this temple," that is, the manhood with which he clothed himself, and again said, "My Father, who [dwells] in me, performs these works," and again concerning the Holy Spirit who is in him when he said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. Because of this he has anointed me." Behold, from the title "Christ" we learned about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we have understood his manhood from the same, and in it is the seal of the entire confession of Christianity. Anyone who does not confess in this way, let him be anathematized. Anyone who introduces a "quaternity" into the holy and immutable Trinity, let him be anathematized. Anyone who does not confess that in the last time the Only-begotten Son of God, who is Christ our Lord, was revealed in the flesh, let him be anathematized. Anyone who does not acknowledge the suffering and death of the manhood of Christ, and the impassibility of his Godhead, let him be anathematized. Or anyone who seals a prayer with the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit but numbers some other with them, or does not believe that in the name "Son" he refers to the Godhead and manhood of Christ together, or anyone who seals a prayer with the name of Christ and not as confessing the Trinity, let him be anathematized.” – From the Synod of “Mar Aba”, 544 A.D.
For something that is not even mentioned once in the Bible, it is shocking to see a COE authority call non-trinitarians “anathema”.
World Council of Churches (WCC)
The Assyrian COE is a member of the World Council of Churches, that little precursor to the one-world religion, of which the RCC is supreme. It’s in the official WCC records:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/mch-e.html
Any church that belongs to the WCC should be considered a false church, as the true Church would never make concessions to any other religion, let alone the Roman Catholic church. The true Church would follow God’s laws, in spite of exclusion and persecution. Was it not Yeshua who said that we who follow Him would be hated by the world? Does God not tell us to “come out of her, so that we may not partake in her sins”?
Celibacy of the Clergy
Synods in the 5th century (499 AD) decreed that celibacy should be obligatory for no one in this church, including bishops. Great respect to them for doing so, since as the Bible teaches that the “pastor” must be married to one wife. This rejection of the highly honored Roman rule made the Church of the East even more disdained by the Roman clergy.
However, another concession to the RCC was soon made. A number of bishops and even patriarchs were married until the early 6th century, when the decision was taken to ordain only celibate monks to the episcopate. Priests, however, have always been allowed to marry, even after ordination.
As if it were not bad enough that the COE now requires celibacy of the higher clergy, which is an unBiblical doctrine, the rule is sometimes ignored in different times and Churches, showing the lack of unity within the COE.
Pagan Festivals
Though the Bible suggests an earlier date for Jesus’ birth (seen by weather patterns and Mary’s 40-day purification), and nowhere commands or records the celebration of His birth’s anniversary, the COE celebrates His birth on December 25th. Why do they conform and join the RCC in celebrating the birth of pagan god Tammuz (born on December 25th)? A quick glance at the COE website shows (like the RCC) that many festivals/feasts etc are observed that are unBiblical, while they do not observe the feasts of the Torah. It seems that they forgot to reject the doctrines of men.
I myself do not think it necessary to celebrate the Biblical feasts in the time of the New Testament, but I see no harm in celebrating them (Yeshua and the Apostles did) and would surely not reject them in favour of pagan festivals.
Infant Baptism
The COE practices infant baptism. We find this practice often in paganism (and in the RCC) and exactly zero times in the New Testament. Not only is this practice unBiblical, it is illogical. How can an infant possibly repent of its sins and accept the Lord? Furthermore, while the Bible shows us that baptism consisted of immersion (one), the COE infant baptism includes a triple immersion, a throwback to their triune god belief.
Conclusion
I have a great respect for the Assyrian Church of the East for preserving the Peshitta all these centuries, and for spreading Christianity throughout the East. But even the COE has fallen. We shall conclude the discussion of the church’s shortcomings here, as the purpose of this short article is not to condemn COE members, but to give the honest truth regarding the only major church that adheres to the original Aramaic Peshitta. It is better to acknowledge the truth now, rather than to let new supporters of the Aramaic Primacy movement, leave disillusioned.