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Mar (title)

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Mar (Classical Syriac: ܡܪܝ Mār(y), written with a silent final yodh; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: מָר), also Mor in Western Syriac, is an Aramaic word meaning "lord". The corresponding feminine forms in Syriac are Morth and Marth for "lady" (Syriac: ܡܪܬܝ, Mārt(y)). It is used in Judaism and in Syriac Christianity.

In Christianity

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It is a title of reverence in Syriac Christianity, where the title is placed before the Christian name, as in Mar Aprem / Mor Afrem for Ephrem the Syrian, and Marth / Morth Maryam for St Mary. It is given to all saints and is also used in instead of "Most Reverend", just before the name in religion taken by bishops.[1][2][3] The title of Moran Mor / Maran Mar is given to the Catholicoi and other primates; and the title Mar / Mor is given to prelates such as metropolitan bishops or archbishops.

The variant Moran or Maran (Syriac: ܡܪܢ, Moran),[citation needed] meaning "Our Lord", is a particular title given to Jesus, either alone or in combination with other names and titles. Likewise, Marth or Morth (Syriac: ܡܪܬܢ, Mārtan, "Our Lady")[citation needed] is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Occasionally, the term Maran or Moran has been used by various Eastern Christian patriarchs and catholicoi, who started using it in the recent centuries. The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, the Jacobite Syrian Catholicos titles are called Moran Mor, while the Malankara Orthodox Catholicos use the title Moran Mor. Sometimes the Indian bearers of this title are called Moran Mar, using a hybrid style from both Syriac dialects that reflects somewhat the history of Syro-Malabar Christians. The Pope is referred to as Marpāpa (Holy Father) by the St Thomas Christians of India.

The variant Marya or Moryo (Syriac: ܡܪܝܐ, Māryā)[4] is the original form of Mara/Moro, but only used in reference to God in the circle of Syriac Christianity. This word is used in the Peshitta Old Testament to render the Tetragrammaton. Although Mara/Moro is clearly a derived form of the above Marya/Moryo, and ultimately has roots in common Semitic, there is a fanciful derivation found in early Syriac lexica, that the word is an initialism as follows:

  • ܡ — ܡܪܘܬܐ, māruṯā, 'lordship'[5]
  • ܪ — ܪܒܘܬܐ, rabbuṯā, 'majesty'[6]
  • ܝ ܐ — ܐܝܬܝܐ, iṯyā, 'self-existence'[7]

In Judaism

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In Mishnaic Hebrew through to date, this Aramaic word is pronounced [mar] (Hebrew: מָר‎), and it is used as a formal way of addressing or referring to a male person.[8] In the Talmud, Tabyomi is sometimes referred to as Mar,[9] and Samuel of Nehardea, as Mar Samuel. "Mar" was also the honorific of the Talmudic Exilarchs[10] and according to Sherira ben Hanina, formed part of names like "Amemar". In the Geonic period, "Mar" could be used for any notable and the Geonim were generally known by the double title "Mar-Rav". The derived terms marana (our master) and maranan (our masters), especially when combined with Rabbi for marana verabbana and maranan verabbanan, became popular in the Rishonic period and remain so today.

In the Modern Hebrew of contemporary Israel, "Mar" is used without distinction for any male person, by analogy with "Mr." in English. Similarly feminine "Marat", which acquired this use centuries earlier, originally parallel to masculine "Reb". In Orthodox circles, especially among Jews from the Middle East, the variant form Maran (מָרָן, cf. Rabban) is used for highly appreciated Rabbis, such as Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas party.[11]

In Mandaeism

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In Mandaeism, names for Hayyi Rabbi ("the Great Life") in Mandaic (an Eastern Aramaic variety) include the cognate word Mara as in Mara ḏ-Rabuta ࡌࡀࡓࡀ ࡖࡓࡀࡁࡅࡕࡀ ('Lord of Greatness' or 'The Great Lord'; see also the Manichaean term Father of Greatness).[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Brock S. P., An Introduction to Syriac Studies, Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2006, p. 1 ISBN 978-1-59333-349-2: "Mor (or Mar) is an honorific title used both for bishops and for saints".
  2. ^ Baarda T. J. (1962). "A Syriac Fragment of Mar Epheraem's Commentary on the Diatessaron". New Testament Studies. 8 (4). Cambridge University Press: 287–300. doi:10.1017/S0028688500007931. S2CID 170111873. Mar, literally 'My Lord', a usual title of ecclesiastics and saints. This title always occurs in the commentaries when the Commentary of Ephraem is referred to
  3. ^ Dodd, Erica, The Frescoes of Mar Musa al-Habashi, Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 2001, p. 23. — 202 p. — ISBN 978-0-88844-139-3: "It was pointed out that the title 'Mar' or Saint is commonly used for prophets as well as saints (See above, p. 15. In the second Syriac inscription, Appendix I, the title is used for Bishop Diskoros)"
  4. ^ "The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon". cal.huc.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  5. ^ "Sedra". sedra.bethmardutho.org. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  6. ^ "Sedra". sedra.bethmardutho.org. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  7. ^ "Sedra". sedra.bethmardutho.org. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  8. ^  Schechter, Solomon; Bacher, Wilhelm (1904). "Mar". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 317–318.
  9. ^ Bacher, Wilhelm. "Tabyomi." JewishEncyclopedia.com. 1906. 30 July 2018.
  10. ^ Brand, Ezra. "Understanding Honorifics in the Talmudic Era". www.ezrabrand.com. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  11. ^ "The life of Maran Ovadia Yosef, of Blessed and Holy Memory" - Hebrew-language obituary and biography on "Kooker", an Israeli religious news website Archived 23 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Aldihisi, Sabah (2008). The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba (PhD). University College London.
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