Copyright ©2011 by Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute
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Syriac author and exegete; bādoqā (‘scholar’) and mallpānā (‘teacher’) at the School of
Nisibis during
1. A drāšā (‘dispute’) of Christological content,
partly preserved, in which Michael, employing a pithy and syllogistic style,
condemns the term theotokos and attacks Cyrillians,
Severians, and Julianists (ed. Abramowski and Goodman).
2. A ‘Book of Questions’ (Ktābā d-šuʾʾāle), of which
an excerpt is preserved in
3. A different ‘Book of Questions’, from which only one question, on the theme of ‘Man as microcosm’, is still extant (unpublished; see Reinink 2007). It appears that this second ‘Book of Questions’ should not be identified with the previous one, since it specifically focuses on ‘the refutation of heresies and cults’ (Reinink 2007, 2008).
In addition, a ‘Book of Definitions’ (ed. Furlani) is attributed to Michael,
but its spuriousness has been proven (see now Abramowski 1999). A text ‘On
Dreams’, which has been transmitted as a separate work of Michael’s, turns
out to be taken from this ‘Book of Definitions’, and therefore should no
longer be regarded as his. Finally, an aetiological writing (ʿelltā) on the ‘Commemoration of the Blessed Lady
Mary, the Bearer of Christ’ (unpublished), assigned in the mss. to ‘one of
the brethren badoqe of the School of Nisibis’, has
sometimes been considered Michael’s (already by