Pisma Ojców Kościoła w literackiej spuściźnie Etiopskiego Kościoła Ortodoksyjnego

Abstract

Ethiopian literature written in the Ge‘ez language is one of the largest literatures of the Christian East in terms of the number of works produced and preserved to the present days. Apart from original works, this literature is made up of translations of foreign works, among then the writings of the Church Fathers. However, the exact role played by these translations within the entire corpus of Ge‘ez writings is quite difficult to determine due to various philological and codicological problems. These problems derive from the particularities of the Ethiopian intellectual tradition in the course of ages. The translations, which were made from either Greek or Arabic originals, were often revised, made only partially, falsely attributed, inserted into thematic or calendar-based compilations. Furthermore, patristic writings were never a priority for the scholars and editors of Classical Ethiopic literature, who focused rather on Old Testament apocrypha, canonical-liturgical works and especially on original Ethiopian literary production. This means that the majority of the Ethiopic translations of Church Fathers is still not edited and available only through manuscripts. In the light of the above, describing the Ethiopian reception of even most basic figures such as John Chrysostom or Epiphanius of Salamis is a very difficult task. In some cases such analysis may however contribute to a better understanding of certain aspects of the history of the Ethiopian Ortohodox Church or even provide some additional information to our knowledge of the Greek originals.