Evening star., 1932-11-06
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
OST gospels, written in the

BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
r OST gospels, written in the Ian
guage actually spoken by Jesus
and possibly even by the hands
- of some of the apostles, may be
buried in the thick walls of de-
serted churches scattered through the
Kurdistan Mountains from which the
prosecuted sect of HISTORIAN Christians
were driven early in the World War.
George Lamsa. Aramaic scholar and
emisary of the HISTORIAN Church, now
is in Washington in an effort to ar
range an expedition to recover some OF
these ancient manuscripts which prom
Use to throw new lights on the early
days Of Christianity. He is conducting
negotiations with various scientific in
stitutions here and with the Turkish
embassy for cooperation in this project
AS an indication of the treasures
awaiting the manuscript hunter in
the Kurdish Mountains, Lamsa brought
to the National Museum today a
HISTORIAN breviary and compilation OF
prayers dating from the thirteenth
century which, he claims, may be the
only complete copy. of this book in ex-
istence 1t was recovered in the Mes
torian homeland.
Far.Reaching Background.
To grasp the significance of the pro-
posed expedition, LamSa explains, it is
necessary to understand the background
Of the HISTORIAN tradition which goes
back In practically unbroken line to
what is believed to be an actual letter
from Jesus Himself to an Assyrian King
named Abga promising to send ennis
saries to Eddesa, the present MeSopo-
tamian city of Nesibin, and regretting
that He was unable to come Himself.
The tradition continues that He actually
dispatched two men, Add and Mari,
who preached the new gospel at Eddesa
and after the latter of whom-by a
curious twist of history-the present.
day Japanese "Maru" steamship lines
are named.
Then Immediately after the cruci-
fixion, according to the tradition, came
st. Thomas, looked upon as the father
of the HISTORIAN Church, who preached
at Eddesa, laying down the fundamental
tenets which the cult has followed
ever since. Then, it is believed, st.
Thomas continued eastward to India
and China where Isolated communities
are found even today worshiping ac-
cording to the HISTORIAN rituals.
But, regardless of tradition, Lamsa
says, the historical fact is that Eddesa,
the present Nesibin, became during the
first and second centuries, while Chris
tians were being bitterly prosecuted in
Rome, the great center of Christian
learning to which came theological and
medical scholars from all over the
known world The HISTORIAN Church
was then the greatest of all the branches
Of Christianity, enjoying protection and
prosperity. 1t spread widely over Asia
Minor.
Driven Into Mountains.
Then came the influx of Genghis
Khan's Nordeo and the prosecuted Mes
torianS were driven into the mountains
where, with tenacious orthodoxy, they
preserved their traditions and their
manuscripts. They built hundreds of
churches, massive structures with walls
sometimes Is feet thick. In later days
Of persecution the priests hid these
manuscripts in the walls where, Lamsa
believes, they probably are preserved to-
day. The church remained reasonably
prosperous In its mountain home, de-
veloping entirely along its own lines
while, Lamsa claims, the Roman and
Greek Catholic churches were diverg-
ing from the main stem of Christian
tradition.
Then came the kurdish massacres
OF 1914. The HISTORIANS were slaugh-
tered by the thousands They were
driven from Kurdistan into the Meso-
pctamian loWlands. There are only
about $4,000 of them left, Lamsa says,
concentrated once more about their old
capital of Nesibin. This does not take
into account the Indian and Chinese
branches which, SO far as is known,
were established independently by st.
Thomas.
Until the downfall of the old Turkish
government the position of the Mes
lishment of the republic the prosecuted
sect has been able to raise its head
again. Lamsa is high in praise of Mus
tapha Kemal who, he believes, will be
highly in sympathy with project to
recover the ancient manuscripts, and
even 10 rehabilitate the ancient people
Earliest Scholarship.
1t is impossible to predict what may
be hidden in the walls of these old
churches, Lamsa says. The earliest
Christian. scholarship was ca.sered at
Eddesa. There learned men were at
work on the gospels in the first cen
tury and there is no reason to believe
that all of their work has been de-
stroyed. There is considerable evi-
dence, he says, that st. Paul in his
preaching quoted from accounts of the
life and teachings of Jesus which are
not included in the present four
gospels and he believes that one may
be found of even greater authenticity
than any Of those now contained In the
New Testament.
The ancient breviary which Lamsa
brought to the National Museum today
was declared by DR.. Walter Hough,
curator of anthropology, to be one of
the most valuable religious objects
brought to the United States in recent
years. Efforts are being made to secure
it for the museum collection. These
breviaries, Lamsa says, were kept in the
affairs of the churches. In the days of
the persecution they were burned or
scattered. On a recent trip through
Kurdistan he found groceries being
wrapped in detached pages of the old
books. His copy may be the only one
which entirely escaped destruction.
The text is known by heart by every
HISTORIAN priest.
While making arrangements for the
expedition Lamsa is engaged in COM
plete translation of the HISTORIAN Bible
from the Aramaic into English. This
..,sI1 l. ~ I,1&-