Isaric Christians

Isars (Neo-Samaritans)
ࠍࠫࠈࠓࠜࠉ-ࠀࠩࠉࠎࠞࠓࠞࠀ

Flag of the Isars Flag of the Isars
Total population
4 (29.8.2014)
Founder
Yaqob bar-Karoza
Regions with significant populations
Isaric communities
Surabaya, Indonesia	4
Religions
Isaric Christianity
Scriptures
Tanach (Samaritan Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim) New Testament (The Keeper's Evangel) The Book of the Other (Isaric Apocrypha, Thelmuda Isaraya)
Languages
Modern Vernacular American English, Indonesian Past Vernacular Croatian (8th century CE - 20th century CE), preceded by Medieval Greek (5th century CE - 8th century CE), and earlier Aramaic and Samaritan Hebrew Liturgical Isaric Aramaic
Related ethnic groups
Samaritans, Palestinian people, Jews, Assyrians

The Isars, or Isaric Christians (Isaric Aramaic: ࠍࠫࠈࠓࠜࠉ-ࠀࠩࠉࠎࠞࠓࠞࠀ / נֻטרֵי־אִיסָרָא Nòṭrey-Isara “Bond Keepers” or “Keepers/Samaritans of the Bond”, Biblical Hebrew: נׂצרֵי הָאִסָר Notsrey ha isar), are an ethnoreligious group of mixed Semitic, Indo-European, and Asian heritage. They claim descent from Byzantine Samaritan refugees who fled Constantinople's brutal suppression of Samaritan Revolts during the 6th century CE, and who resettled along the Adriatic Sea, specifically in Dalmatia.^[1]

Isars practice a syncretic form of Christianity that incorporates elements from Samaritanism, Judaism, and various forms of Christianity, and includes certain beliefs and practices that have close correlation to aspects of Zoroastrianism, Islam, and Taoism, though these are not interrelated. They are the only known Christian community to use the Samaritan Pentateuch as the basis for their translation of the Bible, and are one of only a few modern religious groups to utilize a form of Aramaic language in their prayers and liturgy, which includes prostration akin to that performed by Samaritans, Karaite Jews, and Muslims. All of their members presently live in East Java, Indonesia,^[2] though their founder is originally from the United States.

History

Isars have an unusually diverse ancestry, ranging from Western, Central, and Eastern European ethnic groups, to Middle Eastern ethnic groups, to East and Southeast Asian ethnic groups, to New World native ethnic groups. Because of their diverse origins, they do not identify with any one of the many nationalities or ethnicities of these regions, but view themselves as a complex whole belonging to the greater Hebrew/Israelite Diaspora.

Manastirine Necropolis (Croatia) where an ancestral Byzantine Samaritan grave was found dating from the 6th century CE--evidence of the Isars' Samaritan forebears in ancient Salona

The Samaritan forebears of the Isars seem to have met the same fate as most other Samaritan diaspora communities: they converted to Christianity (presumably by force or necessity) and took on a new identity. That identity was not always totally removed from their native language and religion. In the case of the Isars, archaeological and genealogical evidence suggests that their ancestors in Dalmatia seemed to prefer Aramaic and Greek names that showed an intimate connection to the law, i.e., the Torah, the sole holy book of Samaritan people. For example, the Greek name Nομια (Nomia “Lawfulness”) belonged to a Samaritan woman whose grave stele and epitaph were recovered from the Manastirine necropolis in the ruins of Salona.^[3] Additionally, the surname Purgali (or Purgalay) was derived from the Aramaic word פוּרגָּל (purgal “precept, commandment, instruction”),^[4] which ultimately came from the Greek word παραγγελια (paraggelia “order, charge”). Over time, that name was shortened to Purgli due to influence from the Croatian language, and was later Anglicized as Purgley.

There are two known lines of descent within Isaric genealogies that trace back to Dalmatia (Croatia), where a Samaritan diaspora community is known to have existed.^[5] Only one of those lineages, the Purgley family, is linked to the Samaritans of Salona, but both of them arrived in North America around the same time, i.e., during the latter half of the 19th century CE. Before calling themselves Isars in the 21st century, this small family of immigrants lived simple, inconspicuous lives in the Plaquemines Parish region of southeast Louisiana for five generations. They completely assimilated to the surrounding culture and rarely looked back upon their history. By the turn of the 21st century, the number of individuals bearing the Purgley name and having Samaritan descent dwindled to less than a dozen, on account of female children being predominate in the family. Male members of the Purgley family traditionally worked as laborers, fishermen,^[6] and/or lighthouse keepers,^[7] but all are now deceased.

Restorative efforts

Isaric identity, language, and culture as it exists today is the result of ten years of restorative work by Rabbana Yaqob bar-Karoza (aka Jacob C. Moak), a Hebrew Christian teacher and missionary who has descent from the Samaritan ‘Purgali/Purgalay’ family of Dalmatia. He claims to have been motivated by dreams and visions of his ancestors in Aramaic language, which he received over the course of a seven year period starting in 2004, when he turned twenty years old. His work reached a climax in 2011 after he supposedly received a prophecy and a mission from God (called הא פורשנא שרירא Ha Purshana Sharira “The True Distinction”) that sets forth a plan for the revival and preservation of the Samaritan diaspora in Asia, where he relocated in 2012.

Bar-Karoza and his family claim to be the heirs of a long-lost Samaritan diaspora family whose ancestors originated from the northern tribes of Ancient Israel, mainly from the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph.^[8] Their restorative efforts thus far include the following: (1) the construction of a uniquely Isaric dialect of Aramaic that has numerous Hebrew borrowings and is written in three scripts: Latin, Standard Hebrew, and Samaritan Hebrew; (2) the creation of a liturgy that reflects their rich heritage; (3) the reformation of culture to reflect Biblical, Samaritan, and Christian values; (4) the reinstatement of the Samaritan Torah as a premier sacred text, and the adoption of the Old Syriac Gospels as a basis of their New Testament Scripture; (5) the creation of a new luni-solar calendar based upon the Biblical, Samaritan, and Persian calendars; (6) the reestablishment of communication with the core Samaritan community in Samaria, i.e., in Holon, Israel;^[9][10] (7) the publicizing of their efforts to raise awareness and support for their cause. An article by Bar-Karoza entitled, "On the Samaritan Diaspora in Croatia," was included in the May/June 2013 issue of The Samaritan Update, and coverage of his restorative work was featured in the July 25, 2014 issue of A.B. The Samaritan News in Holon, Israel; the March 15, 2015 issue of the same newspaper further highlighted Bar-Karoza's efforts to teach Samaritan Torah and spread Samaritan culture in Indonesia.

Just as Messianic Jews consider Messianic Judaism a revival of the early Jewish Church of Jerusalem/Judea, Isaric Christians consider Isaric Christianity a revival of the early Samaritan Church of Sychar/Samaria, which was started by Jesus of Nazareth and developed through the work of Philip the Evangelist.

Theology and core doctrines

Isaric Christians do not recognize the authority of the early ecumenical councils on the basis that there was no representation of Jewish or Samaritan Christians, whom they view as the foundation of the Church. Accordingly, Isars do not accept the Nicene Creed, and repudiate its usage of the phrase, θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ, γεννηθέντα οὐ ποιηθέντα (true God of true God, begotten, not made), since they view Jesus Christ as divine man, having perfect divinity and perfect humanity, but being neither true God nor true man, and who was both begotten and made. The Apostles’ Creed, which they refer to as “The Canon of Faith,” serves as one of three authoritative statements of Isaric belief; the other two are The Seven Articles of Isaric Orthodoxy and The True Distinction (Ha Purshana Sharira).^[11]

God and Jesus

The Trinity

Isaric Christians hold to a trinitarian theology, but their understanding of the Trinity differs from mainstream Christian thought. To Isars, the Trinity, or הָא-תלָת-בָא-חַדּ Ha-Thlath-va-Khad (The Three-in-One), did not always exist, but rather came about through an emanation from יָתָא Yatha, i.e., the one eternal, divine essence. They believe that the three persons of the Trinity represent the Mind of God (the Father), the Breath of God (the Holy Spirit), and the Word of God (the Son), where the Mind or Father is supreme. The theological titles “God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit” are generally not used. God is often referred to by his personal name, YHWH, which is never written with vowels but is fully pronounced as Yahweh or Yahuweh, and is represented as a consuming fire; hence a sacred fire or flame plays an important role in many Isaric religious events. Isars believe God is a complex unity, and his unity is given special emphasis in their liturgy.

Jesus

In Isaric Christology, Jesus, who is called יֶשוַּע Yeshua, is the מַשִיחָא Mashikha (Messiah or Anointed One) and the תֻהבָּא Thòhba (Restorer). The Isaric conception of Jesus thus reflects both Jewish and Samaritan ideas of a messianic figure. Jesus is seen as being a divine man, the son of God whose humanity was fashioned or made in the womb of Mary and whose divinity was borne by the Holy Spirit and joined to his humanity by mystical, ineffable means, so that the Word of God became manifest in the flesh, where his divinity and humanity were perfectly and forever united into one nature. In this way, Isars confess miaphysitism like Oriental Orthodox Christians. While they believe that Jesus is divine and “of God,” they avoid saying that Jesus "is God." To an Isar, it is impossible for God to be man or for man to be God, so to say that Jesus is God would be a contradiction, though they believe that his innermost aspect is part of God. They view God as one too high, holy, and righteous for sinful man to approach, which necessitates the role of a special high priest and mediator—Jesus.

Scriptures and writings

There are two canons that Isars consider sacred: a primary canon consisting of the Holy Bible, and a secondary or “other” canon consisting of various apocryphal (deuterocanonical) books of Jewish and Samaritan origin.

The Holy Bible

Isars believe the Christian Bible to be divinely inspired and contain special revelation from God. They do not see it as inerrant, since it is a product of human hands, but they do confess it to be infallible. Some sections of the Bible are more esteemed than others, particularly quotations of God or Christ, whether directly or through a prophet. The Torah and the Gospel are regarded as the most essential parts of the Bible. Isars interpret the words of Christ to mean that the Torah, or Law of Moses, still applies, so they continue to practice many Old Testament customs and traditions.

One thing that sets Isars apart from all other Christians is their version of the Bible. The Isaric Bible, called הָא-כתָבָּא קַדִּישָא דִּי הָא נֻטרֵיָא Ha-Chthaba Qadisha di ha Nòṭreya (The Holy Book of the Keepers/Samaritans), follows a different arrangement of books, though all of the standard canonical books are present. Additionally, the Torah section of the Old Testament is taken from the Samaritan Pentateuch, not the Jewish Masoretic Text or the Greek Septuagint. Their version of the book of Joshua is based upon both the Samaritan and Jewish Hebrew texts. The four gospels are a composite Aramaic text based primarily upon the Syriac Sinaiticus palimpsest, with missing portions supplied from the Syriac Curetonian and Peshitta versions respectively. There are several instances where popular or well-known verses from the gospels are excluded from the text of the Isaric Bible because they do not appear in the original manuscripts.

The Book of the Other

In addition to the Holy Bible, a deuterocanon, or other canon, constitutes a sizeable portion of Isaric scripture called The Book of the Other (or Ha-Chthaba di ha Òkhrana). This compendium of sacred writings has two volumes, the first of which is simply called ‘The Apocypha,’ and contains ten books:

• The Book of Khanoch (Section 1: The Book of Watchers; Section 2: The Book of Parables; Section 3: The Book of Giants)
• Yosef and Asnath
• The Assumption of Mosheh
• The Testament of Mosheh
• The Samaritan Chronicle
• The Ascension of Yesha‘yahu
• The Epistle of Baruch
• The Wisdom of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus)
• Maqabim (1 Maccabees)
• The Protoevangelium of Ya‘qob
• The Infancy Gospel of Thaoma

The second volume is called Ha Thelmuda Isaraya (meaning ‘The Isaric Talmud’ or ‘Instruction’). It does not have any relation to the Jewish Rabbinical Talmud; it contains four books:

• The Testimony of Bar-Karoza Concerning the The True Distinction
• The Temple Visions
• Illuminations
• A History of the Bnei Makir

Unlike the primary canon, which is closed and can neither be added to or taken away from, the deuterocanon is open, but any books included therein must meet seven criteria:

1. written originally by an Israelite prophet or scribe
2. partially or wholly written in Hebrew or Aramaic, or in Ancient Greek language that exhibits overt conceptual reliance upon Hebrew and/or Aramaic
3. void of contradictions with the Holy Bible, with known history, and with Isaric orthodoxy
4. supported by the Holy Bible, either by direct quotation or by indirect means
5. evidences itself to be a true, partially or wholly inspired, sacred religious work by the style of its writing and the nature of its content
6. stands apart from general religious literature, and is of such profound theological, historical, and cultural import that it rightly deserves a place within Scripture
7. nominated as canonical by an Isaric ambassadorial council and unanimously approved by the same

The True Distinction (Ha Purshana Sharira)

There is no text more significant to and more highly valued by Isars than the foundational Isaric Aramaic document called הָא פּוּרשָנָא שַרִירָא, or The True Distinction in English. It not only defines Isaric identity and culture, but sets forth an existential purpose and mission for Isaric people, and prophesies about a restoration and future rise to power/influence. It is considered to be sacred, inspired scripture, and serves as a kind of constitution.^[12]

Culture and customs

Language

Isars are native speakers of English and/or Indonesian, and have familiarity with several other languages, including French, Mandarin, and Javanese. There are a host of languages that the Isars consider ancestral, but Aramaic and Hebrew are the only two that have special significance within religious contexts. Because of assimilation and conversion to Christianity, diaspora Samaritans lost fluency in these languages long ago, the only remnants of which survive in surnames and given names.

In 2004, an American of Samaritan descent known as Yaqob bar-Karoza, having been inspired by the work of Jewish linguists Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and Ghil'ad Zuckermann, set out to restore the use of Aramaic within his family and among others of long-lost Samaritan heritage. Over a ten year period, the Isaric dialect of Aramaic developed from just a few words used in liturgical settings to having a lexicon of 10,000 words (and still growing). Most of the vocabulary was borrowed from ancient dialects of Aramaic, such as Palestinian dialects of the early Christian era, as well as from Syriac and Biblical Aramaic. Biblical Hebrew loan words comprise nearly a quarter of the lexicon, though they have undergone considerable phonological and orthographical change. Arabic, Greek, and Latin have also contributed significantly.

The phonology of the dialect is quite different from other forms of Aramaic, and certain sounds have become distinguishing features. Liturgical texts are written primarily in the Samaritan script, but a Jewish Ashuri script and a Latin based script are also employed. The dialect is referred to as לשנא איסריא Lishana Isaraya (Isaric language), since it was used to write the most important document of Isaric Christianity, i.e., The True Distinction (Ha Purshana Sharira).

Calendar and holidays

Isaric Christians use a complex luni-solar calendar that blends elements of the Persian Jalaali solar calendar and the Samaritan timeline with the biblical lunar calendar. The Isaric solar year begins with the vernal equinox, while the lunar year is dependent upon the timing of the first full moon of spring. Year 2014 A.D. of the Gregorian calendar corresponds to Isaric year A.L. (Anno Lex) 3653.

All Samaritan people, Isars included, celebrate seven major festivals every year, which are based upon the biblical holy days outlined in Leviticus 23.^[13] Other holidays commemorate important events in the history of Israel, early Christianity, or the modern restoration of the Neo-Samaritan (Isaric) Church.

References