Mor (honorific)

West Syriac: Mor (as pronounced respectively in eastern and western dialects, from Syriac: ܡܪܝ‎ or East Syriac: Mar, Mār(y), written with a silent final yodh) is a title of respect in Syriac, literally meaning 'my lord'. It is given to all saints and is also used before Christian name of bishops.[1][2][3] The corresponding feminine form given to women saints is Mart or Mort (Syriac: ܡܪܬܝ‎, Mārt(y)). The title is placed before the Christian name, as in Mar Aprem/Mor Afrem (Ephrem the Syrian) and Mart/Mort Maryam (Mary, mother of Jesus).

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

Occasionally, the term Maran or Moran has been used of various patriarchs and catholicoi. The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, the Malankara Orthodox Catholicos and the Syro-Malankara Major Archbishop 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 Syrian Christians in Kerala. The Pope of Rome is referred to as Mar Papa by the Saint Thomas Christians of India.

The obscure variant Marya or Moryo (Syriac: ܡܪܝܐ‎, Māryā) is used in the Peshitta Old Testament to render the Tetragrammaton. Although this word is clearly a derived form of the above, there is a fanciful derivation found in early Syriac lexica, that the word is an initialism as follows:

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. "Mar" was also the title of the Exilarch (leader of the Jewish diaspora community in Babylon), with the Aramaic-speaking Jews sharing many cultural attributes with the Syriac Christians. In the Modern Hebrew of contemporary Israel, "Mar" is used without distinction for any male person, like "Mr." in English. However, in Rabbanical circles of Jews from the Middle East, the Aramaic variant form מָרָן (Maran, Aramaic: our lord) is still a title to used for highly appreciated Rabbis, such as Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas party.[4]

In Portugal, Mar is sometimes used as an insult, where the recipient is being referred to as garbage/trash.

See also

References

  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., A Syriac Fragment of Mar Epheraem’s Commentary on the Diatessaron. // New Testament Studies. — vol. 8 Iss. 04 (1962). — P. 294. — pp. 287—300. — «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 E., 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 life of Maran Ovadia Yosef, of Blessed and Holy Memory" - Hebrew-language obituary and biography on "Kooker", an Israeli religious news website
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