Available via license: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Content may be subject to copyright.
3
Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, Vol. 18.1, 3-7
© 2015 by Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute and Gorgias Press
IN MEMORIAM
LUISE ABRAMOWSKI
(1928-2014)
THERESIA HAINTHALER
PHILOSOPHISCH-THEOLOGISCHE HOCHSCHULE SANKT
GEORGEN
One of the great scholars in Patristic and History of dogma and in
Syriac studies, combining theology and philology, literary criticism
and editorial work, in the second half of the 20th century up to now,
passed away in the night of November 2-3, 2014 in Tübingen, Prof.
Dr. Luise Abramowski. Born July 8, 1928 in Schwentainen, East
Prussia (Eastern Germany at that time, now Poland) in an ancient
noble family which can be traced back to the 16th century, she was
the eldest child among five others. Her father, Rudolf Abramowski,
4 Luise Abramowski
served as a pastor of the German Reformed community in Riga
(1929-1939), himself a scholar in Old Testament and Orientalistics,
esp. in Syriac (e.g. on Dionysius of Tel-Marē and the legacy of
Diodore of Tarsus in Syriac1). He died on the way to forced labour
in the Urals, deported by the Russian army, at the age of 44 in
March 1945.
Luise Abramowski studied in Berlin and then in Bonn where
she also graduated and defended her thesis (1956). She made her
habilitation (1962) on the Liber Heraclidis of Nestorius, published in
CSCO 242, Subsidia 22 (1963), a ground breaking study in research
on Nestorius from the point of view of literary criticism. She
published, together with Alan Goodman the Syriac Manuscript
Cambridge Univ. Libr. Ms. Or. 1319: A Nestorian Collection of
Christological Texts I-II (Cambridge 1972). In 1974 she took the chair
of Church History in Tübingen and remained in this town till the
end of her life. In 1982 she was elected Fellow of the British
Academy.
She had learned Syriac already in 1948, at the age of hardly 20,
and later gave courses in this language till 1998, even after her
retirement. Her support for the younger generation of scholars, esp.
in Syriac – recorded already from the early 70s in Bonn – is now
reported by people in Great Britain as well as in India or Korea.
With her sharp intellect and very precise and solid judgement, sober
without any prejudice, she was a natural authority, even for senior
scholars, and thus educating a lot of people.
For an autobiographical essay she chose the title “history of
dogma and literary criticism” (“Dogmengeschichte und Literar-
kritik”), thus indicating the main emphasis and tools of her work.
Attentive to the historical context and often based on philological
observations and textual criticism, she could come to new insights
in theology and difficult theological questions. A very dense and
demanding style and formulations to the point are characteristics of
her writings.
Her important contributions to patristic research from the
fourth to the sixth century, esp. to the Trinitarian and
Christological controversies from the fourth to the seventh
centuries, to Gnosticism and other areas, also to the medieval and
1 Bibliography in: H. C. Brennecke, E. L. Grasmück, C. Markschies
(eds.), Logos. FS Luise Abramowski = BZNW 67 (Berlin, New York 1993),
634-640 (by H. C. Brennecke).
In Memoriam 5
the Reformation period,2 have to be valued for a different
readership. Her publications in Syriac studies, the main interest in
the context of Hugoye, include, besides the monograph on the Liber
Heraclidis of Nestorius, groundbreaking studies on Babai the Great3
or, nourished by findings in the Syriac version of Theodore of
Mopsuestia, the presentation of his (Theodore’s) theology, available
also in English (in her book Formula and Context, 1992). How the
monk Dadisho Qatraya re-interpreted Theodore in the sense of the
desert fathers in order to keep Theodore’s authority in the realm of
spirituality is the subject of an article published in The Harp.4 The
Syriac version of Patristic texts (Gregory, Epiphanius) often helped
to reconstruct dogmatic positions. The project of an edition of
Brit. Lib. Add. 12.156 could not be realized – the manuscript
remained on her desk till the end of her life – but led to several
published articles.5
Already her first publication in 1955, apart from a review in
1952, dealt with Narsai.6 Later studies on Narsai have been added,7
2 See her Bibliography in: Logos. FS Abramowski, 619-632 (till 1992);
ZAC 12 (2008) 5-9 (for the period 1993-2008). From 1993-2000 cf. L.
Abramowski, “Dogmengeschichte und Literarkritik,” in: D. Meyer (ed.),
Kirchengeschichte als Autobiographie (Köln 2002) 1-15, here: 13-15.
3 “Die Christologie Babais des Großen,” OCA 197 (1974) 219-244;
“Babai der Große: Christologische Probleme und ihre Lösungen,” OCP
41 (1975) 289-343.
4 “Dadisho Qatraya and his Commentary on the Book of the Abbas
Isaiah,” The Harp 4 (1991) 67-83.
5 “Die Anakephalaiosis zum Panarion des Epiphanius in der
Handschrift Brit. Mus. Add. 12156,” Mus 96 (1983) 217-230; “Zur
geplanten Ausgabe von Brit. Mus. add. 12156,” TU 133 (1987) 23-28;
“On the fragments of Theodore of Mopsuestia in Brit. Libr. add. 12.156
and the christological fragment in double tradition,” The Harp 6, Nr. 3
(1993) 199-206; “Über die Fragmente des Theodor von Mopsuestia in
Brit. Libr. add. 12.156 und das doppelt überlieferte christologische
Fragment,” OrChr 79 (1995) 1-8.
6 “Das Konzil von Chalkedon in der Homilie des Narses über die
drei nestorianischen Lehrer,” ZKG 66 (1954/55) 140-143.
7 “Die liturgische Homilie des Ps. Narses mit dem Messbekenntnis
und einem Theodor-Zitat,” BJRL 78 (1996) 87-100; “Narsai, Ephräm und
Kyrill über Jesu Verlassenheitsruf Matth. 27,46,” in: H. J. Feulner (ed.),
Crossroad of Cultures. Studies in liturgy and patristics in honor of G. Winkler, OCA
260 (Rom 2000) 43-67; Narsai (ca. 415? - 502), Hom. LIV (30) Mingana
6 Luise Abramowski
and finally a monograph on Narsai which will be part of the
volume on the Christology of the Church of the East for the series
“Christ in Christian Tradition,” started by Alois Grillmeier. She got
to know him already at her first participation of the Oxford
Patristic Conference in 1955, which she attended till 1999 (with one
exception), where she presided over the concluding session in the
Sheldonian theatre. Her volume on the Christology of the Persian
Church (more than 600 pages) is not yet published and has to be
completed with a chapter on Ishoyahb III – she was drafting this
chapter when she had to stop her work after July 9, 2014. In this
volume she analyzes the East Syrian Christology from Narsai to
Timothy I, including the synods and catholicoi of the fifth to the
seventh century, with authors like Mar Aba, Babai, Ishoyahb I and
II, but also spiritual authors like John of Dalyatha. In 2005 she
gave a first summary of her results so far.8 The reconstruction of
the Theodorian-Edessene position of Philoxenus of Mabbug’s
opponent abib was already published in volume 2/3 of “Christ in
Christian Tradition” in 2002 (German) rep. in 2013 (in English).9
An important study dealt with the title patriarch and catholicos.10
II, 114-130: “Unser König Jesus”, der “gekreuzigte Mann”, in: P. Gemein-
hardt, U. Kühneweg (eds.), Patristica et Oecumenica = FS W. Bienert
(Marburg 2004) 157-166; Narsai, Homilie XI. “Über die Väter, die
Lehrer,” ed. F. Martin, Journal Asiatique 1899 (Text), 1900 (Übersetzung),
in: The Harp 20 (2006) = FS Rev. Dr. Jacob Thekeparampil, 333-348.
8 “Die nachephesinische Christologie der edessenischen Theodor-
ianer,” in: L. Greisiger, C. Rammelt, J. Tubach (eds.), Edessa in hellenistisch-
römischer Zeit: Religion, Kultur und Politik zwischen Ost und West. Beiträge des
internationalen Edessa-Symposiums in Halle an der Saale, 14.-17. Juli 2005 =
Beiruter Texte und Studien 116 (Würzburg 2009),1-9.
9 “Aus dem Streit um das ‘Unus ex trinitate passus est’: Der Protest
des abib gegen die Epistula dogmatica des Philoxenus an die Mönche,”
in: T. Hainthaler (ed.), A. Grillmeier †, Jesus der Christus im Glauben der Kirche,
Band 2/3: Die Kirchen von Jerusalem und Antiochien nach 451 und 600,
Freiburg, Basel, Wien 2002, 570-647; English: “From the controversy on
‘Unus ex trinitate passus est’: The protest of Habib against Philoxenus’
Epistula dogmatica to the Monks,” in: T. Hainthaler (ed.), A. Grillmeier †.
Christ in Christian Tradition 2/3: The Churches of Jerusalem and Antioch from 451
to 600 (Oxford, 2013) 545-620.
10 “Der Bischof von Seleukia-Ktesiphon als Katholikos und
Patriarch,” in: D. Bumazhnov, H. R. Seeliger (eds.), Syrien im 1.-7.
Jahrhundert nach Christus: Akten der 1. Tübinger Tagung zum Christlichen Orient,
In Memoriam 7
Incidentally, she could make some additions to earlier publications,
or the Nestorian collection.11
Busy work was a determining factor in the last years, again and
again interrupted by many stays in the hospital. Different forms of
cancer and laborious and painful treatment, longstanding,
interrupted her work. However, she was not complaining, only
perhaps sighing about the stop of her work. Till the end with a
clear mind, she was very attentive and compassionate for other ill
people and respectful of the medical staff, totally refraining from
herself, giving a marvelous example.
15. – 16. Juni 2007 = Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum 62
(Tübingen, 2011) 1-55.
11 Cf. “Zu den Schriften des Michael Malpana / Badoqa,” OLA 89
(1999) 1-10.