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c. 251 – 700 AD
Isaac of Nineveh
c. 613 – c. 700 AD
Nineveh region / Rabban Shabur, Iraq
Overview
A monk, briefly bishop, and master of the interior life. His writings probe the soul with extraordinary tenderness and insist on the fathomless mercy of God.
Did You Know?
He resigned the bishopric of Nineveh soon after his consecration and returned to solitude, where his spiritual writings won readers far beyond his own church.
Contextual Information
Saint*He belonged to the Church of the East, a communion separated from the Roman and Byzantine churches and often labeled "Nestorian" by its opponents.
Status: Saint in many traditions, especially in the Christian East. His spiritual authority became so widely recognized that readers across confessional lines claimed him as their own.
Major Writings
Read Isaac of Nineveh’s Commentary
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The Syriac & Desert Fathers
Hermits, abbots, and poets whose lives in the desert and whose Syriac spirituality gave Christianity some of its most searching voices.
4 Church Fathers in this era
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Part of The Syriac & Desert Fathers