Patristic Tradition, Trinitarian Doctrine, and Metaphysics in Abū Rāʾiṭah al-Takrītī’s Polemics against the Melkites

Abū Rā’iṭah al-Takrītī, a Miaphysite theologian of the 8th/9th century, was one of the most important thinkers of his church. He participated in many theological discussions, both with Muslims and with Christians of other denominations. Abū Rā’iṭah wrote in the Arabic language and his works mostly had an apologetic character and can be regarded as one of the starting points of the Christian theological production in Arabic language. In his apologetic writings on Trinity and Christology, Abū Rā’iṭah uses the patristic heritage to answer the accusations of non-Miaphysite Christians and of Muslims. With the first group he makes a direct use of the Church Fathers, quoting some of their works as a proof of the Miaphysite doctrine, while with the second group the references to the Fathers are indirect. In the Christological controversies of the 5th and 6th century Miaphysite authors like Severus of Antioch and Peter of Callinicum relied on the patristic heritage in order to prove that their doctrine was orthodox and in agreement with the Church Fathers. Later, the patristic quotations used by Severus, Peter, and other authors were further selected and reorganized in Christological and Trinitarian patristic florilegia. These florilegia were copied more than once in the following centuries and continued to be instruments of theological education and formation for the West Syrians. With this contribution I analyse the use of the patristic tradition in Abū Rā’iṭah’s writings (The first letter on the Holy Trinity and The letter against Melkites) and to prove that his knowledge of the Fathers’ doctrine and the quotations and references he makes from their works, directly and indirectly, is based on these Syriac dogmatic florilegia.