Mandaean priest

A Mandaean priest refers to ordained religious leaders in Mandaeism. All priests must undergo lengthy ordination ceremonies, beginning with tarmida initiation.[1] Mandaean religious leaders and copyists of religious texts hold the title Rabbi or in Arabic 'Sheikh'.[2][3]

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Priests

There are three types of priests in Mandaeism:[1]

Priests have lineages based on the succession of ganzibria priests who had initiated them. Priestly lineages, which are distinct from birth lineages, are typically recorded in the colophons of many Mandaean texts. The position is not hereditary, and any Mandaean male who is highly knowledgeable about religious matters is eligible to become a priest.[4]

Traditionally, any ganzeḇrā who baptizes seven or more ganzeḇrānā may qualify for the office of rišama. The current rišama of the Mandaean community in Iraq is Sattar Jabbar Hilo al-Zahrony. In Australia, the rišama of the Mandaean community Salah Choheili.[5][6]

A shganda (šganda) or ashganda (ašganda)[7] is a ritual assistant who helps priests with ritual duties. Prior to ordination, many priests have typically served as shganda as young men, although this is not a requirement.[1]

History

The contemporary Mandaean priesthood can trace its immediate origins to the first half of the 19th century. In 1831, a cholera epidemic in Shushtar, Iran devastated the region and eliminated all of the Mandaean religious leaders there. Two of the surviving acolytes (šgandia), Yahia Bihram and Ram Zihrun, reestablished the Mandaean priesthood in Suq esh-Shuyuk on the basis of their own training and the texts that were available to them.[4]

See also
  • Shishlam, a literary representation of the prototypical Mandaean priest

References
  1. Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people (PDF). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
  2. McGrath, James F. (2010). "Reading the Story of Miriai on Two Levels: Evidence from Mandaean Anti-Jewish Polemic about the Origins and Setting of Early Mandaeism". ARAM Periodical. p. 583-592. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  3. Holy Spirit University of Kaslik - USEK (27 November 2017), "Open discussion with the Sabaeans Mandaeans", YouTube, retrieved 10 December 2021
  4. Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Piscataway, N.J: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-59333-621-9.
  5. "الريشما ستار جبار حلو رئيس ديانة الصابئة المندائيين". Mandaean Library مكتبة موسوعة العيون المعرفية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  6. "Harmony Day - Liverpool signs declaration on cultural and religious harmony". Liverpool City Champion. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  7. Drower, E. S. 1960. The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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