Rabbi Prof. Brikha H. S. Nasoraia[1] (full name: Brikha Hathem Saed Naṣoraia;[2] born 1964 in Iraq[3]) is an Iraqi-Australian
Mandaean priest and scholar based in
Sydney, Australia. He is affiliated with the
University of Sydney and
Mardin Artuklu University.[4] He is currently a Professor of Comparative Semitics, Literature and Art History.
Early life and education
Brikha Nasoraia was born in Iraq to Mahdi Saed (father) and Layla (mother).[5]: xii His
baptismal name is Sam bar Sam Yuhana.[6]: 351 He belongs to the Kuhailia (
Choheili) family[7] and can thus trace his ancestry back to Adam Zakia, the father of Bihram Bar-Hiia, who lived around 1500 A.D.[6]: 118
He was initiated into the Mandaean priesthood by
Sheikh Abdullah, son of
Sheikh Negm, of Baghdad.[6]: 118 He was ordained as a
ganzibra (Mandaean high priest) and later emigrated to
Sydney, Australia, where he initially served with Ganzibra
Salah Choheili.[7] In 2005, he obtained a Ph.D. degree from the
University of Sydney, where he wrote his doctoral dissertation on the translation and analysis of the Dmut Kušṭa scroll.[8][9] After graduating from the University of Sydney, he later took the name Brikha Naṣoraia, which means "Blessed
Naṣoraean" in Mandaic.
Career
As a
ganzibra (head priest),[10] he is currently the President of the Mandaean Spiritual Council (or the Mandaean Nasoraean Supreme Council[10]) of Australia[11] and is also the President of the International Mandaean Nasoraean Supreme Council (or Nasoraean Mandaean Association[4]).[8][1]
He is fluent in English, Arabic, and
Aramaic.[14] Nasoraia is also an artist who produces
oil paintings featuring Mandaean religious themes.[5]
Personal life
He is married to Nadia al-Faris,[15] with whom he has three children.[14]
Selected publications
Below is a partial list of publications by Brikha Nasoraia.[16]
Note that in earlier works, he is cited as Hathem Saed Naṣoraia. Brikha (which means "blessed" in Mandaic) is a title that was later added to his name as cited in academic literature, Hathem is his given name, Mahdi is his father's name, and Saed is his grandfather's name. Naṣoraia is used to denote that he is a
Nasoraean, i.e. a
Mandaean priest. (See alsoMandaean name.) As a result, he is also known as Sheikh (Rbai) Haithem Mahdi Saeed.[6]: 345
Books
Mubaraki, Majid Fandi; Rbai Haithem Mahdi Saeed; Brian Mubaraki (eds). 1998. Ginza Rba. Sydney, N.S.W., Australia. ISBN 0-646-35222-9.
Nasoraia, Brikha H.S. (2021). The Mandaean gnostic religion: worship practice and deep thought. New Delhi: Sterling.
ISBN978-81-950824-1-4.
OCLC1272858968.
Nasoraia, Brikha H. S. (2013). "Mandaean Sacred Art: A Brief Study of Folio 6 of the Secret Mandaean Scroll Diwan Qadaha Rba d-Dmuth Kušţa (The Scroll of Great Creation of the Image of Truth)". The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society. 2 (4). Common Ground Research Networks: 33–45.
doi:
10.18848/2154-8633/cgp/v02i04/51025.
ISSN2154-8633.
Shen, Haiyan; Nasoraia, Brikha H. S. (17 June 2017). "On Tiantai
Zhiyi's Theory of the Three Categories of Dharma". Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences. 11 (2). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 237–256.
doi:
10.1007/s40647-017-0183-x.
ISSN1674-0750.
S2CID256393493.
^
abcdBuckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Piscataway, N.J: Gorgias Press.
ISBN978-1-59333-621-9.
^Nasoraia, Brikha (2005). A critical edition with translation and analytical study of Diuan Qadaha Rba D-Dmuth Kušṭa (the Scroll of the Great Creation of the Image/Likeness of Truth) (Ph.D. dissertation). Sydney: Dept. of Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish Studies, University of Sydney.
OCLC225252988.
^
abc"Pocket of faith". Telegram & Gazette. 3 September 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2022.