Religion
There was at least six monasteries and more than 40 churches within the Nochiya Region. The Nochiyaye were best known for their adherence to the Nestorian faith, religious customs such as lent and prayer were strictly observed. The Mar Ishu Monastery in the village of Mar Ishu was a theological school for priests and was run by the Metropolitans of Shamizdin, who would not tolerate any changes to the church's canon laws.
An Englishman visiting the Nochiya Region in the late 19th century noted that "there is perhaps no Assyrian district where simple piety and loyal devotion to the church of their fathers is more beautifully seen than Nochiya". Nochiyaye were and are still today most famous for their Nestorian faith and for being the guardians of the Assyrian Church of the East's canon laws, which they have faithfully preserved.
There were other important religious figures in the tribe, including two bishops, four archdeacons, twelve priests and a large number of deacons distributed among the clans. To this day, the majority of the priests and deacons within the Assyrian Church belong to the Nochiya tribe, including the Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV.
Read more about this topic: Nochiya Tribe
Famous quotes containing the word religion:
“To sum up:
1. The cosmos is a gigantic fly-wheel making 10,000 revolutions a minute.
2. Man is a sick fly taking a dizzy ride on it.
3. Religion is the theory that the wheel was designed and set spinning to give him the ride.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)
“Since belief is measured by action, he who forbids us to believe religion to be true, necessarily also forbids us to act as we should if we did believe it to be true.”
—William James (1842–1910)
“Disturbances in society are never more fearful than when those who are stirring up the trouble can use the pretext of religion to mask their true designs.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)