School of Edessa - Definition and Overview

The School of Edessa was the temporary home of the School of Nisibis from 363 until 489. In Edessa itself it was called the 'school of the Persians'.

The most important subjects taught at the school were theology and medicine. Its most famous teacher was Ephrem the Syrian.

The main theological authority of the school was Theodore of Mopsuestia from Antioch. In Edessa his work was translated into Syriac and became the foundation of the theology of the Assyrian Church of the East.

The school was closed in 489 for its Nestorian tendencies. But back in Nisibis it continued to grow and florish.