c. 1999 Religion News Service

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. _ The banks of the Charles River may seem an unlikely place for a baptism, but early one recent Sunday morning, 14 people, including women and children, immersed themselves in the cool waters and were ritually baptized.

The group of worshipers, Mandaeans, had come to Cambridge from around the world to participate in a three-day conference at Harvard on the ancient religion, the first conference of its kind ever organized.

The conference, titled simply”The Mandaeans,”drew nearly 100 scholars, students, and adherents of the Mandaean faith, which is the last surviving sect of Gnosticism, a religious tradition whose central tenet is that salvation from this world is achieved through a secret knowledge, or gnosis.”This conference represents a major life event in the history of the Mandaeans,”said Gansfra Salah, a clergy member who bears the title,”Gansfra,”which is the second highest spiritual authority in the Mandaean tradition.

In addition to being the first baptism ever held in America, the conference _ sponsored by the ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies and Harvard’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations _ featured academic papers and presentations on Mandaean identity, religious mysticism, and John the Baptist, who is regarded by Mandaeans as their principle prophet.

The ritual baptism was followed by a”cultural evening”meant to share Mandaean culture with an audience that may have been unfamiliar with the tradition. The baptism itself was performed according to Mandaean tradition, which specifies that the ritual be conducted in fresh, running water _ the same type of surroundings as the river in which John the Baptist baptized Jesus.

Mandaeans are the only people who speak Mandaean Aramaic, a version of the language of Jesus. A panel of experts on this language was a featured part of the conference.

The understudied tradition dates back 2,000 years to the time of Jesus, although adherents believe their people are descendants of Adam and the first human beings. Similarly, their holy book, the Ginza Raba, is believed to have existed since the time of Adam.

The group originated in ancient Palestine, an offshoot of baptismal forms of religions that were related to Judaism. Strife in the area led to the group’s migration to Mesopotamia around 100 or 200 B.C.

Today, there are fewer than 100,000 Mandaeans in the world. Most of them live in Iran and Iraq, but unrest and persecution in recent years, particularly since the end of the Gulf War, has led to a scattering of the adherents to such locations as the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Belgium and England.

The Mandaean leaders preferred to focus on the study of Mandaean history and theology, not the problems facing their people in Iran and Iraq, for fear of violence against those Mandaeans who remain in their countries.”We have lots of problems, and we cannot talk about all of them,”said Gansfra Salah, speaking through a translator.”We are a very private people. We live in a peaceful setting, we like to practice our religion, we are seekers of knowledge,”said Ghazi Elmanahi, president of the New York-based Mandaean Society of America, one of two Mandaean organizations in the United States.”Lately, because of economic problems that came as a result of the (Gulf) war, it became necessary for our people to leave our country to seek refuge and safety,”he said.

Conflict in their home countries has led many Mandaeans to leave for more peaceful areas, in part because of a religious stricture against carrying, much less using, weapons.”Don’t carry weapons that are made of iron. Arm yourself with the weapon of Mandaeism, which is knowledge,”the Ginza Raba instructs.”That is why we don’t seek conflict, and when we confront it, we migrate to other places to live in peace,”said Saeed Moradi, a member of the Mandaean Society of America.

Conference organizers are hopeful the Harvard event can be replicated at universities around the world, educating a wider audience about the Mandaean tradition and culture.”This adventure of having this kind of academic and cultural event is very successful,”said Shafiq Abouzayd, chairman of the ARAM Society.

Abouzayd promised to organize future conferences about Mandaeism, which he called a”wonderful, rich, cultural tradition of the Middle East.”He also promised to publish academic works in ARAM’s periodical.

The clergy hope that more education about Mandaean tradition might awaken global consciousness.”It’s definitely of interest to more scholars of Mandaeism, not only as something to study, but as people who might need some support,”said Gansfra Salah.

DEA END LEBOWITZ