Abstract
The editorial of SARA 4 introduces the papers featured in this issue and highlights key concerns and research initiatives in the field of Syriac Christian studies. It aims to reflect the recent surge of interest in this area on the international stage, with the hope that this trend will continue to thrive sustainably in the future.
DOI: 10.59277/SARA.2024.01
DOI: 10.59277/SARA.2024.02
Author: Sebastian P. Brock
Abstract:
For about 1000 years, from the 4th to the 13th century, Syriac and Greek hymnographical traditions interacted in various ways. Earlier on, the Syriac tradition enjoyed the greater prestige, but from the 6th century onwards Greek hymnography exerted an increasingly strong influence on the Syriac tradition; first, this was with the Syriac translations of the hymns of Severus, then from the eighth century onwards, with the canons of Kosmas, John of Damascus and others, undertaken in Melkite circles, but taken up in the Syrian Orthodox tradition as well. An Appendix identifies and lists the canons of Kosmas and John of Damascus which are to be found in the two printed editions of the Fenqitho.
Keywords: Greek, Syriac, Melkite, translation, hymnography, canons
DOI: 10.59277/SARA.2024.03
Author: Johan Andersson
Abstract:
This paper offers selected material from the research master’s program I completed at Sankt Ignatios College, University College Stockholm. For completing my thesis, I have been engaged in studying the development of the night office by comparing Manuscripts of the Mor Gabriel monastery of South-Eastern Türkiye during the years 1474-1900 A.D. In this article I present some findings and conclusions from my research.
Keywords: Šḥimō, Fenqiṯō, Liturgy of the hours, Mor Gabriel Monastery, Liturgical change, Night office, VHMML
DOI: 10.59277/SARA.2024.04
Author: Iskandar Bcheiry
Abstract:
The Syriac manuscript in the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, shelf marked A 12008, is a collection of homilies, most of which are by Jacob of Serugh. Among the many homilies in the manuscript, there is a discourse attributed to Timothy, the Presbyter, on “Simeon, the Elder and the Presentation of Our Lord into the Temple.” The Syriac text of this homily matches the Greek text of a homily attributed to Timothy, presbyter of Jerusalem, on the same subject; however, the Syriac unpublished witness contains some interesting variations in the form, structure, and content distinguished from the published Greek version in CPG 7405 (PG 86:252).
Keywords: Syriac Manuscript, Timothy the Presbyter, Syriac Homilies, Syriac Christian Literature, Syriac translation from the Greek
DOI: 10.59277/SARA.2024.05
Author: Joachim Jakob
Abstract:
Several Syriac texts of the period from the seventh to the ninth centuries were devoted to the religious challenge of Islam. A topic which emerges regularly in these texts is the so-called “‘new Jews’ theme:” Muslims and their faith were compared to the Jews and their faith by some means or other. Syriac authors resorted to anti-Jewish stereotypes from the pre-Islamic era and used these stereotypes to compromise the new religion of Islam in the eyes of their Christian readers. The similarities between Jews and Muslims regarding crucial Christian doctrines such as the Trinity and the Incarnation led Christian writers like Patriarch Timothy I (d. 823) to designate Muslims as “new Jews.” By comparing several Syriac texts on Islam from the period in question, the paper outlines the development of the “‘new Jews’ theme” in the Syriac Christians’ reactions toward Islam.
Keywords: Christian-Muslim relations, anti-Judaism, polemics, Timothy I, Theodore bar Kōnī, Legend of Sergius Baḥīrā, Nonnus of Nisibis
DOI: 10.59277/SARA.2024.06
Author: James Toma
Abstract:
The paper examines the formative stages of Islamic governance in Mesopotamia and its impact on the East Syriac leadership during the First and Second Fitnahs. It discusses the evolution of succession practices, contrasting a foundational social contract or a decentralized model that reinforced local autonomy in exchange for tax obligations with a change in strategy marked by ‘Abd al-Malik’s increasing intervention in Christian leadership. This shift represents a transition from a model of indirect control to one of direct intervention. Furthermore, the paper illustrates the development of relations between the Catholicos-Patriarchs and the Caliphs from their initial encounters up to the Second Fitnah. It explores the ecclesiastical leadership of Ishoʿyāhb III, Giwargis I, and Hananishoʿ I, highlighting their institutional responses to the various challenges of the time.
Keywords: Fitnahs, Caliphs, East Syriac Catholicos-Patriarchs, Umayyad regime, Christian leadership
DOI: 10.59277/SARA.2024.07
Author: Agapie Corbu, Filothei Vîlcu
Abstract:
Tears represent signs of the state of the soul. Just as there are many stages of the spiritual life and states experienced under the influence of grace or of the passions, so there are many kinds of tears. The Syriac Fathers do not speak systematically about spiritual weeping and tears. However, what we attempt to do in this paper is to illustrate tears as features of spiritual life of the monk, a major attention being given to their provenance and role, based on the brief naratives we collect from some compositions of Syriac mystics and church fathers.
Keywords: Syriac Fathers, mystics, weeping, tears, penitence, monastic life, meditation, spiritual stages
