DOCSLIB.ORG

Aphrahat: a Witness of Pre-Nicene Syrian Theology

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Aphrahat: a Witness of Pre-Nicene Syrian Theology CHAPTER ONE APHRAHAT: A WITNESS OF PRE-NICENE SYRIAN THEOLOGY In the past, various scholars have attempted to discern a primitive creed in the writings of the early fourth-century author Aphrahat— the first Syriac Church Father. To this end, a comparison with other Syriac authors was conducted to discover the traits of a quasi-creedal formula shared by early Syriac Christianity—designed primarily as a baptismal proclamation—distinct from those known from the Greek tradition.1 There seems to be a scholarly consensus regarding the basic absence of explicit trinitarian and Nicene theology in Aphrahat’s writ- ings and their merely rudimentary christology, which has prompted remarks concerning their “biblical” or “Jewish” character, and thus their theological inadequacy.2 Nevertheless, the Aphrahatian corpus is not entirely devoid of theology; moreover, “heterodox” theological 1 See R. H. Connolly, “The Early Syriac Creed,” Zeitschrift für die neutestamenliche Wissenschaft (1906), pp. 202–223, who discerns allusions to an actually existing Syriac symbol similar to those attested in the Acts of Judas Thomas and Doctrine of Addai (pp. 202–203); idem, “In Aphraates Hom. I 19,” Journal of Theological Studies 9 (1908), pp. 572–576; P. Schwen, Afrahat: Seine Person und sein Verständnis des Christentums. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Kirche in Osten (Berlin, 1907), pp. 56–59. Cf. H. L. Pass, “The Creed of Aphraates,”Journal of Theological Studies 9 (1908), pp. 267–284. Pass suggests that Aphrahat’s creed derives primarily from an old Jewish (non-Christian) creedal formula that did not survive in the rabbinic literature. See also M.-J. Pierre, Aphraate le sage persan: Les exposés, SC 359 (Paris, 1989), pp. 153–156. 2 See Connolly (“Early Syriac Creed,” pp. 202–203), who even sees some points in Aphrahat’s argument as anti-Nicene. According to Schwen (Afrahat, pp. 59, 62, 91), although Aphrahat’s church had a “tripartite” knowledge of faith, its form and content cannot be ascertained, and this knowledge in itself was not highly valued. Thus the trinitarian formulas, baptismal and otherwise, that nevertheless appear in Aphrahat should be understood as elements of a foreign outlook and as taken from the liturgy. See also F. Loofs (Theophilus von Antiochien Adversus Marcionem und die anderen theologischen Quellen bei Irenaeus [Leipzig, 1930], pp. 258, 260), who regards Aphra- hat’s christology as a basically Messsianic-Johannine one; J. Neusner, Aphrahat and Judaism: The Christian Jewish Argument in Fourth-Century Iran (Leiden, 1971), pp. 130–131; Pierre, Aphraate, pp. 144–145, 156–162. For a more complex background to Aphrahat’s thought, which may have included elements of Jewish Hellenistic and Greco-Roman culture, see R. Murray, “Hellenistic-Jewish Rhetoric in Aphrahat,” in R. Lavenant (ed.), III Symposium Syriacum: Les contacts du monde syriaque avec les autres cultures (Rome, 1983), pp. 79–85. 8 chapter one notions are evident, dispersed throughout the Demonstrations, his only surviving work.3 Various explanations have been offered for this situation. Some scholars regarded Aphrahat’s unelaborated statements as conditioned by the particular context of his expositions: be it a response to the theological query of his correspondent, possibly bewildered by Bar- daisan’s (ca.154–222) heterodox views, or a polemical agenda aimed at refuting Jewish arguments, with the apologetic framework dictat- ing tactical appropriation of the rival’s notions.4 Another ad hominem explanation relates to the non-theological hortatory context of many expositions directed toward Aphrahat’s fellow ascetics.5 Underlying some of these appraisals one may discern a motivation—conscious or unconscious—to overcome the inherent theological dissonance by viewing Aphrahat in light of mainstream theological tradition, par- ticularly Nicene theology and post-Nicene christology.6 3 Twenty three Demonstrations altogether have survived. For the Syriac text of Demonstrations 1–22, see ed. and Latin trans. I. Parisot, Patrologia Syriaca 1 (Paris, 1894). For Demonstration 23, see Parisot, Patrologia Syriaca 2 (Paris, 1907), cols. 1–150. For a French translation of the text, see M.-J. Pierre, Aphraate le sage persan: Les exposés, SC 349 (Paris, 1988), SC 359 (Paris, 1989). For an English trans., see W. Wright, The Homilies of Aphraates, the Persian Sage (London, 1869); for partial translations, see J. Gwynn, NPNF 13 (1898), pp. 345–412; Neusner, Aphrahat and Judaism, pp. 19–119. 4 See, for example, Connolly, “Early Syriac Creed,” pp. 203–206; Pass, “The Creed of Aphraates,” pp. 267–284; I. Ortiz de Urbina, “La controversia di Afraate coi Giudei,” Studia missionalia 3 (1947), pp. 85–106; Neusner, Aphrahat and Judaism, pp. 130– 131; A. H. Becker, “Anti-Judaism and Care for the Poor in Aphrahat’s Demonstration 20,” Journal of Early Christian Studies 10 (2002), pp. 305–327. I. Stuckenbruck (“The ‘Demonstration on Love’ by Aphrahat the Sage: A Translation with Introduction,” in P. J. Harland and C. T. R. Hayward [eds.], New Heaven and New Earth: Essays in Hon- our of Anthony Gelston [Leiden: Brill, 1999], pp. 250–253) discusses possible reasons for Aphrahat’s shift in later Demonstrations to anti-Jewish polemics. 5 For Aphrahat’s ascetic orientation, see, for example, S. H. Griffith, “Asceticism in the Church of Syria: The Hermeneutics of Early Syrian Monasticism,” in V. L. Wimbush and R. Valantasis (eds.), Asceticism (Oxford, 1995), pp. 220–245; D. Juhl, Die Askese im Liber Graduum und bei Afrahat: Eine vergleichende Studie zur früh- syrischen Frömigkeit (Wiesbaden, 1996); A. I. Lehto, Divine Law, Asceticism and Gen- der in Aphrahat’s ‘Demonstrations’ (Toronto, 2003). 6 See for example, F. P. Ridolfini (“Problema trinitario e problema cristologico nelle ‘dimostrazioni’ del ‘sapiente persiano,’ ” Studi e richerche sull’oriente cristiano 2 [1979], p. 101), who claims that in Aphrahat “there is nothing explicitly contrary to orthodox doctrine.” For an overview of apologetic approaches to Aphrahat’ theology, see W. L. Petersen, “The Christology of Aphrahat, the Persian Sage: an Excursus on the 17th Demonstration,” Vigiliae Christianae 46 (1992), pp. 241–256. According to Petersen, Aphrahat’s Christianity is “orthodox” in the sense that it represents a “normative” .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Download Article (PDF)
    RECENT PUBLICATIONS ON SYRIAC TOPICS: 2018* SEBASTIAN P. BROCK, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD GRIGORY KESSEL, AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER SERGEY MINOV, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD Books Acharya, F., Psalmic Odes from Apostolic Times: An Indian Monk’s Meditation (Bengaluru: ATC Publishers, 2018). Adelman, S., After Saturday Comes Sunday (Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2018). Alobaidi, T., and Dweik, B., Language Contact and the Syriac Language of the Assyrians in Iraq (Saarbrücken, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2018). Andrade, N.J., The Journey of Christianity to India in Late Antiquity: Networks and the Movement of Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018). Aravackal, R., The Mystery of the Triple Gradated Church: A Theological Analysis of the Kṯāḇā d-Massqāṯā (Book of Steps) with Particular Reference to the Writing of Aphrahat and John the Solitary (Oriental Institute of Religious Studies India Publications 437; Kottayam, India: Oriental Institute of Religious Studies, 2018). Aydin, G. (ed.), Syriac Hymnal According to the Rite of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch (Teaneck, New Jersey: Beth Antioch Press / Syriac Music Institute, 2018). Bacall, J., Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan (Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2018). * The list of publications is based on the online Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity, supported by the Center for the Study of Christianity at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (http://www.csc.org.il/db/db.aspx?db=SB). Suggested additions and corrections can be sent to: [email protected] 235 236 Bibliographies Barry, S.C., Syriac Medicine and Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq’s Arabic Translation of the Hippocratic Aphorisms (Journal of Semitic Studies Supplement 39; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018).
    [Show full text]
  • The Figure of Joseph the Patriarch in the New Testament and the Early Church
    ABSTRACT “Much More Ours Than Yours”: The Figure of Joseph the Patriarch in the New Testament and the Early Church by John Lee Fortner This paper investigates the figure of Joseph the patriarch in early Christian interpretation, demonstrating the importance of such figures in articulating a Christian reading of the history of Israel, and the importance of this reading in the identity formation of early Christianity. The paper also illumines the debt of this Christian reading of Israel’s history to the work of Hellenistic Judaism. The figure of Joseph the patriarch is traced through early Christian interpretation, primarily from the Eastern Church tradition up to the 4th century C.E. The key methodological approach is an analysis of how the early church employed typological, allegorical, and moral exegesis in its construction of Joseph as a “Christian saint of the Old Testament.” A figure who, to borrow Justin Martyr’s phrase, became in the Christian identity “much more ours than yours.” “Much More Ours Than Yours”: The Figure of Joseph the Patriarch in the New Testament and the Early Church A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of History by John Lee Fortner Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2004 Advisor ________________________ Dr. Edwin Yamauchi Reader ________________________ Dr. Charlotte Goldy Reader _________________________ Dr. Wietse de Boer Table of Contents Introduction 1 Early Christian Hermeneutics 1 The Aura of Antiquity 6 Apologetics of Hellenistic Judaism 8 Scope and Purpose of Study 12 1. Joseph in the New Testament 13 Acts 7 14 Heb 11 15 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Pneumatology of Ephrem the Syrian
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Dissertations (2009 -) Projects Fire in the Bread, Life in the Body: The Pneumatology of Ephrem the Syrian David Kiger Marquette University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Kiger, David, "Fire in the Bread, Life in the Body: The Pneumatology of Ephrem the Syrian" (2020). Dissertations (2009 -). 913. https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/913 FIRE IN THE BREAD, LIFE IN THE BODY: THE PNEUMATOLOGY OF EPHREM THE SYRIAN by David Wesley Kiger, B.C.M, B.Th., M.Div. A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2020 ABSTRACT FIRE IN THE BREAD, LIFE IN THE BODY: THE PNEUMATOLOGY OF EPHREM THE SYRIAN David Wesley Kiger, B.C.M., B.Th., M.Div. Marquette University, 2020 The fourth century debates about the status and personhood of the Son later expanded to reflections on the status and person of the Holy Spirit. In this dissertation I examine the pneumatology of Ephrem the Syrian, who is often over-looked in discussions about fourth century pneumatology. I argue that Ephrem displays a high pneumatology that fits within the broad contours of the pro-Nicene movement. I begin with a discussion of Ephrem’s Syriac heritage and focus on the themes and language surrounding the Holy Spirit in pre-Nicene Syriac texts. Pre-Nicene Syriac authors speak about the Spirit’s role in liturgical practices, often using feminine or maternal language to describe the Spirit’s work.
    [Show full text]
  • The Old Testament in the First Discourse on Martyrs
    Scrinium 17 (2021) 1–24 brill.com/scri The Old Testament in the First Discourse on Martyrs Hector Ricardo Francisco Assistant Professor, History Department at the Buenos Aires University; Researcher in the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina [email protected] Abstract The aim of this paper is to analyze the use of Biblical Testimonia in the First Discourse of the Holy Martyrs of the Land of Orient (BHO 706). It will be argued that the main purpose of the author was not only to promote the cult of their relics but also to dem- onstrate that the persecution was part of God’s plan for the Church. As long as Christ, the Apostles and the Prophets were Models for those suffering persecution, the Biblical text was the testimony of the truth of Christian Martyrdom. Moreover, by stressing the continuity between the Heroes of both Testaments and the Martyrs, the author was engaged in a controversy against Marcionism. Keywords martyrdom – homily – Marcionism – exegesis 1 Introduction The First Discourse to the Glory and Victory of the Holy Martyrs of the Land of Orient1 is a homily composed in Syriac in honour of the Christian martyrs. Although there is no clear indication about their identity, the current scholarly consensus agrees that the martyrs referred to in it were those executed in the 1 BHO 706, henceforth, First discourse. © Hector Ricardo Francisco, 2021 | doi:10.1163/18177565-bja10035 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0Downloaded license. from Brill.com09/27/2021 06:07:40PM via free access 2 Francisco persecution under Shapur II circa 340 AD.2 In the following pages I will ana- lyze the author’s use of biblical Testimonia in the definition of martyrdom and persecution.
    [Show full text]
  • Deca C) Hepta D) Tetra
    A 16132 120 MINUTES 1. How many odes are there in the collection entitled The Odes of Solomon? A) 40 B) 41 C) 39 D) 42 2. In which collection of his hymns did Ephrem write about events connected with the Persian war? A) Hymns against Arius B) Hymns on Church C) Carmina Nisibena D) Hymns on Fasting 3. Which type of metre (syllable) was first introduced by Harmonius and is frequently found in Syriac poetry? A) Penta B) Dodeca C) Hepta D) Tetra 4. Who wrote a historical poem on the invasion of the Huns in 395 A.D.? A) Balai B) Marutha C) Cyrillona D) Ephrem 5. Who is known as the “Tongue of the East”? A) Ephrem B) Narsai C) Jacob D) Balai 6. Who is the author of ܢܕܕ A) Jacob Bartulli B) Mar Eliya III C) Bar Hebraeus D) Abdisho of Soba 7. At what age did Jacob of Serugh compose his first memra On the Vision of The chariot by the prophet Ezekiel? A) 19 B) 22 C) 21 D) 25 8. Who composed the memra On the veil of Moses? A) Jacob of Baradaeus B) Jacob of Edessa C) Jacob of Bartulli D) Jacob Serugh 9. In Ephrem’s Hymns on Faith the last five hymns (nos 81-85) are grouped together under which suggestive title? A) ܬ B) ܬ C) D) ܬ 10. Who was the first to discover the poetic talents of Simeon the Potter from the North Syrian village of Geshir? A) Jacob of Ephesus B) Philoxenos C) Jacob of Edessa D) Jacob of Serugh 11.
    [Show full text]
  • Body and Soul M Ephrem the Syriand
    Body and Soul m Ephrem the SyrianD Jaehyun Kim· Prologue A good example of the perennial attempt of humans to find the origin and component of its nature can be found in the long history of soul and body, death and eternal life. Where do we come from? Of what is humankind comprised? What is our final destination? What would happen to body and soul after death? How do souls meet their partners in resurrection? We encounter all these questions not only in the Jewish tradition and Greek philosophers of Plato and Aristotle, and the Middle Platonists, but ' also in lengthy arguments of the Christian tradition.2l In Christian history, these issues have been expressed through cults of martyrs, venerations, saints, pilgr:.mages, relics, diverse hagiographies, and liturgies.3l Also we can easily see the recent * Princeton Theological Seminary, Ph. D. Candidate 1) A draft of this paper was read at the NAPS (Northern American Patristic Society), Chicago, IL, May 2002. I appreciate Dr. Kathleen Me Vey at Princeton Theological Seminary for her careful reading and comment. 2) Jan N., Bremmer, The early Greek concept of the soul, Princeton, N.j.: Princeton University Press, c1983; Aristotle, De Anima <On the Soul), trans. by Hugh Lawson, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1986; Simcha Paull Raphael, jewish views of the afterlife, Northvale, N.j.: ]. Aronson, c1994; C. Bynum, The Resurrection of the body in Western Christianity, 200-1336, New York: Columbia University Press, c1995; B. Daley, The Hope of the Early Church: a Handbook of Patristic Eschatology, Cambridge [England], New York : Cambridge University Press, 1991.
    [Show full text]
  • Aphrahat's Christology. a Contextual Reading by Emanuel Fiano Department of Religion Duke University Date
    Aphrahat’s Christology. A Contextual Reading by Emanuel Fiano Department of Religion Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Lucas Van Rompay, Supervisor ___________________________ Elizabeth Clark ___________________________ Zlatko Pleše Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2010 ABSTRACT Aphrahat’s Christology. A Contextual Reading by Emanuel Fiano Department of Religion Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Lucas Van Rompay, Supervisor ___________________________ Elizabeth Clark ___________________________ Zlatko Pleše An abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2010 Copyright by Emanuel Fiano 2010 ABSTRACT The present study represents an attempt at reading the views on Christ of fourth- century Syriac writer Aphrahat, author of 23 Demonstrations, within the context of coeval developments in Christian thought, especially in Syria. Given the breadth of the set of questions posed by the topic, these pages are not conceived as an exhaustive treatment, but rather as a series of incursions into a complicated terrain. The first chapter shows how scholars studying Aphrahat’s Christology have often worked, more or less outspokenly, on the basis of confessional and dogmatic assumptions. I will argue for a change in this regard. The second chapter discusses the Syriac version of the so- called “Eunomian interpolation” found in Pseudoclementine Recognitions 3.2-11, and attested in Latin and Syriac. Through a work of contrasting and comparing the two versions of the text, I will examine the strategies of which the Syriac translator availed himself to moderate the anti-Nicene peaks of the Greek original.
    [Show full text]
  • To View and Download the Full Journal
    The Canadian Society for Syriac Studies JOURNAL Volume 3 2003 ●John H. Corbett - University of Toronto ●Herman Teule - Nijmegen University ●Susan Ashbrook Harvey - Brown University ●Kathleen E. McVey - Princeton Theological Seminary ●Geoffrey Greatrex - University of Ottawa Toronto - Ontario - Canada Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies/ de la Société Canadienne des Etudes Syriaques The Journal of the CSSS is published annually, and contains the transcripts of the public lectures presented at the Society and possibly other articles and book reviews. Editor: Amir Harrak Assistant Editor: Adam Lehto Publisher: Antoine Hirsch The Canadian Society for Syriac Studies La Société Canadienne des Etudes Syriaques Society Officers 2002-2003 President: Amir Harrak Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer: Khalid Dinno Members of the Board of Directors: Samir Basmaji, Khalid Dinno, Grant Frame, Robert Hanna, Amir Harrak, Antoine Hirsch, Adam Lehto, Albert Tarzi The aim of the CSSS is to promote the study of the Syriac culture which is rooted in the same soil from which the ancient Mesopotamian and biblical literatures sprung. The CSSS is purely academic, and its activities include a series of public lectures, one yearly sympo- sium, and the publication of its Journal. The Journal is distributed free of charge to the members of the CSSS who have paid their dues, but it can be ordered by other individuals and institutions for the following fees: $25.00 for individuals and $50.00 for institutions. Payment must be made in US dollars for orders from outside Canada. See the address of the CSSS on the back cover. © The Canadian Society for Syriac Studies 2003 ISSN 1499-6367 Cover Picture Monastery of Mar Behnam the Martyr (Iraq): The small gate leading to the sanctuary The Canadian Society for Syriac Studies Table of Contents From the Editor 1 John H.
    [Show full text]
  • The Fourfold Gospel in the Writings of Ephrem the Syrian
    Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, Vol. 18.1, 9-51 © 2015 by Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute and Gorgias Press THE FOURFOLD GOSPEL IN THE WRITINGS OF EPHREM THE SYRIAN MATTHEW R. CRAWFORD DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGION DURHAM UNIVERSITY ABSTRACT: Ephrem of Nisibis is unique among patristic authors for having authored a commentary on Tatian’s gospel commonly known as the “Diatessaron.” In this article I examine Ephrem’s corpus to determine what evidence exists for his knowledge and use of gospel versions beyond that of Tatian, most especially the fourfold, or separated gospel. I point out that Ephrem, in keeping with Greek and Latin authors, occasionally used poetic imagery for the fourfold gospel, and, moreover, that he knew at least the Synoptic genealogies and the Johannine prologue as distinct texts. It is undeniable, therefore, that he knew of and to some degree used the separated, fourfold gospel, even if this remained slight in comparison with his reliance upon Tatian’s version. Furthermore, on six occasions Ephrem refers to an unspecified “Greek” gospel version. Previous scholarship has almost universally interpreted these passages as references to a separated gospel in Syriac, but I argue that these are best taken as references to an actual Greek version, and may well be allusions to a Greek edition of Tatian’s work. Ephrem’s usage of multiple gospel versions suggests that at this point in the Syriac tradition, the concept of ‘gospel’ was fluid and more undefined than would be the case in the fifth century when attempts were made to restrict its sense to the fourfold gospel.
    [Show full text]
  • Polarity: the Theology of Anti-Judaism in Ephrem the Syrian's Hymns On
    Polarity: The theology of anti-Judaism in Ephrem the Syrian’s hymns on Easter PJ Botha University oF Pretoria Abstract Polarity: The theology oF anti-Judaism in Ephrem the Syrian’s hymns on Easter In this paper, the polarity Jews Christians in the hymns on Easter oF the Fourth-century Syrian theologian Ephrem is investigated. This polarity is Found to be polemical against the Jews. But since polarity is a constant Feature in the work oF Ephrem which serves to communicate his theological Frame oF mind, the question is asked whether anti-Judaism does not also serve to convey theological ideas. An attempt is made to demonstrate that anti-Judaism indeed had a theological Function For Ephrem; Anti-Judaism seems to have been an aspect oF Christian selF-deFinition. It was also a way oF expressing the concepts oF theological balance and reciprocity. I. INTRODUCTION One oF the most noteworthy theologians oF the patristic era is also one oF the most neglected. Ephrem the Syrian (c 306-373) was born in Nisibis and became deacon in about 338. AFter the Persian occupation oF Nisibis in 363, he made his way to Edessa which then lay just inside the Byzantine Frontier. He declined the honour oF a high clerical position, but served the community oF believers in various ways. He acted as spokesman For his bishop, conducted the choir and taught theology at the Famous ‘School oF the Persians’ in Edessa (El-Khoury 1976: 16-20). Shortly beFore * Finan.<iielc onderstcuning van die Raad vir (ïccslcswctcn^kaplikc Navorsing in die voorbcrciding van hierdie artikel word hicrmce erken.
    [Show full text]
  • 165 Recent Books on Syriac Topics Sebastian P. Brock, University Of
    BIBLIOGRAPHIES Recent Books on Syriac Topics Sebastian P. Brock, University of Oxford The present listing continues on from previous annual listings in the first number of Hugoye each year from 1998 onwards. Once again it should be noted that reprints are not included (for a number of important ones, see http://www.gorgiaspress.com). 2003 H. Takahashi, The Greco-Syriac and Arabic Sources of Barhebraeus’s Mineralogy and Meteorology in Candelabrum of the Sanctuary, Base II (Occasional Papers, 48; Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 2003). 2005 C. Baumer, Frühes Christentum zwischen Euphrat und Tigris (Stuttgart: Urachhaus). M. Kadavil: The World as Sacrament. Sacramentality of Creation from the Perspective of Leonardo Boff, Alexander Schmemann and St Ephrem (Textes et études liturgiques 20; Leuven). J. Stassinet (ed.), Youakim Moubarac. Dossier (Lausanne: Éditions l’Âge d’Homme). 2007 C. Abdallah, L’architecture des églises maronites. Le traité liturgique et artistique du Patriarche Douaïhy (Kaslik: PUSEK Institut de Liturgie 40), 2 vols. D. Cerbelaud, Efrem il Siro. Giona. Inni sulla verginità 42-50 (Testi dei Padri della Chiesa 90; Magnano: Edizioni Qiqayon). A. Savarimuthu, A Study of Marriage Rites in the Roman, Chaldean and Indian Traditions (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation) 2008 E. Fiore, Sergio di Resh‘ayna. Trattato sulla vita spirituale (Testi dei Padri della Chiesa 93; Magnano: Edizioni Qiqayon). 165 166 Bibliographies H. Lehmann, Students of the Bible in fourth- and fifth-century Syria. Seats of Learning, Sidelights and Syriacisms (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press). M. Westerhoff, Das Paulusverständnis im Liber Graduum (Berlin: de Gruyter). 2009 V. Ianari, Isacco di Ninive. Grammatica di vita spirituale.
    [Show full text]
  • Fire in the Bread, Life in the Body: the Pneumatology of Ephrem the Syrian
    FIRE IN THE BREAD, LIFE IN THE BODY: THE PNEUMATOLOGY OF EPHREM THE SYRIAN by David Wesley Kiger, B.C.M, B.Th., M.Div. A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2020 ABSTRACT FIRE IN THE BREAD, LIFE IN THE BODY: THE PNEUMATOLOGY OF EPHREM THE SYRIAN David Wesley Kiger, B.C.M., B.Th., M.Div. Marquette University, 2020 The fourth century debates about the status and personhood of the Son later expanded to reflections on the status and person of the Holy Spirit. In this dissertation I examine the pneumatology of Ephrem the Syrian, who is often over-looked in discussions about fourth century pneumatology. I argue that Ephrem displays a high pneumatology that fits within the broad contours of the pro-Nicene movement. I begin with a discussion of Ephrem’s Syriac heritage and focus on the themes and language surrounding the Holy Spirit in pre-Nicene Syriac texts. Pre-Nicene Syriac authors speak about the Spirit’s role in liturgical practices, often using feminine or maternal language to describe the Spirit’s work. I proceed then to a discussion of the grounding principle of Ephrem’s theology, the concept of true and borrowed names. Ephrem’s focus on divine names shows a clear concern for and response to the theology of Eunomius and Aetius. The logic that Ephrem uses to combat Eunomius’s understanding of divine names bears a marked similarity to Basil’s logic in Contra Eunomium.
    [Show full text]