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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. Corbett, They do not Take Wives, or Build, or Work the Ground: Ascetic Life in the Early Syriac Church 3 Herman Teule, Gregory Barhebraeus and his Time: The Syrian Renaissance 21 Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Women in Syriac Christian Tradition 44 Kathleen E. McVey, Images of Joy in Ephrem’s Hymns on Paradise: Returning to the Womb and the Breast 59 Geoffrey Greatrex, Khusro II and the Christians of his Empire 78 Members of the CSSS for 2002-2003 89 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ FROM THE EDITOR he third issue of our Journal con- University (Netherlands) discusses the intel- tains the transcripts of public lec- lectual career of the 13th century author tures given at the Canadian Soci- Gregory Bar-Hebraeus, who was also the ety for Syriac Studies in 2002 and highest Syriac Orthodox authority in the T2003. Thanks to its members and the finan- East. Bar-Hebraeus exploited Arabic trea- cial support of the online journal Zinda, the tises and was even influenced by some Mus- CSSS managed to invite our distinguished lim authors such as Ghazali, at the scientific, lecturers to share their academic research literary and religious levels. Teule’s article with us, and we are grateful to them for ac- highlights two facets of the personality of cepting our invitation to come to Toronto. Bar-Hebraeus. His open-mindedness led Professor John Corbett of the University him not only to accept all the other Christian of Toronto sheds additional light on the 4th denominations without reservation, but also century Syriac Book of Steps. Members will to appreciate the virtues found in other relig- recall Dr. Robert Kitchen’s lecture given at ions, such as Islam. His encyclopedic intel- the CSSS Symposium I (2001) on the ma- lect never prevented him from benefiting turing of asceticism in the Book of Steps (see from sources of knowledge written in lan- J-CSSS 2 [2002], pp. 30-45)—his English guages other than his native Syriac. While translation of this important source is also some modern scholars have dubbed him a now in press. Corbett demonstrates that the “vulgarizer”, he managed to write a Syriac biblical and New Testamental theme of encyclopedia of knowledge that covered all Holy War provides a fundamental symbolic the sciences known in his time. structure for the ascetic ideal in the Book of Professor Susan Ashbrook Harvey of Steps. This is a welcome discussion since Brown University discusses women in Fr. Robert Murray had already shown in his Syriac Christianity, gathering information very useful book Symbols of Church and from a variety of literary sources, none of Kingdom (1975) that the primary rationale them written by women. Her article clearly for the ascetic life in the Syriac tradition in shows, nevertheless, that in the Syriac general draws extensively on the same Christian culture women did not live on the theme, though this tradition seemed to him margins of their society but played pivotal absent from the Book of Steps. roles in the life of the church and in the Professor Herman Teule of Nijmegen community, as teachers, deaconesses, and ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies 3 (2003) - Page 1 From the Editor _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ counselors. This picture contrasts sharply spects, and a useful complement to contem- with the fact that Near Eastern culture was porary theology. normally dominated by men, in which case Finally, the article by Dr. Geoffrey women played no role other than being Greatrex of the University of Ottawa dis- “bearers of sons”. cusses the attitude of the 7th century Persian Professor Kathleen McVey of the king Khusro II toward the Christians of his Princeton Theological Seminary discusses empire. After conquering the Roman Near images of joy so numerous in St Ephrem’s East this king ruled over the largest Chris- Hymns on Paradise. This collection of po- tian community on earth, and he was forced ems is made accessible to the English- to deal with many conflicting Christian sects speaking public by Dr. Sebastian Brock of and denominations. Khusro remained neu- Oxford in his book St. Ephrem the Syrian: tral vis-à-vis the conflicts that occurred be- Hymns on Paradise (1990). McVey is par- tween quarreling Christian communities. A ticularly suited to talk about Ephrem since pragmatist, he favoured no one at the ex- she published other Hymns of this great poet pense of another. Despite the fact that he is in her Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns (1989). depicted by sources as a tyrant, he knew Her article explores specific analogies used Christianity better than any previous Persian by Ephrem in Hymns 9 to 11, where he in- king. vokes the bliss of infancy—mother, womb, And finally, on a celebratory note: our breast, milk, etc.—so as to describe Para- Society is three years old! We hope that it dise. She compares these themes with Near will continue to serve Syriac studies for Eastern wisdom literature, Jewish- many years to come. Christianity, and Stoic allegory, but finds Ephrem’s vision to be unique in many re- A.H. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies 3 (2003) - Page 2 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ THEY DO NOT TAKE WIVES, OR BUILD, OR WORK THE GROUND: ASCETIC LIFE IN THE EARLY SYRIAC CHURCH JOHN H. CORBETT UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO ecent work on the Book of Steps traditions in the Hebrew Bible (and the New (or Liber Graduum) has brought Testament), in a seminal article which still out the central role in the early has not received the attention it deserves. Syriac Christian tradition of the For those who follow Murray’s lead and Rsearch for Perfection in the ascetic life. link the ascetic practices and values of the What evidence does the Book of Steps give early Syriac Church to scriptural antece- us for the origins and structure of these as- dents in the Hebrew Bible, there remains the cetic practices and values? More bluntly, do central question of the structure and function these practices and values have a scriptural of the Gospel tradition, with respect on the basis in the Hebrew Bible and/or the New one hand to the traditions of the Hebrew Testament, beyond the ever present teach- Bible and, on the other, to the beliefs and ings and example of Jesus (or the words of practices of the early Syriac Church. These Paul)? beliefs and practices seem to richly reflect From the perspective of a historian of the Gospel tradition—but (with the excep- religion much of the belief and behaviour of tion of the homily in Aphrahat) only much the early Church seems to make a radical more opaquely do they attest to the structur- break with scriptural traditions in the He- ing presence of conceptions central to the brew Bible and the practices of late Second Hebrew Bible; in both cases the central or- Temple Judaism, for instance with regard to ganizing structures are rather obscure. fasting, celibacy, redemptive suffering (self- Following Murray and extending his ar- sacrifice), or from another perspective what gument,1 I will argue that conceptual struc- was described by non-Christians as tures associated with the Deuteronomic “promiscuous affection”. “Call to Holy War” underlie the tradition of Some time ago Father Robert Murray the ascetic life in the early Syriac Church, as shone a bright new light on some central will be evident from
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