The Syriac World

by Daniel King (Editor)

This volume surveys the 'Syriac world', the culture that grew up among the Syriac-speaking communities from the second century CE and which continues to exist and flourish today, both in its original homeland of Syria and Mesopotamia, and in the worldwide diaspora of Syriac-speaking communities. The five sections examine the religion; the material, visual, and literary cultures; the history and social structures of this diverse community; and Syriac interactions with their neighbours ancient and modern. There are also detailed appendices detailing the patriarchs of the different Syriac denominations, and another appendix listing useful online resources for students.

The Syriac World offers the first complete survey of Syriac culture and fills a significant gap in modern scholarship. This volume will be an invaluable resource to undergraduate and postgraduate students of Syriac and Middle Eastern culture from antiquity to the modern era.

Chapter 26 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license.

Genres: History, Religion

894 pages, Hardcover

Published December 18, 2018

Reviews

[Solomon Chrysostom Selah]

Theological Doctrines and Debates within Syriac Christianity by Theresia Hainthaler. It traces theological/Trinitarian and Christological controversies within Syriac Christianity roughly chronologically, from the early centuries through the seventh century. The chapter opens with a survey of Trinitarian controversies and a brief account of doctrinal development in the early centuries, then focuses on how, after the Council of Chalcedon (451) defined two natures in one person (prosopon, parṣopa) of Christ, this teaching met resistance from supporters of the one-nature (mia physis) formula.
The specific controversies covered (in order):
1. Philoxenus of Mabbug vs. Ḥabib (representing the Edessene Theodorians)

2. Jacob of Sarug against the two-natures doctrine

3. Simeon of Beth Aršam (the "Persian debater") against East Syrian theology

4. Severus of Antioch against Chalcedon and the two-natures teaching, plus his disputes with Julian of Halicarnassus (Julianism) and Sergius Grammaticus

5. The controversy over Christ's knowledge/ignorance (the agnoetae debate)

6. The mid-sixth-century Tritheist movement, which caused a schism between Antioch and Alexandria

7. A split within the miaphysite camp over the resurrection body of Christ (John Philoponus)

8. A dispute between Severan monks and former miaphysites who moved to the Chalcedonian side over philosophical concepts — Probus and John Barbur

9. On the East Syrian side: debate within the School of Nisibis over Ḥenana's stance on whether Theodore [of Mopsuestia] should be regarded as the sole authoritative teacher

10. In the seventh century: Babai the Great's teaching became the dominant doctrine, while Martyrius/Sahdona (with his "one qnoma" teaching) was ultimately excommunicated by Catholicos Išoʿyahb III.

[Joseph Noun]

Great volume for those interested in a variety of topic in Syriac Christianity