Sebastian Brock

  • Sebastian Brock is Emeritus Reader in Syriac Studies, Oxford University, and Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford.

  • Why Should We Be Celebrating Jacob of Serugh?

    January 20, 2021, at 10:00 am (Washington, DC Time)

  • Abstract

    What I plan to do is to suggest seven main reasons, devoting a few minutes to each:

    1. As an ecumenical figure;
    2. His place in the Syriac literary tradition, with specific reference to Ephrem and Narsai;
    3. As a possible source for Romanos; 
    4. His skill in retelling biblical episodes;
    5. His treatment of biblical women;
    6. His wider reception in the Christian Orient;
    7. and the enjoyability of reading him. 

  • Select Bibliography

    ‘Jacob of Serugh: A Select Bibliographical Guide”, Pages 219-244 in Jacob of Serugh and His Times: Studies in Sixth-Century Syriac Christianity. Edited by Kiraz, George Anton. Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies 8. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2010.

    ”Jacob of Serugh’s Verse Homily on Tamar (Gen. 38)”, Le Muséon 115:3-4 (2002): 279-315.

    The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life. Cistercian Studies Series 101. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications, 1987.

    The Luminous Eye: The Spiritual World Vision of St Ephrem. Rome: Center for Indian and Inter-Religious Studies, 1985.