Hardback | |
January 13, 2023 | |
9780813235738 | |
English | |
450 | |
8.50 Inches (US) | |
5.50 Inches (US) | |
$45.00 USD | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Songs for the Fast and Pascha
Among the writers of the Syriac Christian tradition, none is as renowned as St. Ephrem of Nisibis (ca. 307–373), known to much of the later Christian world simply as "the Syrian." The great majority of Ephrem's works are poetry, with the madrāšē ("teaching songs") especially prominent.
This volume presents English translations of four complete madrāšē cycles of Ephrem: On the Fast, On the Unleavened Bread, On the Crucifixion, and On the Resurrection. These collections include some of the most liturgically oriented songs in Ephrem's corpus, and, as such, provide a window into the celebration of Lent and Easter in the Syriac-speaking churches of northern Mesopotamia in the fourth century. Even more significantly, they represent some of the oldest surviving poetry composed for these liturgical seasons in the entire Christian tradition. Not only are the liturgical occasions of the springtime months a source of colorful imagery in these texts, but Ephrem also employs traditional motifs of warm weather, spring rainstorms, and revived vegetation, which likely reflect Hellenistic literary influences.
Like all of Ephrem's poetry, these songs express early Christian theology in language that is symbolic, terse, and vibrant. They are rich with biblical allusions and references, especially to the Exodus and Passion narratives. They also reveal a contested religious environment in which Ephrem strove to promote the Christian Pascha and Christian interpretations of Scripture over and against those of Jewish communities in the region, thus maintaining firm boundaries around the identity and practices of the churches.
This volume presents English translations of four complete madrāšē cycles of Ephrem: On the Fast, On the Unleavened Bread, On the Crucifixion, and On the Resurrection. These collections include some of the most liturgically oriented songs in Ephrem's corpus, and, as such, provide a window into the celebration of Lent and Easter in the Syriac-speaking churches of northern Mesopotamia in the fourth century. Even more significantly, they represent some of the oldest surviving poetry composed for these liturgical seasons in the entire Christian tradition. Not only are the liturgical occasions of the springtime months a source of colorful imagery in these texts, but Ephrem also employs traditional motifs of warm weather, spring rainstorms, and revived vegetation, which likely reflect Hellenistic literary influences.
Like all of Ephrem's poetry, these songs express early Christian theology in language that is symbolic, terse, and vibrant. They are rich with biblical allusions and references, especially to the Exodus and Passion narratives. They also reveal a contested religious environment in which Ephrem strove to promote the Christian Pascha and Christian interpretations of Scripture over and against those of Jewish communities in the region, thus maintaining firm boundaries around the identity and practices of the churches.
About the Author
Blake Hartung is an Instructor of Religious Studies and History at Arizona State University. Joshua Falconer is a Doctoral candidate in Semitic Languages and Literatures at The Catholic University of America. J. Edward Walters is Syriac Manuscript Cataloger, Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Minnesota.
The Catholic University of America Press | |
Fathers of the Church Patristic Series | |
|
|
Hardback | |
January 13, 2023 | |
9780813235738 | |
English | |
450 | |
8.50 Inches (US) | |
5.50 Inches (US) | |
$45.00 USD | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Other Titles by St Ephrem The Syrian
The Hymns on Faith
St. Epharim the Syrian, translated by Jeffrety Thomas Wicker
May 2017
- The Catholic University of America Press
$45.00 USD
- Paperback / softback
Selected Prose Works
St. Ephrem the Syrian
Nov 2004
- The Catholic University of America Press
$45.00 USD
- Paperback / softback
Other Titles from Fathers of the Church Patristic Series
Writings on the Apocalypse
Francis Gumerlock
Aug 2022
- The Catholic University of America Press
$45.00 USD
- Hardback
Commentary on the Psalms, 1-72
translated by ROBERT HILL
Mar 2022
- The Catholic University of America Press
$45.00 USD
- Paperback / softback
Commentary on the Psalms, 73-150
translated by ROBERT HILL
Mar 2022
- The Catholic University of America Press
$45.00 USD
- Paperback / softback
Other Titles in RELIGION / Christianity / Catholic
Reading the Song of Songs with St. Thomas Aquinas
Serge-Thomas Bonino, translated by Andrew Levering
Mar 2023
- The Catholic University of America Press
$65.00 USD
- Hardback
Kneeling Theology
Anton Strukelj, foreword by Elden Francis Curtis
Mar 2023
- The Catholic University of America Press
$34.95 USD
- Paperback / softback