Ephrem the Syrian and a New Beginning in Syriac Poetry
In the decades following emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity, imperial backing for this religion coincided with intensified religious competition and search for orthodoxy across the Roman Empire. I suggest that, in this context of renewed religious, but also literary, competition, a new self-awareness emerged in Syriac poetry, which ultimately reshaped Syriac poetics and led to the birth of Syriac literary criticism. This crucial and far-reaching transformation is instantiated in the work of Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373 CE), who made a case for the fundamental coherence of his poetry with Scripture.
Date: 15 January 2024, 17:00 (Monday, 1st week, Hilary 2024)
Venue: Venue to be announced
Speakers: Professor Alberto Rigolio (Durham University, UK), Prof Sebastian Brock (Retired Reader in Syriac Studies at the Oriental Institute and currently a Professorial Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford)
Organisers: Dr Thea Gomelauri (Oxford Interfaith Forum), Oxford Interfaith Forum (Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: oxfordfaiths@gmail.com
Host: Oxford Interfaith Forum (Oxford)
Part of: Eastern Christianity in Interfaith Contexts
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: https://www.oxfordinterfaithforum.org/thematic-international-interfaith-reading-groups/eastern-christianity-in-interfaith-contexts/ephrem-the-syrian-and-a-new-beginning-in-syriac-poetry/
Booking email: oxfordfaiths@gmail.com
Cost: 0
Audience: Public
Editor: Thea Gomelauri