THEO 5380 Introduction to Syriac Christianity

This course is an introduction to Syriac Christianity from its origins in second-century Roman Edessa to its flourishing in the ninth-century Abbasid caliphate. Syriac was the dialect of Aramaic spoken at Edessa and became the lingua franca for most Christians who lived in the Middle East during Late Antiquity, whether in the Roman empire, Sasanian empire, or Islamic caliphate. We will examine the ecclesial development of Syriac Christianity into several non-Chalcedonian churches; the reception of the Bible in Syriac; Syriac liturgy and liturgical poetry; and Syriac Christians contribution to theological controversies of the patristic era, among other things.