Recently translated from Arabic- Saint John of Damascus the Gold-Streaming

[reposted with permission]

Saint John of Damascus the Gold-Streaming- A Historical Study
Ο Αγιος Ιωάννης του Δαμασκηνου Ο Χρυσορρόας
القديس يوحنا الدمشقي دفـّاق الذهب
(A.D. 655-749)

Secondary Source:
Rustum, Dr. Asad – The Church of the Great City of God Antioch, Volume II – A.D. 634-1453, Chapter 32: John of Damascus, the Gold Streaming, pp. 63-78, Manshurat El-Nour (The Light Publications), Beirut, Lebanon – Arabic
الدكتور أسد رستم – كنيسة مدينة الله أنطاكية العظمى – الجزء الثاني – 634-1453 م، الفصل الثاني والثلاثون: يوحنا الدمشقي دفـّاق الذهب، ص. 63-78، منشورات النور، بيروت، لبنان
Primary Sources: Quoted in the Footnotes
Translated from the Arabic to English by: Rev. Charles Baz

Translator’s Note:

The present historical work is an analysis prepared by the official historian of the Apostolic Church of Antioch, Dr. Asad Rustum (1879-1965) of blessed memory. The analysis presented—to whom all credit is due—is entirely the work and copyright of Dr. Rustum, published in Lebanon in Arabic over half a century ago. Due to its rare existence, the need for presenting it in English for Western readers cannot be undermined, especially to students of history and theology who may find it beneficial. Since there are several extant Vitae/Synaxaria concerning our Saint, consequently, some of these disagree among themselves on certain historical facts. A vita belongs to the field of hagiology which can be influenced by local customs and traditions, hence the probable cause of some variations among the different Vitae. Our Saint lived during a tumultuous period in Church history, a period which experienced the early rise of Islam, and, Iconoclasm. Only a solid historical presentation of our Saint, such as the one rendered by Dr. Rustum, can vilify the errors and speak plainly to us, especially today, when these two issues are again confronting Christianity. The defense of Orthodoxy, as rendered by Saint John of Damascus, was valid in the Eighth Century, and due to the current circumstances, it should be valid today as well. Any errors in translation are strictly mine, and I beg the reader’s forgiveness. It is ultimately to God that we owe our limited knowledge and our very existence, to Whom be the glory, forever, and ever, amen...

John the Gold-Streaming:

Saint John of Damascus was by all standards a prolific writer, having composed a host of works in theology, philosophy, argumentative essays, monastic instruction, biblical exegesis, and liturgical hymns. Be it as it may, our Saint remains a Theologian par excellence, for all “what he wrote, what he composed, and all what he argued for were but to affirm the truth of the inspired and holy writ, to introduce it, to make an apology for it, and, to reveal its inherent mystical element” (46). He is most known for the following works: The Fountain of Knowledge (47); An Introduction to Dogmas (48); The True Faith (49); The Holy Trinity (50); and, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (51). Foremost among these is The Fountain of Knowledge, which is composed in three volumes: The Philosophical Chapters, the Book against Heretics, and, an Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith. In his Introduction to this title, Saint John writes: “First, I will relate the best that the wise can offer, for that is a gift from God, then, I will discuss the madness of heretics, so that we may clinch to the Truth, and then, with God’s help, I will discuss the Truth which corrects errors and drives away madness.”

Saint John also strove to establish a link between philosophy and faith, such as when he said: “Since the Apostle charges us to ‘examine all things; and, hold to what is good,’ let us therefore examine the teachings of the wise among pagans, in hope that we may find in them something fruitful for the soul. Every craftsman needs his tools in order to accomplish his task, and likewise, every queen is in need for her maidens. Let us therefore gather those teachings which serve the Truth, after pruning from them the errors of falsehood blasphemy; let us not fail to be good, and likewise, let us not make use of the science of argumentation to mislead the simple ones. Even though the Truth has no need for different proofs, let us nonetheless make use of reason to expel madness and bring down the enemies of faith. In the end, it should suffice us to uphold what God has provided us, through His Son, His Prophets, and His Apostles, and we must be established in these, without changing or abandoning their eternal limitations” (52).

According to the Gold-Streaming John, the foundation of faith lies in the divine inspiration and not in human intelligence, for the soul is always in need of a teacher, and the Only Teacher who is free from error is Christ. Let us hear Him in the Scriptures. The soul which diligently knocks on the door on the garden of the Scriptures is like the singing of the Tree planted by the waters (53). John of Damascus was strict in upholding the Apostolic Tradition, since the Holy Scriptures affirm the same (54).

The heretics, on the other hand, attempted to uphold their false opinions through the philosophy of Aristotle, which caused John to shout at them: “Are you making a saint, or worse yet a thirteenth apostle, out of Aristotle? Do you dare consider the heathen one more important than the inspired writers?” (55). Then our Saint utilized the same method which the heretics adopted but instead reformed it with a Christian ethos, that is, he argued with them through the same philosophy of Aristotle. This task was not easy for John, in that the Aristotelian philosophy regarding supernatural powers stands at odds with the Church’s inspired doctrines, in matters such as the Mysteries of the Holy Trinity and the Divine Incarnation. This led the Damascene to reform certain Aristotelian ideas such as those pertaining to natural theology, ethics, and the immortality of the soul. He drew a lot from Aristotelian definitions, and went farther by adding to them “distinctions” among nature, essence, and hypostasis. This reform by our Saint laid the foundation of theological definitions as distinct from philosophical doctrines, and at once delineated the field of theology from philosophy, which ultimately set theology free from previous episodes of arguments, factions, and schisms. Having succeeded in his reformation, our Saint, while cognizant of the might of Aristotle’s philosophy, yet at the same time, he was capable of snatching it from the heretics, thereby subduing it and baptizing it to be of service for later theologians, in the examples of Peter Lombard and Thomas Aquinas. Thus, Saint John of Damascus became worthy of the title of Founder of Scholastic Theology (56).

Within the History of Christian Thought, Saint John of Damascus is essentially considered a Theologian of the Mystery of the Divine Incarnation. We see this topic recurring constantly in most of his theological treatises. He succeeded in finalizing the doctrine of the Hypostatic Union and laying the foundation of all successive theological thought. He also substantiated his treatises with solid Scriptural references and previous Patristic teachings, thereby leaving no room for doubt in his writings.

Within the field of Apologetics, from an argumentative literary standpoint, our Saint wrote a host of letters which were solid in content to the point that contemporary heretics were left powerless. Most outstanding in this field were his composition of the Three Letters in defense of Icons (57). It is very likely that he composed these letters between the years 726 and 730. To date, these letters stand out as authoritative in the Church’s teaching regarding the Veneration of the Saints and of their Icons.

If you make Fr. Charles your friend you can read the entire translated article here:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/rev-charles-baz/a-historical-study/320274216283

If you want me to post the article in entirety, let me know.

Masoretic & LXX differences in the Song of Moses

Eric Jobe, graduate student of Early Rabbinic Judaism at the University of Chicago (and author of the now defunct Qatl Qitl Qutl blog) writes on one of the canons sung for Lent:

In the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, sung during the first week of Great Lent, the irmos of the first Ode is taken from the Septuagint (LXX) version of Exodus 15:2, the Song of Moses, "A helper and protector, He has become my salvation..."

I noticed last night while singing this ode, that, in Hebrew "A helper and protector" would form a wonderfully assonant (repetition of sounds) word-pair: ʿōzer wa-nōṣer. I made note of it with the intention of looking up the Hebrew when I returned home. To my surprise, the Hebrew (Masoretic. Unfortunately the Dead Sea manuscript begins at verse 5) does not read "a helper and a protector" but ʿōzī wa-zimrat-yah "My strength and song of Yah." Glancing over at the LXX, I notice that it does indeed contain "a helper and protector," βοηθὸς καὶ σκεπαστὴς. All of the other versions, the Latin Vulgate, the Syriac Peshitta, and Targum Onqelos, follow the Hebrew.

So then, just how did this LXX reading come about? The first term is the easiest: the Hebrew ʿōzī "my strength" can easily become ʿōzer "a helper" if the tail of the letter yod at the end of ʿōzī is elongated, which was common in ancient manuscripts. The next term is a bit tricky and requires a bit of comparative Semitic work. The term in Hebrew is zimrat-yah "song of Yah." Zimrat, the construct of zimrah, is derived from the root zmr meaning "to sing" or "play music." However, this Hebrew root may be derived from two different proto-Semitic roots, *zmr or ḏmr (ḏ = th as in "this"). A glance at a Hebrew lexicon will reveal that there are in fact three different definitions of zmr. One is derived from the proto-Semitic *zmr, meaning "to sing," and another is derived from the proto-Semitic *ḏmr meaning "to protect." Aha! Now, we take the divine name yah tacked on to the end of the construct, and make it a part of the word, and we get a possible noun zmrtyh or zmrth which the translator could have taken to mean "protection."

This most likely came about because the translator expected two words that were roughly synonymous rather than semantically distinct. "A helper and protector" is more in keeping with typical Hebrew parallel repetition in poetry rather than two semantically distinct terms "my strength/a helper and song."

There is no judgment here about which one is "right" or "wrong." Both are theologically correct and meaningful. This note is only intended to illustrate just one more of the manifold ways that the LXX ends up with a different reading than the Hebrew, and how we end up singing what we do in church.

(reposted with permission)

Syriac "Lord have Mercy"

In his "Syrian Rite" volume Archdale King spends much time comparing liturgical practices of the "Jacobites", Maronites, and Syrian Catholics but he makes scant reference to Eastern Orthodox. (Maybe he spends more time on this in the "Byzantine" volume?) He does make mention a Syriac alteration to the Trisagion: "who was crucified for us" (destlebt hlofeyn), which evidently expressed enough of a wrong theological conclusion that it caused riots. If the Orthodox Antiochian church was using an earlier Liturgy of St. James, they were at least cognizant of theological subtleties. This added phrase remains in the Syriac Trisagion btw.

The Syriac liturgy does use a lot of Greek. In the cycle of Syriac prayers, Lord have Mercy is rendered in both Syriac and Greek, but it seems to be repeated more often in Syriac, at least in the daily prayers. I see no problem with using Syriac as long as its a natural extension of the parish. For example, there is a Russian priest in Jerusalem that sometimes uses the Turoyo dialect. We've had a few syriac-knowledgeable Eastern Orthodox folks from Syria pass through our parish over the years too.

Despite this, and despite the fact it has been used for centuries in the Orthodox Church, some would see any Syriac use as 'suspect' or not organic enough. But in our Syrian/Anglo parish, there we stand singing Lord Have Mercy in Arabic, Greek, and Swahili.

Blogger highlight: Roger Pearse & Abu’l Barakat

I came across an interesting blog post today regarding Abu’l Barakat, a medieval Arabic Christian. Abu’l Barakat devoted one of his works to listing all the Arabic Christian literature known to exist in the 13th century.

His list refers to stuff that no longer exists and tells us what undiscovered works might still be out there. It would be an important starting point for someone exploring patristic works in Arabic.

Hats off to Christian blogger Roger Pearse (maker of the Tertullian Project website) who recently commissioned the English translation of this work. The PDF can be found on Roger's blog at:

http://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/?p=3551

or you can download it directly from this link:

http://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Abu-l-Barakats-Catalog-trans.pdf

The Gospel of Matthew: The Torah for the Church

~ Lawrence Farley (Author)

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Understanding Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism, Schiffman

Understanding Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (Paperback)

~ Lawrence H. Schiffman

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Jacob of Sarug's Homily on the Chariot that Prophet Ezekiel Saw, Golitzin

Golitzin, Alexander. Jacob of Sarug's Homily on the Chariot that Prophet Ezekiel Saw Title: Jacob of Sarug's Homily on the Chariot that Prophet Ezekiel Saw Subtitle: Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug Series: Texts from Christian Late Antiquity 3 Availability: In Press Publisher: Gorgias Press Fascicle 14 Translation and Introduction by Alexander Golitzin ISBN: 978-1-59333-735-3 Availability: In_Press Format: Paperback, Black, 6 x 9 in Recognized as a saint by both Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian Christians alike, Jacob of Sarug (d. 521) produced many narrative poems that have rarely been translated into English. Of his reported 760 metrical homilies, only about half survive. Part of a series of fascicles containing the bilingual Syriac-English editions of Saint Jacob of Sarug’s homilies, this volume contains his homily on the Chariot which the Prophet Ezekiel saw. The Syriac text is fully vocalized, and the translation is annotated with a commentary and biblical references. The volume is one of the fascicles of Gorgias Press’s Complete Homilies of Saint Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain all of Jacob’s surviving sermons. In Syriac and English.

Golitzin, Alexander. Jacob of Sarug's Homily on the Chariot that Prophet Ezekiel Saw ISBN: 978-1-59333-735-3 Weight: 1 LBS. Price: $51.00

On Ascetical Life, St Isaac of Nineveh

On Ascetical Life St Isaac of Nineveh

Click to enlarge Isaac of Nineveh was a native of Bet Qatraye near present-day Bahrain on the Persian Gulf. A teacher and monk, he was consecrated bishop (ca. 660-680), but preferred to live out his live as an anchorite. A Scriptural scholar, he studies Scripture so much that he became blind and had to dictate his writings. He died at an advance age and was buried in Rabban Shabur, where he spent most of his monastic life. St Isaac's monastic anthropology has a major influence on all of Byzantine spiritual literature. The way toward God, in his writing, was threefold: the way of the body, the way of the soul, and the way of the spirit. In the first stage, the person begins with a total preoccupation with the passions and moves toward God by means of bodily works: fasting, vigils, and psalmody. The next stage involves a struggle against thoughts foreign to the nature of the soul, turning from created objects to the contemplation of God's wisdom and a transformation within. As the person arrives at a total openness of the soul to the future hope, he proceeds to the final stage of unified knowledge, which is an attitude of wonder and praise in continual prayer to God, leading to the freedom of immortal life that is given after the resurrection. This translation, by Mary Hansbury, of St Isaac of Nineveh's work On the Ascetical Life is based on the Syriac text edited by P. Bedjan in Mar Isaacus Ninivita, De Perfectione Religiosa.

The Jews in the Works of the Church Fathers

Krauss, Samuel. The Jews in the Works of the Church Fathers

Title:	The Jews in the Works of the Church Fathers
Subtitle:	Sources for Understanding the Agaddah
Series:	Analecta Gorgiana 67
Availability:	In Print
Publisher:	Gorgias Press
	By Samuel Krauss
ISBN:	978-1-59333-883-1
Availability:	In_Print
Format:	Paperback, Black, 6 x 9 in

In this stellar study of what the works of patristic authors such as Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, Ephraem the Syrian and Jerome reveal about the ancient form of the Aggadah, Samuel Krauss offers a remarkably favorable reading of the sources. The author’s interpretations of the portrayal of the Jewish people in these writers are provocative and insightful. Students of Early Christianity and Rabbinic literature alike will be intrigued by the depth of understanding of both traditions and the adept utilization of the patristic sources to illuminate early Rabbinic literature.

Christian Writers on Judaism

Moore, George. Christian Writers on Judaism

Title:	Christian Writers on Judaism
Subtitle:	Nineteen Centuries of Apologetics and Polemics
Series:	Analecta Gorgiana 49
Availability:	In Print
Publisher:	Gorgias Press
	By George Moore
ISBN:	978-1-59333-864-0
Availability:	In_Print
Format:	Paperback, Black, 6 x 9 in

Christian Writers on Judaism is a fundamental work which majestically traverses nineteen centuries of Christian literature regarding the Jews. The author begins with the apostle Paul in the fist century CE, Justin Martyr and Tertullian are other notable early authors addressed herein. In the medieval period Jewish converts to Christianity are of particular interest, beginning with Petrus Alfonsi in the twelfth century. Considerable attention is also given to Raimundus Martini. The discussion of the medieval authors takes the reader into the Reformation from which point this work makes a careful distinction between Protestant and Catholic approaches to Judaism. Finally this work concludes with the major thinkers of its author’s own day, notably F.C. Baur and Emil Schürer. Central to this discussion is the Christian conception of the literature of the Jews—the Jewish Scriptures; the Pseudepigrapha, Talmudic, Midrashic and Mishnaic literature; and Kabbalistic literature, especially the Zohar. Tracing the Christian responses to this literature and in turn to its readers Christian Writers on Judaism illuminates the developments within the Christian apologetic and polemic traditions throughout its history. This work is indispensable to the student of Jewish-Christian dialogue.

Early and Later Jewish Influence on Christianity, Burkitt

Burkitt, F. C. Early and Later Jewish Influence on Christianity

Early and later Jewish influence on Christianity ties together the three essays of this volume. Featuring the work of F. C. Burkitt, Antoine Meillet, and Laurie Magnus, this collection of essays explores the influence of Jewish tradition and scriptures on European Christian communities in the patristic and modern eras. Based on his extensive knowledge of early Christianity, Burkitt’s essay reviews the influence of Jewish ideology on early Christian theology and delves into how the Old Testament was treated from the Church Fathers up until the nineteenth century. Meillet’s contribution explores the influence of the Hebrew Bible on European languages of the modern period. As a renowned linguistic scholar, his essay artfully examines individual words and concepts that entered into common European usage. Revisiting the same concept, but on the broader basis of literature, Magnus considers the influence of the Old Testament on European literary works. Together these three essays demonstrate at a glance the breadth of Jewish influence on Christianity in its earliest days and in post-Renaissance European usage.

Francis Crawford Burkitt (1864-1935) began his academic career as a student of mathematics. While at Cambridge University he moved to the study of Divinity, eventually becoming the Norrisian Professor. His interest in the text of the New Testament led him to study Syriac manuscripts and to publish widely in the field. He was a fellow of the British Academy.

Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees in Palestinian Society

Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees in Palestinian Society (The Biblical Resource Series) (Paperback)

~ Anthony J. J. Saldarini (Author), James C. C. VanderKam (Author) "Recent research on the Pharisees has paradoxically made them and their role in Palestinian society more obscure and difficult to describe..." (more)

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Jews and Christians: The Parting of the Ways, A.D. 70 to 135

Jews and Christians: The Parting of the Ways, A.D. 70 to 135 : The Second Durham-Tubingen Research Symposium on Earliest Christianity and Judaism (Durham, September 1989 (Paperback)

~ Durham-Tubingen Research Symposium on Earliest Christianity and Judaism (3rd : 1994 : University of Durham) (Author), James D. G. Dunn

James D. G. Dunn (Editor)

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(Editor) "When did Christianity and Judaism part company and go their separate ways?" is one of those deceptively simple questions which should be approached with great..." (more)

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The Eucharist in the New Testament and in the Early Church, by Eugene Laverdiere

The Eucharist in the New Testament and in the Early Church (Paperback)

~ Eugene Laverdiere (Author) "How did people refer to the Eucharist before it had a name?..." (more)

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My Life In Christ by St. John of Kronstadt

My Life In Christ: Moments of Spiritual Serenity and Contemplation, of Reverent Feeling, of Earnest Self-Amendment, and of Peace in God by St. John of Kronstadt

St. John of Kronstadt (1829-1908), the great "Batiushka" of old Russia, recorded his reflections and meditations at the end of the day, on hundreds and hundreds of days, reviewing his sins, failures, insights and spiritual consolations. First printed in English in 1897, the subtitle of this book tells all: "Moments of Spiritual Serenity and Contemplation, of Reverent Feeling, of Earnest Self-Amendment, and of Peace in God" This volume is a treasure-house of Orthodox spirituality.

The Lives of the Saints of the Holy Land and the Sinai Desert

The Lives of the Saints of the Holy Land and the Sinai Desert
[LOS-3-HLSinaiDesert] $28.00


The third edition of this collection of over one hundred lives of holy hierarchs, martyrs, confessors, ascetics, and hymnographers, has been brought back by popular demand. This book includes many of the full and newly expanded lives of all the great monastic fathers of the renowned Judean monasteries of Saints Hilarion, Euthymius, Theodosius, Savvas, Chariton, Gerasimus, Cyriacus, Dorotheos, the Chozevite fathers, and others. Learn of the intellectual life at Mar Savvas by reading the lives of the great hymnographers, Saints John of Damascus, Cosmas of Maiuma, Andrew of Crete, Theophanes the Poet, and Stephen the Melodist. Read about the glorious Hierarchs Cyril, Leontius, Sophronius, Hesychius, Modestus I and II of Jerusalem, Porphyrius of Gaza, Theodore of Edessa and John of Kolonia, to name a few. See how the martyrs of the first centuries boldly confessed Christ before the pagan world. Learn of the struggles, temptations and victories of the ascetics of the deserts of Sinai and Raithu through the lives of Saints John of the Ladder, Gregory the Sinaite, Neilus and many more. Learn about the lives of women ascetics and martyrs such as Mary of Egypt, Melanie, Parasceve the New, Mastridia, Ennatha, Theodosia, Thea, Valentina, Hermione, Susanna the deaconess, and many others. Learn how the Judean monasteries and the cenobitic life shaped Orthodox monasticism for centuries to come. Discover where, how and by whom the Church's hymnody, liturgical order and dogma were developed, and whose Typikon has continued through the centuries to take first place among the Typika which regulate the liturgical order of the Eastern Orthodox Church. When Egypt slipped into heresy or schism and the Athonite monasteries were far into the future, together with the baptism of Russia, it was the Lavra of St. Savvas, with the other surviving Judean monasteries, which established the teachings, traditions, and standards accepted by the Church today. Translated from the Greek of The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church. 585 pp., 55 icons, 2 maps and glossary.

The hardbound texts of this series are profusely illustrated with icons, sketches and maps. The hardbound titles of our Lives of the Saints Series are a series of gold-stamped burgundy covers, with acid-free pages.

A complete listing of all the Saints is below:

* List By Day of the Month

The Life of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos

The Life of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos

Most complete text on the life of the Mother of God from her Conception to her Dormition and bodily translation, including her role in the Church, treated within the framework of Sacred Scriptures, Holy Tradition, Patristics and other ancient writings, together with the Liturgical and Iconographic Traditions of the Holy Orthodox Church. 640 pages, 300 icons, sketches, photos, and 4 maps.

The hardbound texts of this series are profusely illustrated with icons, sketches and maps. The hardbound titles of our Lives of the Saints Series are a series of gold-stamped burgundy covers, with acid-free pages.

The Paschal Fire in Jerusalem

The Paschal Fire in Jerusalem A Study of the Rite of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Bishop Auxentios of Photiki Foreword by Archbishop Chrysostomos of Etna ISBN 0–9634692–0–7 213 pp. $11.95

The history of the phenomenon of the Holy Fire is as obscure as it is unknown to most non-Orthodox Christians. Each year at Pascha, according to a living tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church, a heavenly light comes down into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and ignites a lamp which has been placed in the tomb. This history should certainly arouse the curiosity of anyone who is not a believer; it should help expand the knowledge of non-Orthodox Christians; and it will provide Orthodox Christians with a better understanding of a phenomenon deeply embedded in the historical Church’s ties to the Eternal.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian Translated by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery. The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian are sublime treatises on the life of prayer and stillness—hesychasm—and have been treasured by monastics and layman alike. These homilies have been translated from Greek and Syriac. The book includes other works attributed to Saint Isaac, and a history of the Church of Persia. A major work of scholarship. Now available as a spiral-bound photocopy.

Saint Ephrem's Commentary on Tatian's Diatessaron

An English Translation of Chester Beatty Syriac MS 709 with Introduction and Notes

Translated with introduction and notes by Carmel McCarthy

ISBN13: 9780199221639ISBN10: 0199221634 Hardback, 392 pages

Dec 1993, In Stock

Price:

$84.00 (08)

Description

This is the first English translation of the commentary by fourth century A.D. theologian Ephrem the Syrian on the Diatessaron --a Gospel woven from the text of the four Gospels, which predates our earliest evidence of the official Syriac translation of the New Testament. The translation fills a gap in scholarship and will be appreciated by patristics and biblical scholars, hagiographers, and historians of Christianity.

Reviews

"The translation is serviceable and illuminating....the commentary offers a fascinating glimpse of the style. exegetical method, and theology of perhaps the most important person in the history of early Syriac Christianity, and thus is of interest to New Testament scholars, textual critics, church historians, and liturgical specialists."--Religious Studies Reveiw

The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian

The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian

by Hilarion Alfeyev

Published: 2000
321p, Paper

The writings of St. Isaac are ’’a wonderful revelation to the world.’’ Here is a saint whose tradition was officially (but not essentially) Nestorian; a saint who relied on several authorities -- Evagrios of Pontus, Diodore of Tarsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia -- who themselves were condemned by Councils at one time or another; a saint who believed in the finite duration of Gehenna, itself interpreted in terms of the love of God offered to those closed to it. A patchwork and problematic resume indeed! But you will look far to find a spiritual writer who is so universally loved, memorized, and clung to as this, by Orthodox and non-Orthodox, by monastics and layfolk. Look anywhere in his writings (which themselves have a tortuous manuscript history and only appear in English in fragmented fashion) and you will find the clear rivers of living water which our Lord promised would well up to eternal life. Like Olivier Clement did with the classic patristic period as a whole in The Roots of Christian Mysticism, the author of this book has given us a topical anthology of the essential teachings of St. Isaac, generous translations interspersed with helpful commentary. It’s one of those books (like the Bible? the Philokalia? Climacus’ Ladder?) to which the echo of words such as ’’take off your shoes, for you are standing on holy ground’’ seems to cling.

Price: $29.95

A Syriac Lexicon, Sokoloff, Michael

Title:	A Syriac Lexicon
Subtitle:	A Translation from the Latin, Correction, Expansion, and Update of C. Brockelmann's Lexicon Syriacum
Availability:	In Print
Publisher:	Gorgias Press & Eisenbrauns
	By Michael Sokoloff
ISBN:	978-1-60724-620-6
Availability:	In_Print
Language:	English and Syriac
Format:	Hardback, Black, 7 x 10 in
Pages:	1738

Sokoloff, Michael. A Syriac Lexicon The second edition of Carl Brockelmann's Lexicon Syriacum, published in 1928, is rightly considered to be the best dictionary of Syriac ever written. However, its Latin language and the ordering of words according to triliteral Semitic roots make its use difficult for most students and scholars. Moreover, the dictionary was composed in an extremely concise manner, which meant that references were given without citing any of the text. This often makes the glosses impossible even for someone who knows Latin. In the 81 years that have passed since the book's publication, there have been great advances in both Aramaic and Semitic studies. Moreover, Syriac studies—especially the publication of the critical texts of classical authors, such as Ephrem—have greatly enhanced our knowledge of Syriac and have made the publication of a new and up-to-date dictionary imperative. However, because a new dictionary project does not yet exist and would take decades to complete, this edition of Brockelmann's work has been undertaken to make Syriac vocabulary more accessible to scholars, students, and Syriac speakers. Following are the changes introduced into the Syriac Lexicon in this revision: The meanings are given in English, not Latin The vocabulary is ordered alphabetically. All text citations have been verified by consulting the original publications, and where new critical editions have appeared (e.g., those of E. Beck for the works of Ephrem), references have been changed to point to the new editions. Text citations with partial or complete translations have now been provided. All of the etymologies have been thoroughly revised. Two electronic indexes (English-Syriac and Text References) have been prepared. This dictionary is an essential tool for anyone working in Syriac studies, Semitic linguistics, and biblical studies.

Sokoloff, Michael. A Syriac Lexicon ISBN: 978-1-60724-620-6 Weight: 1 LBS. Price: $149.50

Concerning Frequent Communion by Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite

Concerning Frequent Communion by Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite

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The Second Volume in the Series: The Works of Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite

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CONCERNING FREQUENT COMMUNION OF THE IMMACULATE MYSTERIES OF CHRIST
by our Righteous God-bearing Father
Nikodemos the Hagiorite

PREFACE BY ARCHIMANDRITE CHRYSOSTOM MAIDONES

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life;
and I will raise him up at the last day. (Jn. 6:54)

These words of our Lord Jesus Christ have been, since the moment
they were spoken, a “scandal” and stumbling block, and a point of
departure for all who could not see in them “words of eternal life”
(Jn. 6:58). The misconceptions and mis-interpretations continue to
exist today, as does the need for a patristic and pastoral response.
Just such a reply exists in Saint Nikodemos’ renowned work,
Concerning Frequent Communion. The pious reader will find therein
answers, combed from the entire patristic tradition, to such questions
as: How should I approach the Holy Mysteries? What preparation is
necessary? How often should I commune? And, what does it mean to
be “worthy” of Holy Communion? Based upon and gathered from the
teachings of the Holy Fathers of the Church, Concerning Frequent
Communion provides a much needed, comprehensive and “catholic
corrective” to the variety of one-sided approaches so prevelant today.

This, the second volume in the series The Works of Saint Nikodemos the
Hagiorite, includes a thorough explanation of the Lord’s Prayer, an
apology for frequent communion, answers to objections and clarifications
of misconceptions. This edition is further enriched with a brief
history of the book’s compilation and two appendices on the Divine
Eucharist from other works of Saint Nikodemos.

In Quest of the Historical Pharisees

In Quest of the Historical Pharisees (Paperback)

~ Jacob Neusner

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(Author), Jacob Neusner; Bruce D. Chilton (Editor)
Key Phrases: agricultural taboos, priestly rations, cultic cleanness, Rabban Gamaliel, New Testament, Holy Things (more...)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a provocative and engaging study that invites the reader to wrestle with the complexity of the sources and to come to their own synthetic conclusions. In the hands of ordinary most-modernists, such a de-centered approach to a historical question might be counterproductive, but in the hands of the learned colleagues Neusner and Chilton have here assembled, the exercise becomes a very effective way of enabling contemporary students to wrestle with difficulties of the ancient sources. --Harry Attridge, Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament and Dean of the Divinity School, Yale University

This is an important book in so many ways. It demonstrates eloquently that "what we can't show, we don't know" that much of what we assert about Pharisees is simply not supported by the evidence. But it also reminds us that "objective" description is not a matter of either choosing or amalgamating sources, but of realizing that how the Pharisees were perceived and presented is indeed also some part of who they were. We also see how interpretation reveals the interpreter as well as the text: in these assured and well-informed analyses, we also discern the moral and intellectual character of the scholar. Not least, we are confronted with those other Pharisees of Jewish and Christian mythology and contemporary critical controversy, who long outlived their historical counterparts but who still haunt and fascinate us. --Philip Davies, Professor Emeritus, Department of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield

Whether as parents, foils, or both, the Pharisees have always been a focus of interest for anyone interested in the genesis of Christianity or of rabbinic Judaism. This volume allows serious readers an opportunity to learn the sources, to follow the debates, and so to understand and assess a revolution in historical and theological scholarship. --Daniel R. Schwartz, Professor of Ancient Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Product Description

This work sketches the many portraits of the Pharisees that emerge from ancient sources. Based upon the Gospels, the writings of Paul, Josephus, the Mishnah, the Tosefta, and archeology, the volume profiles the Pharisees and explores the relationship between the Pharisees and the Judaic religious system foreshadowed by the library of Qumran. A great virtue of this study is that no attempt is made to homogenize the distinct pictures or reconstruct a singular account of the Pharisees; instead, by carefully considering the sources, the chapters allow different pictures of the Pharisees to stand side by side.

Wisdom of Isaac

Someone who has actually tasted truth is not contentious for truth. Someone who is considered by people to be zealous for truth has not yet learnt what truth is really like; once he has truly learnt it, he will cease from zealousness on its behalf.

- Isaac of Nineveh (2nd Part, Kephalaia IV)