Search Results (13)

The dialogue between Christianity and Buddhism began during the Tang dynasty (618–907) when East Syrian Christian missionaries from Persia arrived in China in 635. At this time, Buddhism was prospering under the Tang Empire, and the “Church of the East” was established, known as the “Brilliant (or Radiant) Teaching” (Jingjiao 景教). Historical records and archaeological evidence indicate that the Jingjiao church employed the method of “matching concepts” (geyi 格義). This methodology, initially utilized in the early stages of Buddhism’s dissemination from India and Central Asia to China for the translation of Buddhist texts, was similarly applied to the translation of Christian texts and concepts. These translation efforts and dissemination activities represent the earliest documented encounters between Christianity and Buddhism in premodern times. Furthermore, recent archaeological discoveries reveal that the dialogue between the two religions in China transpired through textual and visual representations (iconography) in the form of “borrowing pictures”. This study investigates these interactions across disciplines, exploring the evidence of early cultural exchange between Buddhism and Christianity while reviewing the motivations behind the missionaries’ translation and dissemination activities. It addresses pivotal questions regarding these early dialogues by examining the proselytization strategies employed and analyzing the reasons why imperial authorities sanctioned Christian activities and facilitated their propagation during the Tang dynasty. Full article

While scholars have long recognized the central importance of the cross within Syriac-speaking Christian communities in late antique Mesopotamia, the question of how physical crosses functioned as aids for prayer has only recently begun to be explored. The present article addresses this question with respect to East Syrian monastic communities in seventh-century Mesopotamia, focusing on the context of the monastic cell. Bringing together accounts of cross-directed prayer in Syriac monastic literature with archaeological evidence for crosses from the region, the article concludes that physical crosses played an important role as mediating devices of divine presence that were both always at hand and the frequent objects of monastics’ sensorial attention. These conclusions are subsequently discussed through the lens of recent research from the field of new media studies toward the goal of understanding how cross-directed prayer may have served to bridge monastic spirituality and sociality in Mesopotamia. Full article

A group of Syriac Christian believers existed during the fourth century called the Bnay Qyōmo (with their female counterparts known as the Bnoth Qyōmo): the Sons and Daughters of the Covenant. There has been considerable controversy about the nature of this archaic Syrian monastic movement or, as it is known to some scholars, the Syriac “Proto-Monastic Tradition”. The controversy has not only been about the name, but also the origin, habits, and ascetic way of life of the Bnay Qyōmo. The intention of the present article is not to elaborate on the various terminology used to describe the Bnay Qyōmo or the nature of their vows and expected duties as introduced by Aphrahat and other Syrian Fathers, for these have been studied by many scholars. Rather, the intention of this article is to review some of the material discussing this group by key Syriac Fathers to present a fresh reading of the historical record to better apprize the order’s regulations and its social and ecclesiastical roles within the Syriac-speaking Church during the fourth and fifth centuries AD. The main Syriac writers who dealt with this topic were Aphrahat, known as “the Persian Sage” (ca. 260–345), and Rabūla, Bishop of Edessa (flor. 420s). Whilst the order appears to have declined by about the eighth century, understanding the roles of the Bnay Qyōmo during the earlier period (the focus of this writing) is crucial for explaining the development of the Syriac Tradition. Full article

In 2009, Michael Penn published a transcription and English translation of two Syriac texts, To the Rulers of the World (ܠܘܬ ܪ̈ܝܫܢܐ ܕܥܠܡܐ) and Concerning the Entrance before a New Emir (ܕܡܥܠܬܐ ܨܝܕ ܐܡܝܪܐ ܚܕܬܐ). This essay proposes a new historiographical approach to these texts based on the concepts and theoretical apparatus of systems intelligence theory and affect theory. I show how these texts use key Islamic theological and cultural ideas that would affectively resonate with the Muslim authorities while remaining non-objectionable to the orthodoxy of the Assyrian Church of the East. Specifically, I argue that Christians sometimes sought to curry favor with Islamic authorities not so much through logical persuasion, but by creating a sense of affective coherence through attunement to the discursive and theological systems of Islam. Through this strategy, Christians perhaps hoped to gain some small measure of political and religious advantage, especially over and against other Christian jurisdictions, such as the Syrian Orthodox Church. I conclude by discussing what methodological prospects these approaches can offer to the subfield, particularly if combined with other theories that similarly remain underused. Full article

This study examines how Christian–Muslim relations are presented in Syrian history textbooks and deployed by the embattled regime of Bashar al-Asad in its quest for legitimacy both at home and abroad since the eruption of the war that displaced half the country’s population. To that end, Critical Discourse Analysis is applied to selected texts from the school curricula stressing the harmonious coexistence between the country’s only two officially recognized faiths (Islam and Christianity), in addition to the Syrian Christians’ commitment to national unity from time immemorial, as nationalist discourses retrospectively assert. The historical narratives in question are juxtaposed with the ideological inconsistencies of the Arab nationalist Ba’th party that has ruled Syria since 1963 vis-à-vis religious sects and minorities, while being discussed against the backdrop of the recent geopolitical developments. Full article

This article briefly epitomizes violence in the broad context of Eastern Christianity, and secondly deals with the transfer of this phenomenon in Syriac Christianity, for the reason that this has not been studied as much as in the Byzantine literature. The purpose is to demonstrate that identity-based violence was a feature included in the narratives of antique and medieval Eastern Christian discourses, this being closely linked to the struggle for ecclesiastical primacy and political power. The paper discusses paradigmatic cases, methodologically studied in their context, of Christian individuals and religious characters that suffered or acted against rivals with violence. The main focus is on historical and historiographical sources illustrating: (1) Syriac communities and factions defending their identity through language or acts of violence; and (2) identity-based confrontations within the Syriac family: factions within the same community, or sister Churches that became rivals (Syriac Orthodox against East Syrians) instrumentalizing the language of violence, mostly actions of destruction, against their opponents. The conclusion indicates that perseverance in defending the truth, as part of their identity, made the communities opt for confrontation, and when one endured violence, one accepted this on the models of the martyrs and the imitatio Christi. Full article

While studies indicate that Pentecostal teachings center the egalitarian move of the Holy Spirit with empowering effects on the social lives of the Dalits in the South Indian Pentecostal landscape, the persistence of ethnocentric behavior from “Syrian Christian” Pentecostals continues. Hence, this paper focuses on exploring the historical development of a Syrian Christian identity marker as a privileged one that became prefixed by the Pentecostals in Kerala, especially in Travancore. In this regard, this paper seeks to answer questions such as: How did caste dynamics structure the formation of Christian communities in Kerala? How did the historical Western missionary interactions deal with local caste-influenced distinctions (especially between the “Syrian Christian” and Dalit communities)? How did Pentecostalism challenge and perpetuate the Syrian Christian caste identity? Through an intersectional (religion and caste) historical analysis, this paper shows that the Syrian Christian community has been integrated into the caste system for the last two thousand years of Christian history in Kerala. At the same time, via a more inclusive historical narrative, the paper highlights Dalit conversions to Christianity since the sixteenth century as a critique against the privileged status of Syrian Christianity, even more so when Pentecostalism arrived at its shores, impacting the emergence of Dalit Pentecostalism. Full article

This paper analyzes the conceptualization of ideas of race in three historical novels in the fictional work of Jurji Zaydan (1861–1914), a Syrian Christian intellectual who wrote on the Golden Ages of Islamic History through serialized, popular works of historical fiction. In the novels analyzed, Fath al-Andalus (Conquest of Andalusia), Abbasa Ukht al-Rashid (The Caliph’s Sister), and al-Amin wa al-Ma’mun (The Caliph’s Heirs), Zaydan depicts hierarchies of race that are delineated by certain features and categories, especially within the Abbasid among household slaves, and also centers the conflict within the novels around issues of differences in race and lineage. Zaydān shows the importance of rifts in Islamic history stemming from categorizations and distinctions between Arab and non-Arab, or Arab and Persian, or mawāli. The novels also reflect the self-conceptualization of Egyptians in relation to their perceptions of the Sudanese, at a time of the rise of Arab nationalism, in late 19th and early 20th centuries. Full article

This paper brings together two different communities, Kabyles (Amazighs) and Syrian Christians, who are nevertheless marked by some commonalities: a strong diasporic dispersal as a historical experience, political, cultural and linguistic marginalization in their countries of origin, the deep association of collective identity with an “endangered” heritage language, a lived experience of multilingualism, and a post-emigration struggle of language maintenance and transmission. The Kabyles have roots in northern Algeria, and associate their language, Kabyle, with a pre-Arabized history of northern Africa, with claims to cultural authenticity and indigeneity. This paper focuses on research conducted in the UK, a relatively new immigrant setting for this community. The Syrian Christians originate from Turkey and have dispersed across different European countries since the 1960s. They make strong identity claims to Aramaic, “the language of Jesus”, yet have also found its preservation and intergenerational transmission challenging. This paper focuses on research conducted in the German speaking context. Drawing on ethnographic research with these communities, we bring their post-migration language preservation activisms into a dialogue. This shows the enduring significance of the heritage language for social, cultural and historical identity, despite considerable language decline. It also demonstrates that the current survival of the “mother tongue” hinges on multilingual and multi-sited language activisms which bear the hallmarks of both new creativities and diminishing fluencies. Full article

The geological materials used in early Christian Syrian churches involve a lithic furnishing element: the lectern throne of the Syriac bema, a stone device used as a support for the holy books. Some inscriptions found in Syria suggest an interpretation for this artifact, located in the middle of the Syriac bema hemicycle, fronting the altar zone. These elements were made of basalt or limestone, depending on the geographical–geological context of the building. In this work, an unedited classification of the main typologies of thrones is proposed with a collatio between geo-archaeological data, epigraphic texts, mosaic inscriptions, literary sources, and findings. The role of this uncommon piece of furniture, uncertain up to now, is explained with a new interpretation coming from archaeological–architectural data combined with ancient sources. The study thus locates this architectonical sculpture in the building stratigraphy and also describes decorations from the lecterns, thus contributing to chronology analysis of published and unedited Syrian sites. Full article

In this article, I consider how an integration of Dalit theology and Indian Christian history could help Dalit theologians in their efforts to connect more deeply with the lived realities of today’s Dalit Christians. Drawing from the foundational work of such scholars as James Massey and John C. B. Webster, I argue for and begin a deeper and more comprehensive Dalit reading and theological analysis of the history of Christianity and mission in India. My explorations—touching on India’s Thomas/Syrian, Catholic, Protestant, and Pentecostal traditions—reveal the persistence and complexity of caste oppression throughout Christian history in India, and they simultaneously draw attention to over-looked, empowering, and liberative resources that are bound to Dalit Christians lives, both past and present. More broadly, I suggest that historians and theologians in a variety of contexts—not just in India—can benefit from blurring the lines between their disciplines. Full article

This article addresses issues and questions at the intersection of religion and theatrical drama from the perspective of Muslim-Christian comparative theology. A case study approaching an actual performance of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet from this disciplinary point of view also takes into account the Syrian context, develops a framework for “mutual witnessing”, and the practice of drama therapy. Accordingly, the case-method proceeds to address two interrelated challenges. The first is how to relate to the adaptive praxis and theological sensibilities of performers who inhabit a political and religious situation that is radically different from one’s own. The second regards in a more specific way of reframing a case of Christian martyrdom in terms of witnessing that remains open and hospitable to religious others, and particularly in this case to Syrian Muslims. As an exercise of comparative theology, this case-method approach focuses on notions of “witnessing truth” that appear and are cultivated in the work of liberation theologian Jon Sobrino and in Ibn ‘Arabī’s Fusūs al-Hikam, specifically the chapter on Shuayb. In conclusion, this exercise turns to the performance itself as a potential foundation for shared theological reflection between Muslims and Christians. As such, this article attempts to render how theatrical action creates a “religious” experience according to the structure and threefold sense that Peter Brook observes. Full article

The story of the Tower of Babel in Gn 11:1–9 gave rise to a rich literary tradition, in which the topos of the primeval language emerged. Whereas the interpretative tradition originating among the Jewish commentators upheld that the original language was Hebrew, in the heart of the Eastern Christian communities some authors supported this theory, but others stated it to be Aramaic. The aim of the present article is to show how a celebrated chronicler like Michael the Syrian (12^th c. CE) composed his version of the account narrated in Gn 11:1–9 by echoing different textual sources, but at the same time by combining both translation and narrative techniques in composing his text. Full article