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The Hymns on Faith (Paperback)
St. Epharim the Syrian; Translated by Jeffery Thomas Wicker
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R1,358
Discovery Miles 13 580
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Ephrem the Syrian was born in Nisibis (Nusaybin, Turkey) around 306
CE, and died in Edessa (Sanliurfa, Turkey) in 373. He was a
prolific author, composing over four hundred hymns, several
metrical homilies, and at least two scriptural commentaries. His
extensive literary output warrants mention alongside other
well-known fourth-century authors, such as Gregory of Nazianzus and
Basil of Caesarea. Yet Ephrem wrote in neither Greek nor Latin, but
in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic. His voice opens to the reader a
fourth-century Christian world perched on the margins between the
Roman and Persian Empires. Ephrem is known for a theology that
relies heavily on symbol and for a keen awareness of Jewish
exegetical traditions. Yet he is also our earliest source for the
reception of Nicaea among Syriac-speaking Christians. It is in his
eighty-seven Hymns on Faith - the longest extant piece of early
Syriac literature - that he develops his arguments against
subordinationist christologies most fully. These hymns, most likely
delivered orally and compiled after the author's death, were
composed in Nisibis and Edessa between the 350s ans 373. They
reveal an author conversant with Christological debates further to
the west, but responding in a uniquely Syriac idiom. As such, they
form an essential source for reconstructing the development of
pro-Nicene thought in the eastern Mediterranean. Yet, the Hymns on
Faith offer far more than a simple Syriacpro-Nicene catechetical
literature. In these hymns Ephrem reflects upon the mystery of God
and the limits of human knowledge. He demonstrates a sophisticated
grasp of symbol and metaphor and their role in human understanding.
The Hymns on Faith are translated here for the first time in
English on the basis of Edmund Beck's critical edition.
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