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Syriac Christianity: Monks, Monasteries and Mimre

Module description

This module will introduce you to the world of Syriac Christianity. As one of the oldest (they would argue the oldest) Christian traditions in the world, members of the Syriac-speaking Churches take pride in using an Aramaic language and tracing their origins back to Jesus Christ himself via the Semitic culture of the Middle East. This module will give an overview of the history of Syriac Christianity from its inception through to the current challenges it faces precipitated by political and natural catastrophes. It will also introduce you to the vibrant written and material culture of the Syriac world, including mimre, the prose poems that form the basis of their literary tradition.

This module is suitable for all students on Theology and Religion and Classics and Ancient History programmes as well as those in disciplines such as Archaeology, History, Art History and Visual Culture or IAIS.

Module aims - intentions of the module

In this module you will be introduced to the world of Syriac Christianity. We will begin by looking at pre-Christian Syriac-speakers and their society in order to understand what made this particular group so receptive to early Christian missionaries and then explore the incredible artistic, poetic, musical and intellectual developments that centred on Edessa, heart of the Syriac world, as the city embraced Christianity. We will trace the expansion of Syriac culture across the wider region and learn how Syriac missionaries were taking their faith as far as China long before regions such as Eastern Europe or Scandinavia had been evangelised. We will then consider why this tradition is so little-known compared to other early Christian movements and discuss issues of Eurocentric bias in our understanding of the Christian past. Topics will include the origins of Syriac culture, the writings of St. Ephrem the Syrian, Syriac Christology, Syriac Art and Architecture and the survival of Syriac culture in the contemporary world.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate an understanding of what is meant when people refer to Syriac Christianity
• 2. Demonstrate a knowledge of the evolution of Christianity in Asia in Late Antiquity

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Interpret primary materials in the form of texts and material culture to form an understanding of Syriac culture
• 4. Employ academic methodologies to research assignments relating to the Syriac World

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Critically assess objects, texts and ideas from a new, non-European theological context
• 6. Situate your ideas within a new intellectual framework that sits outside contemporary Western European concepts of Christianity

Syllabus plan

The teaching for this module will take the form of weekly 2-hour seminars designed to introduce you to the Syriac world from its origins in the pre-Christian culture of Mesopotamia and northern Syria through to its expansion across Asia as far as China in the early Islamic period. Therefore, the weekly seminars will progress chronologically to give a historical overview but will also be interspersed with sessions devoted to material culture, theological controversies and notable figures in the Syriac tradition. The second meeting of the week will function as a reading group for you to engage with both primary and secondary texts in order to learn more about Syriac society and encourage your independent research.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Baumer, Christoph, The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity, Bloomsbury, 2016.
• Briquel Chatonnet, Françoise & Debié, Muriel, The Syriac World: In search of a forgotten Christianity, Yale University Press, 2023.
• Fowden, Elizabeth Key, The Barbarian Plain: Saint Sergius between Rome and Iran, California Universtiy Press, 1999.
• King, Daniel (ed.), The Routledge Companion to the Syriac World, Routledge, 2019.
• Menze, Volker, Justinian and the Making of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Oxford University Press, 2008.
• Segal, J.B., Edessa: The Blessed City, Gorgias Press, 2005.

Key words search

Syria, Syriac, Asian Christianity, Material Culture, Late Antiquity