Table of Contents

His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, “The Patriarchal Encyclical on the occasion of the Jubilee of the 1500 Years of Mor Jacob of Serugh”, SOPJ 59 (2021), 1-3.

Saint-Laurent, Jeanne-Nicole Mellon, “Images of Gluttony and Gratitude in Jacob of Serugh”, SOPJ 59 (2021), 5-20.

Abstract: This article explores the food theology of the fifth-century Syriac homilist Jacob of Serugh, focusing on how he addresses the vices of gluttony through biblical typology and Christology. The author conceptualizes the “gluttonous gaze” as a flawed perception inherited from Eve, which misdirects human desire toward worldly consumption rather than divine gratitude. By examining Jacob’s ascetical and liturgical homilies, the study demonstrates how voluntary fasting and the redirection of attention toward Scripture serve as vital remedies to heal human spiritual perception. Ultimately, the research illustrates how ordinary meals and the Eucharistic banquet function as spaces of divine encounter, turning the human appetite away from death and restoring immortality within the Church as a new Eden.

Doerfler, Maria, “Death and the Daughter: Ritual Construction of the death of a Ba(r)t Qyāmā in Jacob of Serugh and other liturgical writings”, SOPJ 59 (2021), 21-40.

Abstract: The women ascetics known as the Daughters of the Covenant (ܒܢ̈ܬ ܩܝܡܐ) have long captivated the interest of scholars of Syriac Christianity. Particularly during the fourth through sixth centuries these communities expressed an element of what it meant to live lives of renunciation, dedicated to Christ, the Bridegroom they hoped to join in the afterlife. While surviving evidence for the practices, relationships, and self-understanding of the bnat qyāmā has been sparse, a small handful of texts designed to celebrate their deaths or accompany their burial shed additional light on this office. This article seeks to bring into conversation three such accounts: mēmrā 191 by Jacob of Serugh (“Concerning the Ba(r)t Qyāmā, pure virgin, who is departing from this world”), designed to commemorate the passing of a ba(r)t qyāmā; and a funerary hymn on the same topic, attributed to Ephrem the Syrian. Both narratives highlight different aspects of the relationship between life and afterlife, and inculcate different didactic messages for their respective audiences. Both nevertheless find their shared locus in the liturgy, contributing to the construction of a complex, polyvocal understanding of Syrian Christians’ approach to death and the afterlife.

Thekeparampil, Jacob and McConaughy, Daniel L., “The Star and the Magi in Jacob of Serugh and the Early Syriac Tradition”, SOPJ 59 (2021), 41-54.

Abstract: This paper examines the Star and the Magi in Jacob of Serugh’s mimro, “On the Star that Appeared to the Magi.” It also draws on Ephrem’s and Narsai’s works relating to the subject. In it, we present major ideas and terms regarding the Star and the Magi in Mor Jacob’s mimro and early Syriac tradition. Jacob shows that the Star was the ideal ‘bait’ for the Magian astronomers who would not listen to Old Testament prophecy but who listened to Balaam. Jacob also shows how the entire world gave gifts to the King through the Magi. The paper discusses the various names for the Star and technical terms relating to astronomy and the Magi.

Syryany, Imad, “Images of Salvation in Two Mimre of Jacob of Serugh: ‘Peter’s Stater from the Fish’ and ‘The Parable of Ten Coins and Hundred Sheep’ ”, SOPJ 59 (2021), 55-71.

Abstract: This article investigates the soteriological and Christological imagery within two recently published mimre of Jacob of Serugh: “Peter’s Stater from the Fish” and “The Parable of Ten Coins and Hundred Sheep.” The author illuminates Jacob’s distinct exegetical methodology, demonstrating how he uniquely extends typological interpretation beyond Old Testament narratives to New Testament miracles and parables. Through a textual analysis, the study explores how the stater, the lost coin, and the lost sheep carry a dual symbolic weight, representing both the fallen state of Adam and the unified nature of Christ the Savior. Furthermore, the paper links Jacob’s theology to early Christian digital computing, where the movement from the left hand (representing Sheol) to the right hand (representing resurrection) underscores the mathematical precision of divine redemption.

Gharib, Antonios, “Mor Jacob of Serugh’s Typo-soteriological and Anthropological Reading of the Lord’s Will and Sweat in His prayer during the Passion in Homily 53 ‘On the Crucifixion’ ”, SOPJ 59 (2021), 73-110.

Abstract: This article reevaluates Jacob of Serugh’s historically neglected homily 53, On the Crucifixion, by contextualizing his typological interpretation of Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane within early Christian theological disputes. The author investigates how Jacob navigates the controversial Christological milieu between Cyrillian Miaphysitism and traditional Syriac dynamic polarity, bridging biblical anthropomorphism with philosophical impassibility. By analyzing the paradox of the Passion, the study emphasizes the distinct strategic functions of Christ’s human will and His recuperative sweat as deliberate refutations of Theopatheia. Ultimately, the research frames this liturgical narrative not merely as an abstract polemic, but as an intentional pedagogical framework designed by the Syriac periodeutes for the moral and Christological edification of his fifth-century audience.

Akhrass, Severios Roger, “The Liturgical Use of Jacob of Serugh’s Homilies”, SOPJ 59 (2021), 111-132.

Abstract: This text critical study systematically investigates the extent to which the liturgical texts of the Syriac Orthodox Church contain genuine, previously unverified bo’woṯo (supplications) authored by Jacob of Serugh. By cross-referencing modern critical editions against core liturgical resources, including the Šḥimo (Breviary) and the M’ad’dono (Book of Church Festivals), the author evaluates structural, metrical, and stylistic variances to establish textual authenticity. The study demonstrates that older, foundational sacramental rites—such as the Divine Liturgy, Baptism, and Ordinations—lack direct borrowings from Jacob’s authentic metrical homilies, while the Šḥimo remains the primary reservoir for potentially unpublished corpus. Ultimately, the paper provides a classification framework, distinguishing authentic narrative stanzas from appended pseudo-Jacobian Trinitarian doxologies characterized by later rhyming patterns foreign to the fifth-century bishop’s authentic dynamic meter.

Kawak, Dionysios John, “The Baptism in the Writings of Jacob of Sarug”, SOPJ 59 (2021), 133-137.

Abstract: This article outlines the liturgical structure and theological themes of holy baptism in the late fifth-century writings of Jacob of Serugh. By evaluating his poetic, non-systematic approach across specific homilies, such as those on The Three Baptisms and The Baptism of Constantine, the author identifies four foundational steps in the historical initiation rite: the confession of faith (syntaxis), a single pre-baptismal anointing on the forehead or whole body, full immersion, and Eucharistic communion. Crucially, the study notes the complete absence of a post-baptismal anointing in Jacob’s genuine corpus. Furthermore, the paper highlights how Jacob’s baptismal theology centers on the Jordan descent and Christ’s pierced side, deploying the prominent Syriac archetype of baptism as a new Eve born from water and blood.

Ecumenical report, SOPJ 59 (2021), 138.