Interviews & Lectures With Scholars

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  • Fr. Dr. Renjan Mathew sits down with world-renowned historian and scholar Dr. Susan Ashbrook Harvey to speak about her life and contribution to the world of Syriac Christianity. Dr. Harvey is the Willard Prescott and Annie McClelland Smith Professor of History and Religion at Brown University. Her primary area of research is in Christianity of the late antique and Byzantine periods with Syriac Studies as her particular focus. She has published a number of books and articles on topics relating to asceticism, hagiography, women and gender, hymnography, homiletics, and piety in late antique Christianity.
  • Rev. Dr. Jacob Joseph sits down with world renowned Syriac scholar Dr. Robert A. Kitchen, to discuss his life and contribution to Syriac Studies. Dr. Kitchen is a retired minister of the Knox-Metropolitan United Church in Canada, and had been involved in Syriac academia for decades. Along with countless articles and his teaching commitments, Dr. Kitchen is the translator of the “Book of Steps” or Syriac Liber Graduum (Kthobo d-masqoto) and the “Discourses of Mor Philoxenos of Mabbug”. The latter text will be covered by Dr. Kitchen in a 3-part series of lectures later this fall.
  • Fr. Dr. Renjan Mathew hosts Dr. George A. Kiraz, to discuss his lifetime of contributions to the world of Syriac Studies. Shamosho, author, founder of Beth Mardutho and Gorgias Press, one of the foremost publishers of Syriac works and translations, Dr. Kiraz has always been a pioneer of the Syriac world, including developing the modern software to type Syriac on computers. The latest project of Gorgias Press is the English translation of the entire Syriac Peshitta Bible, with the New Testament releasing next month.
  • Dr. Princy Paul host renowned academicians, Dr. Sarah Knight (Cambridge University, UK), and Dr. Susan Thomas (Sanskrit University, India). The conversation is about the lanes and bylanes of church history in Malankara. This may be the first time were two women scholars and noted historians of the Syriac Orthodox Church unveiling their groundbreaking research findings and engaging in historical dialogue. Watch for the unique exploration of the bylanes of church history in Malankara and her Syriac Orthodox heritage. Stay tuned to listen to their contributions to academia as well.
  • This conversation between Fr. Dr. Renjan Mathew and Fr. Dr. Kollamparambil Thomas CMI, Professor of Patristics and Eastern Theology, highlights the pillars of Syriac theology, patterns of the early Syriac Christian theology, eastern understanding of inclusiveness, synthesis, and complimentary in theology, contextual theology, mystery in Syriac Christianity, works on St. Ephrem and St. Jacob of Serugh and so on.
  • Dr. Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent is a scholar of Syriac Studies and Early Christianity at Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, specializing in hagiography and sacred narrative. She is the author of Missionary Stories and the Formation of the Syriac Churches, The History of Mar Behnam and Sarah. She is the co-editor of The Gateway to the Syriac Saints: a two-volume digital database on Syriac Saints Qadishe and Bibliotheca Hagiographica Syriac Electronica. This conversation with Fr. Dr. Renjan Mathew highlights the Missionary Stories and the Formation of the Syriac Churches, the mission of St. Thomas to India, the role of hagiography in the Syriac tradition, online database projects like Gateway to the Syriac Saints, and so on.
  • Fr. Dr. Renjan Mathew talks about Syriac Christianity with Dr. Michael Wingert. Dr. Wingert is the author of several publications addressing the ancient Near East, Hebrew Bible, and Syriac Christianity. His Ph.D. is in the Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from UCLA. Dr. Wingert is currently teaching at the University of California, LA, and Fuller Theological Seminary. He contributed to the development of Agora University and serving as the dean of academic studies. He also serves on the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal committee for missions. This conversation highlights the Hebrew and Aramaic biblical traditions, Syriac Poetry and Literature, Early Christian Patristic Literature, Dead Sea Scrolls, Syriac Liturgical Traditions, and so on.
  • Fr. Dr. Renjan Mathew sits down with world-renowned Syriac scholar Malfonitho Dr. Susan Harvey to discuss the Nativity of our Lord from the works of St. Ephrem the Syrian. Considered one of the finest works of the Harp of the Holy Spirit, the Hymns on Nativity is replete with paradoxes to explain the mystery of the virgin birth.
  • Malfonitho Dr. Erin Walsh discusses Syriac Christianity with particular emphasis on the contribution of Women in and through the Syriac Patristic Tradition. Dr. Erin Galgay Walsh is an Assistant Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She earned her Ph.D. from Duke University, with a dissertation entitled, ‘Sanctifying Boldness: New Testament Women in Narsai, Jacob of Serugh, and Romanos Melodos’. She has authored a number of articles on the Syriac tradition including translations for the forthcoming ‘Cambridge Edition of Early Christian Writings Volume 3’.
  • History vs Anthropology
    The program is an interactive discussion between two Syriac Orthodox Church personalities. Prof. Dr. Susan Thomas, an experienced professor speaks about her life and journey as a historian where she happily juggles the different roles in her professional and personal life. On the other side we have Anish K. Joy (Ephudiakno Joseph), an associate professor who tries to redefine the stereotype mindset in our daily life with his different cultural exposure from an anthropological point of view. This is a back to back discussion where both tries to speak from their personal life experiences as Syriac Orthodox believers.

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