George Anton Kiraz | |
---|---|
Born | 1965 (age 58–59) |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Scholar |
Known for | Gorgias Press Beth Mardutho |
George Anton Kiraz (Syriac : ܓܘܪܓܝ ܒܪ ܐܢܛܘܢ ܕܒܝܬ ܟܝܪܐܙ; born 1965) is a Syriac [1] scholar, best known for his contribution to modern Syriac studies.
George Kiraz was born in Bethlehem to a Syriac Orthodox merchant family which traces its roots back to Elazığ in Anatolia. He learned Syriac at the Monastery of Saint Mark, Jerusalem. In 1983 he emigrated with his family to the United States where they settled in Los Angeles. [2]
Kiraz holds numerous degrees, including a B.Sc. degree in Engineering from California State University, Northridge in 1990, a master's degree in Syriac Studies from the University of Oxford in 1991, a master's degree in computer speech and language processing, and a Ph.D. degree in computational linguistics from the University of Cambridge in 1992 and 1996 respectively. [2]
In 1986, Kiraz designed the first computer fonts for Syriac and established a one-person company in Los Angeles named Alaph Beth Computer Systems for their distribution. He developed the proposal for encoding Syriac in Unicode (with Paul Nelson and Sargon Hasso) and designed the Unicode compliant Meltho fonts, which enable Syriac computing on modern computers. His fonts are by far the most popular Syriac computer fonts used in the 20th and 21st centuries. [2]
He has been involved in Syriac-related projects, such as the co-founding of Gorgias Press, a publishing house dedicated to Syriac studies and other subjects in the humanities, [3] and directing the Beth Mardutho Syriac Institute, [3] which seeks to promote Syriac heritage and language.
Between 1996 and 2000, he worked at Bell Labs as a member of technical staff in the Language Modeling Group. [4] Between 2000 and 2001, he was instrumental in opening an office for Nuance Communications on Wall Street, New York. His research interests include finite-state technology, computational morphology and phonology, and Syriac studies.
Kiraz is a deacon in the Syriac Orthodox Church. He was consecrated and anointed a reader (Syriac Qoruyo) in Bethlehem on February 6, 1977, by the laying on of the hands of Mor Dioscoros Luqa Sha'ya, then Metropolitan of Jerusalem. He was ordained a sub-deacon by the late Mor Julius Yeshu Çiçek at St. Mark's Monastery on January 9, 1983. He was ordained a full deacon (Syriac: ewangeloyo) in Teaneck, New Jersey, by Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim (now Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II) on October 14, 2012.
He has served in the following churches:
He is married to Christine Kiraz. They live with their three children in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Kiraz has published a number of books about the Syriac language, and co-authored many others:
He is directing the Antioch Bible project. As of 2014, he has published over 40 papers in the fields of computational linguistics and Syriac studies.
The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition, including the Maronite Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Malabar Independent Syrian Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the Assyrian Church of the East and the Syro-Malabar Church.
Garshuni or Karshuni are Arabic writings using the Syriac alphabet. The word "Garshuni", derived from the word "grasha" which literally translates as "pulling", was used by George Kiraz to coin the term "garshunography", denoting the writing of one language in the script of another.
Mar, also Mor in Western Syriac, is an Aramaic word meaning "lord". The corresponding feminine forms in Syriac are Morth and Marth for "lady".
Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum was the 120th Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1933 until his death in 1957. He was consecrated as a Metropolitan and as a Patriarch at a very hard time for the Syriac Orthodox church and its people and parishes and he worked very hard to re-establish the church initiations to where his people moved. He researched, wrote, translated, scriped, and published many scholarly works that included books on the saints, tradition, liturgy, music, and history of Syriac Orthodox Church.
Sebastian Paul Brock is a British scholar, university professor, and specialist in the field of academic studies of Classical Syriac language and Classical Syriac literature. His research also encompasses various aspects of cultural history of Syriac Christianity. He is generally acknowledged as one of the foremost academics in the field of Syriac studies, and one of the most prominent scholars in the wider field of Aramaic studies.
The Curetonian Gospels, designated by the siglum syrcur, are contained in a manuscript of the four gospels of the New Testament in Old Syriac. Together with the Sinaiticus Palimpsest the Curetonian Gospels form the Old Syriac Version, and are known as the Evangelion Dampharshe in the Syriac Orthodox Church.
Ignatius Isaac II was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1709 until his resignation in 1723.
Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1445 until his death in 1454.
Ignatius Noah of Lebanon, also known as Nūḥ Pūnīqoyo or Nūḥ al-Bqūfānī, was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1493/1494 until his death in 1509.
Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic. Portions of the Old Testament were written in Aramaic and there are Aramaic phrases in the New Testament. Syriac translations of the New Testament were among the first and date from the 2nd century. The whole Bible was translated by the 5th century. Besides Syriac, there are Bible translations into other Aramaic dialects.
Mar Toma Audo, also spelled Thomas Audo was Archbishop of the Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Urmia (1890-1918), within the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Gorgias Press is a US-based independent academic publisher specializing in the history and religion of the Middle East and the larger pre-modern world.
Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II is a Syrian-American Christian prelate who is serving as the Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church since 29 May 2014.
Dereiçi is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Savur, Mardin Province in southeastern Turkey. It is located by Mount Qoros and the historical region of Tur Abdin. It is populated by Assyrians who speak the Mardin dialect of Arabic.
The Harklean version, designated by syrh, is a Syriac language bible translation by Thomas of Harqel completed in 616 AD at the Enaton in Egypt. The Harklean version has close affinities with the Byzantine text-type.
Thomas of Harqel was a miaphysite bishop from the early 7th century. Educated in Greek at the monastery of Qenneshre, he became bishop of Mabbug in Syria. He was deposed as bishop by the anti-miaphysite metropolitan Domitian of Melitene before 602. He and Paul of Tella lived as exiles in the Coptic monastery of the Enaton near Alexandria, Egypt. At the request of Athanasios I, they worked on a Syriac translation of the Greek Bible. Translation of the New Testament, known as the Harclensis was completed in 616. At this time, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude and Revelation were added to the Syriac Bible. Until then they were excluded.
Ignatius Saba I, also known as Ignatius Sobo of Salah or Ignatius Sobo Ṣalḥoyo, was the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Tur Abdin from 1364 until his death in 1389.
In the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Archbishop of Jerusalem today bears the additional title of Patriarchal Vicar of the Holy Land and Jordan. The see is currently held by Anthimos Jack Yakoub.
The Antioch Bible is a bilingual Syriac–English edition of the Bible published by Gorgias Press. It was derived, both Old and New Testaments, from the Syriac Peshitta, used by the Assyrian Church of the East and Syriac Orthodox Church, and other Syriac Christian traditions.
Beth Mardutho is an American educational institute speicalizing in Syriac studies. Founded by George Kiraz, the institute is based in Piscataway, New Jersey, U.S.