Sebastian P. Brock | |
---|---|
Born | 1938 (age 85–86) London, England |
Nationality | British |
Other names | Sebastian Paul Brock |
Occupation | Syriacist |
Spouse | Helen Hughes-Brock |
Academic background | |
Education | Eton College Trinity College, Cambridge |
Alma mater | University of Oxford |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Syriac studies |
Institutions | University of Oxford |
Main interests | Classical Syriac |
Sebastian Paul Brock FBA (born 1938,London) 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. [1] [2]
Brock studied at Eton College,and completed his BA degree in Classics and Oriental Languages (Hebrew and Aramaic) at Trinity College,University of Cambridge. In 1966,he became Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford.
Brock was Assistant Lecturer,and then Lecturer,at the University of Birmingham (Department of Theology) from 1964 to 1967. He continued his academic career as Lecturer in Hebrew,and then Lecturer in Hebrew and Aramaic,at the University of Cambridge,from 1967 to 1974. He was Lecturer in Aramaic and Syriac,and then Reader in Syriac Studies,at the University of Oxford's Oriental Institute,from 1974 to 2003. Since 2003,he has been Emeritus Reader in Syriac Studies and Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College,Oxford. [3] [4]
Brock is one of the main reviewers of the Antioch Bible,a 21st-century English translation of the Peshitta. [5]
Brock is a Fellow of the British Academy. He is the recipient of a number of honorary doctorates,holding the PhD Honoris Causa at the École pratique des hautes études in Paris. Brock has been awarded the Medal of Saint Ephrem the Syrian by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch,and the Leverhulme Medal of the British Academy (2009). [6] He was awarded the Edward Ullendorff Medal in 2024. [7]
Brock is married to Helen Hughes-Brock,an archaeologist specialising in Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece. He is a patron of the Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius. He joined the Syriac Orthodox Church by Chrismation in May 2024. [8]
Ephrem the Syrian, also known as Saint Ephrem, Saint Ephraim, Ephrem of Edessa or Aprem of Nisibis, was a prominent Christian theologian and writer who is revered as one of the most notable hymnographers of Eastern Christianity. He was born in Nisibis, served as a deacon and later lived in Edessa.
The Syriac language, also known natively in its spoken form in early Syriac literature as Edessan, the Mesopotamian language and Aramaic, is an Eastern Middle Aramaic dialect. Classical Syriac is the academic term used to refer to the dialect's literary usage and standardization, distinguishing it from other Aramaic dialects also known as 'Syriac' or 'Syrian'. In its West-Syriac tradition, Classical Syriac is often known as leššōnō kṯoḇonōyō or simply kṯoḇonōyō, or kṯowonōyō, while in its East-Syriac tradition, it is known as leššānā ʔatīqā or saprāyā.
The School of Nisibis was an educational establishment in Nisibis. It was an important spiritual centre of the early Church of the East, and like the Academy of Gondishapur, it is sometimes referred to as the world's first university. The school had three primary departments teaching: theology, philosophy and medicine. Its most famous teacher was Narsai, formerly head of the School of Edessa.
Turoyo, also referred to as Surayt, or modern Suryoyo, is a Central Neo-Aramaic language traditionally spoken in the Tur Abdin region in southeastern Turkey and in northern Syria. Turoyo speakers are mostly adherents of the Syriac Orthodox Church, but there are also some Turoyo-speaking adherents of the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church, especially from the towns of Midyat and Qamishli. The language is also spoken throughout diaspora, among modern Assyrians. It is classified as a vulnerable language. Most speakers use the Classical Syriac language for literature and worship. Turoyo is not mutually intelligible with Western Neo-Aramaic, having been separated for over a thousand years; its closest relatives are Mlaḥsô and western varieties of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic like Suret.
Syriac Christianity is a branch of Eastern Christianity of which formative theological writings and traditional liturgies are expressed in the Classical Syriac language, a variation of the old Aramaic language. In a wider sense, the term can also refer to Aramaic Christianity in general, thus encompassing all Christian traditions that are based on liturgical uses of the Aramaic language and its variations, both historical and modern.
The term Melkite, also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in West Asia. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root m-l-k, meaning "royal", referring to the loyalty to the Byzantine emperor. The term acquired religious connotations as denominational designation for those Christians who accepted imperial religious policies, based on Christological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon (451).
Syriac literature is literature in the Syriac language. It is a tradition going back to the Late Antiquity. It is strongly associated with Syriac Christianity.
Isḥaq of Nineveh, also remembered as Saint Isaac the Syrian, Isaac of Nineveh, Abba Isaac, Isaac Syrus and Isaac of Qatar, was a 7th-century Syriac Christian bishop of the Church of the East, and theologian best remembered for his written works on Christian asceticism. He is regarded as a saint in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Church and Church of the East traditions. His feast day falls, together with 4th-century theologian and hymnographer St. Ephrem the Syrian, on January 28.
Central Neo-Aramaic, or Northwestern Neo-Aramaic, languages represent a specific group of Neo-Aramaic languages, that is designated as Central in reference to its geographical position between Western Neo-Aramaic and other Eastern Aramaic groups. Its linguistic homeland is located in northern parts of the historical region of Syria. The group includes the Turoyo language as a spoken language of the Tur Abdin region and various groups in diaspora, and Mlahsô language that is recently extinct as a spoken language.
Athanasius II Baldoyo, also known as Athanasius of Balad, and Athanasius of Nisibis, was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 684 until his death in 687.
Michael the Syrian ,(Classical Syriac: ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܣܽܘܪܝܳܝܳܐ, romanized: Mīkhoʾēl Sūryoyo), died AD 1199, also known as Michael the Great or Michael Syrus or Michael the Elder, to distinguish him from his nephew, was a patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1166 to 1199. He is best known today as the author of the largest medieval Chronicle, which he wrote in the Syriac language. Some other works and fragments written by him have also survived.
Christian Palestinian Aramaic was a Western Aramaic dialect used by the Melkite Christian community, predominantly of Jewish descent, in Palestine, Transjordan and Sinai between the fifth and thirteenth centuries. It is preserved in inscriptions, manuscripts and amulets. All the medieval Western Aramaic dialects are defined by religious community. CPA is closely related to its counterparts, Jewish Palestinian Aramaic (JPA) and Samaritan Aramaic (SA). CPA shows a specific vocabulary that is often not paralleled in the adjacent Western Aramaic dialects.
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.
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.
The Zuqnin Chronicle is a medieval chronicle written in Classical Syriac language, encompassing the events from Creation to c. 775 CE. It was most probably produced in the Zuqnin Monastery near Amida on the upper Tigris. The work is preserved in a single handwritten manuscript, now in the Vatican. The fourth part of the chronicle provides a detailed account of life of Christian communities in the Middle East, including regions of Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt, during and after the Muslim conquest.
Syriac studies is the study of the Syriac language and Syriac Christianity. A specialist in Syriac studies is known as a Syriacist. Specifically, British, French, and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Syriac/Aramaic language and literature were commonly known by this designation, at a time when the Syriac language was little understood outside Assyrian and Maronite Christian communities, as well as larger communities adhering to Syriac Christianity. In Germany the field of study is distinguished between Aramaistik and Neuaramaistik.
George Anton Kiraz is a Syriac scholar, best known for his contribution to modern Syriac studies.
Cyrillona, also spelled Qurilona, was an early Syriac poet. He was the younger contemporary of Ephrem the Syrian. It is speculated that he might have been a nephew of Ephrem. He was a contemporary of Balai of Qenneshrin. Gustav Bickell has referred to him as the most important Syriac poet after Ephrem.
Aramaic studies are scientific studies of the Aramaic languages and literature. As a specific field within Semitic studies, Aramaic studies are closely related to similar disciplines, like Hebraic studies and Arabic studies.
The Holy Qurobo or Holy Qurbono refers to the Eucharist as celebrated in Syro-Antiochene Rite and the liturgical books containing rubrics for its celebration. West Syriac Rite includes various descendants of the Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches. It consists of two distinct liturgical traditions: the Maronite Rite, and the Jacobite Rite. The major Anaphora of both the traditions is the Divine Liturgy of Saint James in Syriac language. The Churches are primarily based in the Middle East, Africa, and India.