Jacob of Serugh (451-521) is one of the great poets of the Syriac tradition. His meditations focus on the centrality of divine love in the context of scripture. Mary Hansbury presents a selection of the richest and most theologically profound of Jacob's poems.

The Prayers of Jacob of Serugh

Hansbury, Mary

Fairacres Publications SLG Press

John of Dalyatha or John Saba, the "Elder," is the author of these Letters. He was born in North West Iraq and was a monk during the eighth century in a monastery at Qardu near the Turkish border. After seven years in community, he received permission to live the solitary life in the mountains of Dalyatha where he remained most of his life. In these Letters, John outlines the itinerary of those who are baptized: purification through repentance, fasting, prayer, struggle with demons; sanctification through silence, tears, wonder, divine light; union through contemplation, praise, assistance of the angels - leading to the vision of God. In the Letters, John of Dalyatha presents the Christian life after baptism as an "anticipated resurrection," the new life in the New World. And he describes this life within the mystery of communion with God in the image of whose divine beauty John says humans are created: "Show me Your beauty which is within me." (Letter 15.6) Throughout, John of Dalyatha speaks about God in human language as perhaps no other Christian author has done.

The Letters of John of Dalyatha (Texts from Christian Late Antiquity)

Saint John VII

Biographies & Memoirs

Gorgias Press

<p>This translation of John the Solitary is based on the Syriac text edited by S. Dedering. It is a description of the life of the soul; the framework, a tripartite schema rooted in St. Paul, traces progression through the stages in the life of the inner person. The soul s adversaries along the way are the passions which John deals with in an original way, bearing little if any Evagrian influence. Some of the more important themes are hope, eschatology and love. Scripture seems to be the most consistent influence in John s writings. I. Hausherr, who has written extensively on John, finds no patristic citation other than one reference to Ignatius of Antioch. And although on occasion there is a certain resonance with Greek ideas, Hausherr says that John, like Aphrahat, is driven by Scripture. John makes extensive use of medical imagery, perhaps derived originally from Galen but mediated through Nemesius of Emesa. The earlier dating now posited for his On the Nature of Man (ca 390) makes this influence more plausible. Part of the problem in coming to terms with influences on John s work is the fact that so little is known about his person. The controversies concerning his identity are referenced in the Introduction. It has been suggested that John was influenced by Theodore of Mopsuestia, concerning hope and eschatology. This led to a consideration here of Theodore s works, not his Christology or his exegesis but his anthropology, for example in the Catechetical Discourses, characterized by a discussion of Baptism. McLeod has suggested a connection between Theodore and Jewish exegesis. Based on this hypothesis, certain aspects of Jewish apocalyptic tradition have been examined as possible ways of also interpreting John s eschatology and his understanding of this world and the world to come, a fundamental aspect of all his work.</p>

John the Solitary on the Soul (Texts from Christian Late Antiquity)

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hansbury, Mary. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hansbury, Mary