I’ve been looking for a new translation project to kill the torturous months between sending in a book and getting to see it in print. During this adventure, I translated a big chunk of the philosophical works of someone named John Bar Zo’bi before I found out other scholars were working on him already. Live […]
A big part of my life has been working to preserve Chaldean, a dialect of Neo-Aramaic. This has taken the form of teaching, writing instructional materials, and now, finally, recording online lectures. Here’s what’s available so far: Introductory Chaldean book, available here. Introductory Chaldean lectures by the wonderful Fr. Daniel Shaba, available here. Chaldean Grammar […]
Once in a while you might hear a Chaldean or Assyrian priest lay claim to the Magi mentioned in Matthew chapter 2, who came from the East to worship Christ. You might be surprised to hear that it’s actually a pretty old claim. Mar Timothy I of the Church of the East (d. 823 AD) […]
Because I think the tradition of my Church is really beautiful and I want it to live on, I spend a lot of time translating, and this has been an important part of my life for a little more than two decades. Most of the texts I translate are prayers and hymns, and over the […]
This is a selection and translation from the “Teaching of the Resurrection,” or Easter Homily, by Mar Jacob of Sarug: A blessed joyfulness moves me today, in which I repeat the words of the prophet: “this is the day the Lord has made! Come, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” This is the […]
This day, liturgically, is one more for silence than for words, but it does seem fitting to pray these petitions. This is a video of the first two verses, sung by my bishop, Mar Emanuel Shaleta, and myself: Let us all stand composed, in contrition and diligence, let us implore and say: Lord, have mercy […]
The three Madrashe for Passion Friday are independent pieces of hymnody, but follow a general thread. The first picks up on Christ’s command to Peter, James, and John to stay awake with him in the garden. Recounting the dramatic events of Christ’s passion, each verse ends with the question, “who can go to sleep?” The […]
The aspect of the Passover Lamb image discussed in this Madrasha is the contrast between rational and irrational. The sacrifice of animals was irrational in two ways: the animal itself was unable to speak, but the sacrifice was irrational in that it could not accomplish the forgiveness or salvation it attempted. This failure of the […]
The sequence of Madrashe during Holy Week is reasonable: Monday establishes Christ as the fulfillment of all symbols in the Old Testament beginning from Eden. Tuesday introduces the Passover Lamb as a theme, as well as the notion of Old Testament symbols being shadows of realities fulfilled by Christ. Wednesday presents the Passover Lamb theme […]
Tuesday’s Madrasha focuses on the Passover lamb of Exodus and Christ as the new Lamb of God. This is a common theme in Christian literature, but this early piece (again, these hymns are attributed to Ephrem) takes a unique approach. Rather than comparison, we have contrast. Verse 1 ends with a proposed question, whether the […]
