Translated from the Syriac and with an introduction by Sebastian P. Brock and Susan Ashbrook Harvey

Holy Women of the Syrian Orient

The Transformation of the Classical Heritage, XIII

$21.95, £12.95 paperback

978-0-520-21366-1

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215 pages,
June 1987, Available worldwide
Categories: Religion; Classical Religions

Description | About the Authors

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"An opportunity to explore the complex social history of an important and very much neglected part of the late antique world: the Syrian Orient, one of the major cultural systems contributing both to the Eastern and Western religious heritage."—Gail Paterson Corrington, Classical World

The fifteen hagiographies about holy women of the Syrian Orient collected here include stories of martyrs' passions and saints' lives, pious romances and personal reminiscences. Dating from the fourth to seventh centuries A.D., they are translated from Syriac into accessible and vivid prose. Annotations and source notes by the translators help clarify elements that may be unfamiliar to some readers. This collection bears witness to the profound contributions women made to early Chistianity: their various roles, their leadership inside and outside the church structure, and their power to influence others. A new preface discusses recent developments in the field and updates the bibliography.

Sebastian P. Brock is Reader in Syriac Studies at the Oriental Institute at Oxford and is the author of The Luminous Eye: The Spiritual World Vision of Saint Ephrem (Kalamazoo, 1992). Susan Ashbrook Harvey is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University and author of Asceticism and Society in Crisis: John of Ephesus and the Lives of the Eastern Saints (California, 1990).