“WATER THE EARTH”: DOSTOEVSKY ON TEARS George Pattison
“WATER THE EARTH”: DOSTOEVSKY ON TEARS George Pattison As opposed to modern Western culture, in which tears are seen as unmanly, Dostoevsky inherits not only a cultural but also a religious tradition that gives positive significance to tears in the spiritual life, as in the teachings of Isaac the Syrian, which Dostoevsky knew. According to this teaching, tears manifest a dispossession of the ego and an opening of the self to God. This is illustrated by reference to the story of Alyosha’s religious experience, recounted in Chapter IV of Book VII of The Brothers Karamazov, which also...
Read MoreThe Suryoye of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries: Bar Salibi, Bar Shakko, and Barhebraeus Herman Teul
Reflections on Identity. The Suryoye of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries: Bar Salibi, Bar Shakko, and Barhebraeus Herman Teule Abstract The present article studies some aspects of the literary output of three Syriac Orthodox authors, Dionysius bar Salibi, Jacob bar Shakko, and Gregory Barhebraeus, who are con- sidered the most important representatives of the period known as ‘the Syriac Renaissance’ (twelfth and thirteenth centuries). The focus of this study is on the growing importance of Arabic, the concern for the preservation of Syriac, considered as an important...
Read MoreArchaeology and cultural belonging in contemporary Syria: the value of archaeology to religious minorities Emma Loosley
Archaeology and cultural belonging in contemporary Syria: the value of archaeology to religious minorities Emma Loosley Abstract This paper has evolved out of a series of community projects that I have initiated in Syria since 1997. My hypothesis is that a knowledge of the archaeological remains and religious traditions of a region bring local people more in touch with their cultural roots and encourage a sense of belonging. This is particularly the case when a religious minority feels disenfranchised by the majority group. By creating a sense of self that relates closely to the local...
Read Moreالجمعة العظيمة حسب طقس كنيسة أنطاكية
الجمعة العظيمة حسب طقس كنيسة أنطاكية تحتفل الكنيسة المقدسة في جمعة الآلام العظيمة بذكرى مأساة الجلجلة متسربلة بالسواد متشحة بثوب الحداد، علامة الحزن والكآبة. وفي صلواتها المسهبة شعراً ونثراً وفي قراءاتها المختارة من الكتاب المقدس، تستعرض النبوات التي أشارت إلى آلام الفادي، فلم يكن ما حدث يوم صلب الرب يسوع على الخشبة ابن...
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