The Ancient Christian East
Welcome to The Ancient Christian East discussion group. In this group we will read and discuss writers of the ancient Christian east, such as Ephraim the Syrian, The Cappadocian Fathers, the Desert Fathers, and other men and women (yes there were some) writers of the Christian Patristic age and the eastern Mediterranean. Christianity in Arabia, India, Central Asia and China maybe appear in discussions as well. And we may also spend some time with readings which teach us about the situation within Christianity on the eve of Islam (without suggesting any necessary causal relationships). We will begin with Ephraim the Syrian. All readings can be downloaded for free from the CCEL site or found other places on the web.
In order go join this group, email me, Todd Godwin at toddgodwin@hotmail.com, and tell me why you want to join. PLEASE ALSO SEND ME YOU CCEL LOGIN NAME SO THAT I CAN ADD YOU. If you seem at all serious about wanting to join, I will sense it through what you say and you will most certainly be admitted. This group is open to all that are serious about this study, not just the scholars among us. Be aware that you should participate in order to remain part of the group and that you may be removed if you don't participate. Some folks may feel the fact that this is a private group seems elitist and exclusive. I agree. It is. But I do apologize for that. The reason is that it takes time to process requests to enter the group. From experience, I prefer to process requests for people who want to read some material they are not yet familar with. It is not possible, for the most part, to talk about this material without doing some reading of it first, since this is unfamiliar territory for alot of us, me included. And signing up and then not participating seems pretty silly. So thanks for being understanding folks.
Also, although what I have said above may seem rather stringent and like there is a strict reading schedule followed here, anyone can jump into ur readings at any time. You also respond to the conversation that we are having rather than the actual readings, but the later is certainly preferred.
Another thing, if you email me about joining and I get busy, I may forget and not tell you that you have been added. Also, If you forget to send me your ccel login name and I have to ask you for it, that could further complicate matters. So, here is what to do after you send me a request: check and see if you can get into the site. If you can't and have not heard from me welcoming you, then try me again.
READING SCHEDULE
November 20-27, Paper on Ephrem and Infant Jesus, Nativity
November 28-Dec 6, Nativity Hymn 1
Dec 7-13, Nativity Hymn 2
Dec 14-21, Nativity Hymn 3
Dec 22-29, Nativity Hymn 4
I think it may also be helpful to say something about how to use these pages, especially if you are not coming in at the beginning, which is not a problem in any shape or form. I was asked by one person, "how do we navigate all that is up on the site and the sheer volume of what is there"? Good question.
The first thing I would say is this: print out the particular text we are working with. This is helpful especially if you are not used to dealing with historical theological literature. I have actually been dealing with that genre for a while but still really need to have the text in my hand so that I can underline things, make margin notes and get my thoughts together. It also really helps to do some background reading in places like Wikipedia. You will notice that we refer to certain relevant pages in wiki alot. So, do your own searches or follow what discussants suggest.
Second, and as far as digging through the posts themselves, unfortunately the site does not do a great job of keeping track of which emails you have read and which ones you have not. It will, upon first arrival, tell you you have "10 unread messages". but if you go in and read five and then want to take a break. It may not actually do the math correctly for you and tell you you have five remaining messages in a thread. So, you just have to work with that. Jump into the messages and see what seems helpful and what does not. Take notes on what you think is helpful if that is what works for you. Also, try and get at the major issues that are coming up in the discussion. Weigh these against your own understanding of what you think the essential issues are. If you don't know, then don't worry. But steadily build some consensus in your mind as to what you think the issues are. If you don't do this, you will be lost.
Some of the basic issues with Ephrem are these: how is Ephrem similar to or different from the Greek and orthodox of his day over there in Byzantium to the north of him? Is he less rationalistic than they are? Does he use more symbolism and embrace mysticism than they do? For a long time those who wrote on Ephrem and the Syriac tradition said he was, but I am not so sure. There are differences, but I am not sure these are the differences. Another major issue, of course, is how does Ephrem speak to the current religious situation in the world today? What is useful in his spirituality that we may want to adopt or emulate or at least try and learn from?
Hope that helps, and gives folks and idea of what they may be involved with should they consider joining.
TG