Associate Professor of Eastern Christianity at KU Leuven.
An earlier translation of the fourth of the homilies on Cain and Abel appeared in @jedwardwalters.bsky.social's Eastern Christianity: A Reader (www.eerdmans.com/978080287686...) and can be read there alongside many other treasures of eastern Christian literature.
Eastern ChristianityA rich anthology of early Eastern Christian textsEastern Christianity: A Reader is an unparalleled collection of significant texts from Syriac, Armenian, Geo...www.eerdmans.comI discuss the transmission of these homilies in relation to the biographical and hagiographical tradition surrounding Jacob of Serugh in "Exegete, Preacher, Saint: The Reception of Jacob of Serugh Evidenced by the Transmission of His Homilies (6th–12th Centuries)," here: tinyurl.com/5yp3s3z3
Exegete, Preacher, Saint: The Reception of Jacob of Serugh Evidenced by the Transmission of His Homilies (6th–12th Centuries). Journal of Eastern Christian Studies 77, no. 3–4 (2025): 181–210 (Full Te...Over four hundred Syriac manuscripts preserve the writings of the poet-theologian Jacob of Serugh (d. 520/1). Stretching from late antiquity to the present, they offer insight into Jacob's recepti...www.academia.eduJeff Wickes published on one of the most fascinating aspects of this set of homilies in his article: "'You Have Broken Me, Cain': The Piety of Sorrow in Jacob's Poems on Cain and Abel," which you can read here: www.academia.edu/86700849/_Yo...
"You Have Broken Me, Cain": The Piety of Sorrow in Jacob's Poems on Cain and Abel"You Have Broken Me, Cain": The Piety of Sorrow in Jacob's Poems on Cain and Abelwww.academia.eduI am happy to announce the publication of a new English translation of Jacob of Serugh's four homilies on Cain and Abel. It was wonderful to work on this project with Jeff Wickes! The homilies are fascinating theological and literary works: svspress.com/verse-homili...
Verse Homilies on Cain and AbelFounded in 1968, St Vladimir's Seminary Press is the largest and most active publisher of Orthodox Christian books in the English language.svspress.comI have had such productive exchanges, including major grant writing, with colleagues from Exeter. If you have not already done so, consider signing this petition for theology and religious studies (docs.google.com/document/d/1.... ) and for the humanities (c.org/JFDSQr2WYV).
Sign the PetitionStop Redundancies at the University of Exeterc.org
Heute ist Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften #lndw @bbaw.bsky.social Bei uns gibt es eine Führung (21:30/22:30 Uhr): Was machen wir eigentlich, wenn wir spätantike Texte edieren? Welche Methoden wenden wir an? Und welche Rolle spielt moderne Computertechnik? www.tagesspiegel.de/themenspezia...
Geschichte zwischen den Zeilen: So entschlüsselt eine Berliner Forscherin spätantike HandschriftenZur Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften am 6. Juni zeigen Experten in der Staatsbibliothek, wie sie tausend Jahre alte Schriften neu herausgeben – und warum das wichtig ist.www.tagesspiegel.de
Come join us in Leuven for our Summer School on translations!
LECTIO InstituteV LECTIO Interdisciplinary Summer School “Translations in the Premodern and Early Modern World” 8-9 September 2026, Old Abbey of Kortenberg. Masterclasses, research pitches, and a lot of conversations across disciplines! Program and registration (until 30 June): www.kuleuven.be/lectio/event...
Christians in Middle Eastern History Ghobrial, John-Paul, Michael Reynolds, Christian C. Sahner & Jack Tannous (eds.). 2026. Christians in Middle Eastern history: Strangers no more (Edinburgh Studies in Middle Eastern Christianity). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. The dazzling array of…
Christians in Middle Eastern HistoryGhobrial, John-Paul, Michael Reynolds, Christian C. Sahner & Jack Tannous (eds.). 2026. Christians in Middle Eastern history: Strangers no more (Edinburgh Studies in Middle Eastern Christianity). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. The dazzling array of languages and religions in the Middle East, from Late Antiquity to the present, has long made the region a source of fascination. But the specific features of pluralism in the Middle East have also made writing its history a difficult enterprise, as scholarly specialisation has often meant that this or that religious group becomes invisible.www.biblioiranica.info
Tomorrow!!!
TeTra | Text and Transmission Research SeminarNext Thu 28 May, 10 AM Karolina Tomczyszyn (KULeuven) •Approved Teachers and Insignificant Rhetoricians: Literary Curation in the Letters of Jacob of Edessa, George, bishop of the Arabs, and John of Litarb• Don't forget to register w/ @andyhilkens.bsky.social to receive the Zoom link
Free access link to my own contribution - on why Gregory of Nyssa has quite so much to say about cinnamon: online.ucpress.edu/SLA/article/...
“Beyond Belief”Thinking with Cinnamon in Gregory of Nyssa’s Homilies on the Song of SongsThe Homilies on the Song of Songs by the late antique Christian author Gregory of Nyssa are commonly studied for their spiritual interpretations and mystical theology. At the same time, his Homilies a...online.ucpress.edu
The Call for Papers for the 2026 Annual Meeting in Denver, CO, has been extended to 11:59PM ET on March 9. Don't miss this chance to engage the global community of biblical scholarship. buff.ly/4hRL28M
Annual Meeting Call for PapersImpexium Association Management Softwaremembers.sbl-site.org