A THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

ON

JACOB OF SERUGH’S

MEMRA 42
 DHARMARAM VIDYA KHSETRAM
Pontifical Athenaeum for Philosophy, Theology, and Canon Law

A THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

ON JACOB OF SERUGH’S

MEMRA 42

Richi Tom Mathew

Director
Prof. Dr. Fr. Thomas Kollamparampil C.M.I

A Research Paper Submitted to the Faculty of Theology

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Doctorate in Theology

Bengaluru
SEPTEMBER 2020

A THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON JACOB OF SERUGH’S MEMRA 42

Research Statement
A theological reflection on Jacob of Serugh’s memra 42, “On the partaking of the
Holy Mysteries-On the Week of Whites” based on biblical, catechetical, sacramental
and anthropological hermeneutics envisaging a synchronised vision of the life of a
faithful with the Church through the ultimate faith and knowledge in Christ Jesus, the
Word who is the creator and sustainer of entire cosmos; the divine mystery of the
Word revealed in the form of bread and wine on the altar table in the Church which is
the Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

Introduction

Jacob of Serugh is often regarded as one of the greatest and prolific Syriac writers
who lived during the early Syriac Christian era. Because of his exhaustive homilies
predominantly in the form of memre, Jacob is known as the ‘Flute of the holy Spirit
and Harp of the Holy Church.’1 These metrical homilies are not generally systematic
or elaborate commentaries directly pointing to Divine Liturgy but mostly fervent
pleas addressed to his audience with regard to the importance of the liturgical rituals
for the Christian life.2 The homilies directly connected to liturgy of the Divine
Eucharist is seen mainly in four memre: memre 22 “On the commemoration of the
dead and on the Eucharistic Bread,” memre 53 “On the crucifixion,” memre 42 “On
the Partaking of Holy Mysteries- for the week of white” and memre 95 “On the
Partaking of Holy Mysteries-for the night of Thursday of White.”

Jacob incorporates a special type of Christian theological tradition chiefly seen in

Syriac traditions based on a broader Semitic character that employs images and
symbols.3 The method used envisages freshness and vitality when dealing with
theological reflections from the scriptures. For Jacob and generally early Syriac
fathers, types and symbol imageries have two main factors colluding with each other;
the dynamism of the ‘hidden’ and ‘revealed.’ All these symbols represent a hidden
state of what is to be revealed in Christ which is an objective reality but is partially
pre-taste of an experience in this life in a subjective and hidden way.4
1
Brock, Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary, 433.
2
Harrak, On the Partaking of the Holy Mysteries, 1.
3
Brock, Hymns on Paradise, 40.
4
Brock, Hymns on Paradise, 43.
The memra in focus, memra 42, “On the Partaking of the Holy Mysteries- for the
Week of White” comments on the importance of holiness and sanctity in relation to
the reception of the Holy Mysteries. Jacob exhorts that a sinner must definitely return
from sin and guilt when he comes and stands before the Word which is the bread and
wine seen in the Church. Ultimately the role of each believer is to cleanse and sanctify
the body and soul to receive the Divine Mysteries.

The author evidently affirms the Word as the supreme power which, through its
power creates and sustains the world. The homily tries to establish that the Word is
ontologically united with God the Father and is seated on the divine throne reigning
over the heaven and the earth. Further the author describes how the Word took a
bodily form and in the church for the faithful, it is seen in the form of bread and wine
which is His body and blood. The entire homily follows a pedagogical path central to
the power of the Word in the form of Body and Blood on the altar and therefore,
could be understood to have been addressed to the catechumens who at the time in the
early church, chose the week of the white, that is, the week after the Easter Sunday for
baptism, as a formal entry to the Church.

Relevance of the Study

 To reveal the importance of Divine Eucharist in the early period of Syriac church
history and to understand how a faithful enters into an existential union with the
Divine Godhead Son, the Christ through the Holy Mysteries.
 To underline the importance of sacraments and its theological implications
through the church as carved out from the Scriptures.
 To bring about a synchronised vision of the church, its mysteries and the
understanding of the fathers and its relevance in the 21st century.

Objectives of the Study

 To unveil the mystery of our progress from the hidden to the revealed in the form
of Christ.
 What it means to sanctify oneself before participation in the Divine Mysteries.
 To understand the importance of the sacraments offered to us by the church in
attaining the union with Christ.
 To understand how in today’s world, one’s faith and knowledge in Christ
illumines oneself to partake in the sacraments, the culmination in the holy
Qurbana.
 The Christian life is always a pilgrimage, a journey of the self to the deified
Christ.

Elaboration of the Chapters

General Introduction
1 Historical Setting
1.1 Church as Mystical Body of the Word
1.2 Week of Whites
1.3 Lessons to the Catechumens
1.4 Importance of the Sacraments in Early Church
2 Catechetical Instructions
2.1 How to Approach the Divine Mysteries
1.1. 1 Wash the Inner Soul
1.1.2 Cleanse the Body
2.2 Importance of Word in Worship
2.2.1 Word’s influence on the World
2.2.2 Word’s Significance in Church
2.3 Importance of Sacraments and Church in the Life of a Faithful
3 Biblical Exegetical Approach
3.1 Word as the Express-image of the Father
3.1.1 Creator of the Cosmos
3.1.2 The Power that Sustains the World
3.2 Ezekiel’s Vision of the Throne
3.2.1 The Divine Chariot
3.3 The Kingdom of God
4 Sacramental Significance
4.1 Baptism as the Water that Purifies Inner Soul
4.1.1 Gift of Tears
4.2 Holy Mysteries to the Holy and Undefiled
4.2.1 God is Holy and from Him Proceeds Holiness
4.2.2 Turn to Repentance

5 Anthropological Reflections
5.1 Human-kind as Exalted over the Order of Angels
 5.2 Become like God
5.2.1 To be Holy
5.3 Importance of Alms-giving in Repentance

General Conclusion
Bibliography
Limitations of the Study
 The vast sources of primary textual writings of Syriac fathers are only available in
foreign languages. Very few are available for studies in English language and in
hard copy.
 Sacramental understanding of Divine Liturgy in Syriac patristic writings involves
very tedious work. The secondary sources or their available printed commentaries
or discussions on these texts are very few.
 The West Syriac Liturgical practices over the centuries have been a
conglomeration of the Eastern Orthodox Church liturgical practices too. To obtain
an independent idea about liturgical practices in the Malankara Orthodox Church
is nearly an impossible task and a comprehensive study on these two ancient
churches is very complex.

Projected Results of the Study

Life in Christ is not an illusion but a very reality experienced in true devotion and
holiness by participating in the very sacramental activity of the Holy Church. This life
in Church helps one to progress into the experience of the kingdom of God through
the knowledge of Jesus Christ hidden in the scriptures but in the fullness of time was
fully revealed. The Church fathers envisioned the sacramental life in the Church as an
imagery of the true life in heaven. In the modern world this idea is replicated by our
approach towards the liturgy and our participation in the partaking of the Holy
Mysteries. To be wary of our sins and to purify our body and soul for a better
Christian life is the ultimate way of true devotion and worship to God.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abraham, Johns. Yacobintae Qurbana Thaksa, Kottayam: M.OC. Publications, 2011.
Aquilina, Mike. The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian
Teachers. Idiana: Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, 2013.
Berardino, Angelo Di. History of Ancient Christianity, Vol. 3. 2014.
Blum, Georg Gunter. Mysticism in the Syriac Tradition, Kottayam: SEERI. 1999.
Brock, Sebastian, Holy Spirit in the Syriac Baptismal Tradition. Pune: Anita Print,
1998.
Brock, Sebastian. Encyclopedia Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage, New Jersey:
Gorgias Publication, 2010.
Brock, Sebastian. Spirituality in Syriac Tradition. Kottayam: SEERI, 2015.
Brock, Sebastian. The Luminous Eye: The Spiritual World Vision of Saint Ephrem.
Michigan: Cistercian Publications, 1992.
Brock, Sebastian. Trans. The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life.
Michigan: Cistercian Publications INC, 1987.
Burgese, Stanly M. The Holy Spirit: Eastern Christian Tradition. Peabody:
Hendrickson Publishers, 1989.
Burkitt, F. Crawford, Early Eastern Christianity: St. Margaret’s Lectures 1904 on the
Syriac Speaking Church. London: Cambridge University, 1904.
Cabasilas, Nicholas. The Life in Christ. Translated by Carmino J. deCatanzaro. New
York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998.
Connolly, Two Commentaries on Jacobite Liturgy. London: Williams and Norgate,
1913.
Daley, Brian E. The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook of Patristic Eschatology.
Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003.
Ephrem the Syrian. Hymns on Paradise. Introduction and Translated by Sebastian
Brock. New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998.
Ephrem the Syrian. The Hymns on Faith. Translated by Jeffrey T. Wickes,
Washington, and D.C: The Catholic University of America Press, 2015.
Hage, Wolfgang. Syriac Christianity in the East. Kottayam: SEERI, 1997.
Hayward, C.T. R. and Pauline Allan. Severus of Antioch, London: Routledge, 2004.
Hunt, Hannah. “The Tears of the Sinful woman: A Theology of Redemption in the
Homilies of St. Ephrem and His Followers”. Hugoye Vol. 1.2 (2010): 165-
184.
Kaniarakath, George. Eastern Christian Spirituality: An Introduction. Bangalore;
Dharmaram Publications, 2011.
Kiraz, George Anton. ed. Jacob of Serugh and His Times: Studies in Sixth- Century
Syriac Christianity. New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2010.
Kollamparampil, Thomas. “St. Ephrem the Syrian: Spiritual Vision (part III) the
Mystery of the History of Salvation for Resurrection.” Journal of St. Thomas
Christians 22(2011) 01: 95-114.
Kollamparampil, Thomas. Paradise-Church and the Kingdom in St. Ephrem`s Hymns
on Paradise VI. Harp 20 (2006) 02: 111-120.
Kollamparampil, Thomas. St. Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD): Spiritual Vision
(parti) the Mystery of the Created World and Humanity. Journal of St. Thomas
Christians 21(2010) 03: 77-99.
Kollamparampil, Thomas. Salvation in Christ according to Jacob of Serugh. Gorgias
Dissertaitions 49. New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2010.
Koonammakkal, Thomas. “Ephrem on the Imagery of Divine Love and Revelation.”
A Paper Presented in Lebanon.
Lorenzo, Buda. Mar Ephrem and the Early Syriac Ascetic Tradition. Moran Etho 43.
Kottayam: SEERI, 2018.
Lossky, Vladimir. The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church. New York: St.
Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1976.
Lossky, Vladimir. Orthodox Theology: An Introduction. Translated by Ian and
IhitaKesarcodi-Watson. New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1978.
Lumbala, Kabasele. “Comparison between Syriac Eucharistic Prayers and Actual
African Eucharistic Prayers”. The Harp 4, Kottayam: SEERI, 1991.
Mantzaridis, Georgios I. The Deification of Man. Translated by Liadain Sherrard.
New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984.
Mathew. Orthodox Prayer Life: The Interior Way. Translated by Nancy Hottel
Burkhart. Cairo: Monastery of Macarius.
Mazza, Enrico. Mystagogy: Theology of Liturgy in the Patristic Age, NY: Pueblo Pub,
1989.
McGraw, Ryan M. “Trinitarian Doxology: Reassessing John Owens Contribution to
Orthodox Trinitarian Theology”, Westminster Theological Journal 77, No. 2,
(2015).
McGuckin, Anthony. The Westminster Handbook to Patristic Theology. London:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
Moolan, John. Introduction to Oriental Liturgy and Theology, Kottayam: OIRSI,
2012.
Murray, Robert. Symbols of Church and Kingdom: A Study in Early Syriac Tradition.
Britain: T&T Clark International, 2004.
Nellas, Panayiotis. Deification in Christ: Orthodox Perspectives in the Nature of the
Human Person. Translated by Norman Russell. NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary
Press, 1987.
Order of the Celebration of the Eucharist, Kottayam: MOSC, 2011.
Pallikunnel, Geo. Elevation to the Divine State through Holy Qurbana. Bangalore:
Dharmaram Publications, 2016.
Panicker, Geevarghese. The Church in the Syriac Tradition. Kottayam: SEERI, 2010.
PayneSmith, J. Compendius Syriac Dictionary, New York: Clarendon Press, 1903.
Richardson, Cyril C. ed. Early Christian Fathers. Vol. I. Philadelphia: The
Westminster Press. 1996.
Schmemann, Alexander. Liturgy and Life, New York: Department of Religious
Education, 1983.
Shehimo, Book of Common Prayer. South West America: LRD, 2016.
Tovey, Philip. “Sedro and General Thanksgiving”. The Harp 3, (1990).
Tsirpanlis, Constantine N. Introduction to Eastern Patristic Thought and Orthodox
Theology. Minnesota: A Michael Glazier Book, 1991.
Varghese, Baby. “West Syrian Anaphora as an Expression of Trinitarian Doctrine”.
The Harp 4 (1998).
Varghese, Baby. Dionysius Bar Salibi: Commentaries on Myron and Baptism,
Kottayam: SEERI, 2006.
Varghese, Baby. John of Dara: Commentary on the Eucharist. Kottayam: SEERI,
1999.
Varghese, Baby. tr. Moran Etho Vol. 10, Dionysius Bar Salibi: Commentary on
Eucharist, Kottayam: SEERI, 1998.
Varghese, Baby. tr. Moses Bar Kepha: Commentary on the Eucharist, Kottayam:
M.O.S.C, 2014.
Varghese, Baby. West Syrian Liturgical Theology. Burlington: Ashgate, 2004.
Ware, Kallistos. The Inner Kingdom. New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press,
2004.