This study seeks to address the common bridal imagery pervasive in ancient Syriac Christianity by asking how Jacob of Serug employed the presentation of biblical women in his homilies to serve as imagery for the Church.

Originally delivered as one of the St. Margaret’s Lectures for 1904, the contents of this booklet are focused on aspects of the Syriac-speaking Church. Extracted from Burkitt’s book Early Eastern Christianity, the fourth lecture concerns the development of marriage and the role of sacraments in the early Syriac Church. Burkitt finds that marriage was not early regarded as a sacrament and the married faithful were not permitted the sacraments of baptism or communion in the early tradition represented by Aphraates.

This small book is an exposition of the mysteries (or sacraments) of the Syrian Orthodox Church by the eminent Philoxenos Dolabani. The mysteries discussed are: Baptism, the Myron, the Eucharist, penance, the priesthood, anointing the sick, and marriage.

This commentary on Exodus by the highly influential fourth century Syriac writer St. Ephrem, is typical of his exegetical approach, particularly the emphasis on women in the narrative and the similarities to contemporary Jewish interpretations.