Anti-Judaism and Christian Orthodoxy: Ephrem's Hymns in Fourth-century Syria (Patristic Monograph Series 20)

208 Pages·2008·6.24 MB·English

by  Christine Shepardson

Anti-Judaism and
Christian Orthodoxy
Ephrem's Hymns in
Fourth-Century Syria
North American Patristics Society
Patristic Monograph Series
Volume 20
SERIES EDITOR
Philip Rousseau
The Catholic University of America
EDITORIAL BOARD
Pauline Allen Michael J. Hollerich
Australian Catholic University University of St. Thomas
John Behr Blake Leyerle
St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological University of Notre Dame
Seminary
J. Rebecca Lyman
Daniel Caner Church Divinity School of the Pacific
University of Connecticut
Patricia Cox Miller
Susanna Elm Syracuse University
University of California, Berkeley
Claudia Rapp
James E. Goehring University of California,
University of Mary Washington Los Angeles
Susan Ashbrook Harvey Dennis Trout
Brown University University of Missouri, Columbia
Ronald E. Heine Robin Darling Young
Puget Sound Christian College University of Notre Dame
Anti-Judaism and
Christian Orthodoxy
Ephrem's Hymns in
Fourth-Century Syria
Christine Shepardson
The Catholic University of America Press
Washington, D.C.
Copyright © 2008
The Catholic University of America Press
All rights reserved
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standards for Information Science—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI 239.48-1984.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS C ATALO GING-1N-PUBLICATION DATA
Shepardson, Christine C, 1972-
Anti-Judaism and Christian orthodoxy : Ephrem's hymns in fourth-
century Syria / Christine Shepardson.
p. cm. — (North American Patristics Society patristic
monograph series; v. 20)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8132-1536-5 (cloth: alk. paper) 1. Ephraem, Syrus, Saint,
303-373 2. Hymns, Syriac—History and criticism. 3. Christianity
and antisemitism 4. Judaism (Christian theology)—History of
doctrines—Early church, ca. 30-600. I. Title. II. Series.
BR65 E636S54 2008
270.2092—dc22 2008006257
In memory of my grandmothers,
Barbara Carran and Sarah Shepardson

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
1. Syria and the Politics of Christian Orthodoxy i
2. Defending Nicaea against Jews andjudaizers 21
3. Ephrem's Use of Scriptural History 69
4. Ephrem, Athanasius, and the 'Arian' Threat 106
5. Syria and the Construction of
Christian Orthodoxy 157
Bibliography 163
General Index 187
Index of Ephrem's Writings 191

Acknowledgments
It is my great pleasure to acknowledge the many people who have made
this project possible, and first among them are my two exceptional disserta­
tion advisors, to whom I am extremely grateful: Elizabeth A. Clark, an in­
spirational model of scholarly excellence and a compassionate mentor; and
Lucas Van Rompay, whose deep knowledge of Syriac language, literature,
and history—along with his kindness and generosity—ensured that I could
fully pursue my interest in early Syriac Christianity. Without them, this book
would not exist.
I first encountered Ephrem's writings in a graduate class at Duke University,
where his mixture of beautiful poetry and biting polemic and his unfamiliar
Syrian context piqued my curiosity. I became interested in early Christian anti-
Judaism through undergraduate work at Swarthmore College with Amy-Jill
Levine and Jacqueline Pastis and explored the topic in more depth through
graduate work at Boston University with Paula Fredriksen, whose mentor­
ing friendship remains invaluable to me. While I was at Duke University, in
addition to Elizabeth Clark and Lucas Van Rompay, I had the good fortune
to work with Bart D. Ehrman, Dale B. Marin, Eric M. Meyers, and Orval
Wintermute, who continue to teach and encourage me as they did through­
out my graduate education. My thanks to them, and to the other scholars
and friends who offered feedback on earlier written and oral versions of this
project: Lewis Ayres, Catherine M. Chin, L. Stephanie Cobb, Garry J. Crites,
George Demacopoulos, Sidney H. Griffith, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Andrew
S. Jacobs, Lawrence Lazarus, Pamela Mullins, Michael P. Perm, Gil Renberg,
Jeremy Schott, Melissa Solomon, Caroline T. Schroeder, and Christopher
Whitsett. More recently Derek Krueger, Michael Kulikowski, Philip Rousseau,
and the members of the faculty seminar on "The Mediterranean World in
Late Antiquity" at the University of Tennessee have also given me helpful
feedback. I sincerely thank series editor Philip Rousseau for his help through