Jacob of Serugh's Syriac Homily (memrā) on *Ioulianos/Julianus Saba (monk of Mesopotamia, S00344) extols the saint's ascetic virtues and recounts his miracles and accomplishments. Written in northern Mesopotamia in the late 5th/early 6th c.
E06935
Liturgical texts - Hymns
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Jacob of Serugh
Jacob of Serugh, Homily on Ioulianos/Julianus Saba
Summary:
The Homily can be divided into two main parts. In the first part (pp. 61-64), Jacob extols the exemplary way of life of the saint, who died for the world in order to be with God. Ascetic accomplishments of Julian include fasting, prayer, voluntary poverty, and avoidance of the company of humans. In accordance with his usual custom, Jacob compares the holy man to various biblical figures, such as Daniel, Elisha and Moses.
The second part (pp. 64-70), consists of an account of the miracles and other achievements of Julian, closely following the narrative of Theodoret of Cyrrhus. It includes the miraculous killing of a serpent that happened to cross the holy man's way (p. 64); the miracle of procuring water in the desert, performed on behalf of an exhausted disciple (p. 65); the saint's pilgrimage to Mount Sinai (p. 66); the divine punishment of the emperor Julian, performed as an answer to the holy man's prayer (pp. 66-67); Julian's struggle against Arianism in Antioch (pp. 67-68); the rescue of a child, who fell into a well (pp. 68-69).
Summary: S. Minov
Chant and religious singing
Sermon/homily
Non Liturgical ActivityComposing and translating saint-related texts
MiraclesMiracle during lifetime
Miracle with animals and plants
Material support (supply of food, water, drink, money)
Miraculous protection - of people and their property
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
Source
The Homily on Ioulianos/Julianus Saba is a poetic celebration of the life and achievements of Julian Saba, the famous 4th c. ascetic who was active in Mesopotamia. The Homily belongs to the literary genre of memrā, a narrative poem that employs couplets all in the same syllabic meter. Such poems, which appear to have been recited rather than sung, were presumably used in the liturgy, though there is no evidence from Late Antiquity of exactly how it happened.The second part of the Homily is simply a paraphrase of the chapter on Julian Saba from the Religious History of Theodoret of Cyrrhus (E00420). It recounts almost all miracles and accomplishments of the holy man described there and in the same order. Most likely, Jacob was acquainted with the Syriac version of Julian's life from the Religious History (E06065).
There is a critical edition of the Homily, prepared by Roger-Youssef Akhrass and Imad Syryany on the basis of five out of ten existing manuscripts.
Syriac text: Akhrass & Syryany 2017, vol. 1, 61-71. For general information on Jacob and his oeuvre, see Brock 2011; Lange 2004; Alwan 1986.
Discussion
The Homily bears witness to the enduring popularity of the ascetic figure of Julian Saba among Syriac-speaking Christians of Mesopotamia during the late 5th and early 6th centuries. It also constitutes one of the earliest specimens of the reception of Theodoret's Religious History in the Syriac-speaking milieu.Bibliography
Main editions and translations:
Akhrass, R.-Y., and Syryany, I., 160 Unpublished Homilies of Jacob of Serugh. 2 vols (Damascus: Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate, 2017).
Further reading:
Alwan, K., “Bibliographie générale raisonnée de Jacques de Saroug († 521),” Parole de l’Orient 13 (1986), 313-384.
Brock, S.P., “Ya‘qub of Serugh,” in: S.P. Brock, A.M. Butts, G.A. Kiraz and L. van Rompay (eds.), Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2011), 433-435.
Lange, C., “Jakob von Sarug, † 521,” in: W. Klein (ed.), Syrische Kirchenväter (Urban-Taschenbücher 587; Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 2004), 217-227.
Sergey Minov
18/10/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00344 | Ioulianos/Julianus Saba, monk of Mesopotamia, ob. 367 | ܝܘܠܝܢܐ ܣܒܐ | Certain |
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