The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

The present publication focuses on the little-studied preaching activity of the Syriac poet and theologian Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373), and particularly on the sharp critique he offered his own Christian community. The article demonstrates that Ephrem’s internal critique is often accompanied by anti-Jewish polemic, a fine example of which can be found in his memra (syr. discourse, (metrical) homily) “On Nineveh and Jonah”. This article identifies intertextual connections between this work and other memre by Ephrem — in particular memre “On Nicomedia”, the first memra “On Admonition” etc., making it possible to draw the conclusion that the memra “On Nineveh and Jonah” is a part of a cycle of works in which St. Ephrem analyzes the causes of the catastrophic situation in his hometown of Nisibis, caused by its invasion by the Persian king, Shapur II. Ephrem proposes that the wicked behavior of the Christian residents of Nisibis is the main cause of the invasion, therefore attacking them with a sharp critique and drawing an analogy between the residents of Nisibis and the Jews of the Old Testament. Thus, the article claims that for St. Ephrem — especially in his memra — the Jews are not only real opponents, but also a paradigm of negative behavior. The article pays special attention to the fact that this shift of anti-Jewish polemic to internal critique was due to the specific historical situation and geographical position of the region where Ephrem the Syrian lived, contributing to the question of the formation of Syriac Christian identity. These findings on the context and specifics of the memra “On Nineveh and Jonah” can be used in genre studies of early Syriac literature.