A Theology of Wonder: An Introduction to the Poetry of Ephrem the Syrian
Thursday, September 10, 2020
8:00 p.m. EDT
Join us at 7 p.m. CDT/8 p.m. EDT on Thursday, September 10th as we cosponsor a Zoom webinar with Dr. Andrew Hayes. Dr. Hayes will present “A Theology of Wonder: An Introduction to the Poetry of Ephrem the Syrian,” the second installment of the fall webinar series Eastern Catholic Theology in Action. The Saint Benedict Institute is a cosponsor of this event series.
This webinar is free and open to the public and no preparation is necessary. The event will be presented on Zoom (registration required), as well as through live-stream on YouTube. For more information and to register for this webinar, click here.
St. Ephrem is the common teacher of the Syriac theological tradition whose preferred medium is poetry. Named a doctor of the Church by Benedict XV, Ephrem emphasizes that the ascetical and mystical experience of wonder is the criterion for authentic theologizing. Dr. Hayes will discuss how Ephrem’s notion of wonder purifies our freedom and rendering the whole person a clear and luminous receptacle for the experience of God.
Andrew Hayes (Ph.D. Catholic University of America) is Division Dean of Liberal Studies and Associate Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Dr. Hayes conducts research on Syriac patristics and on related theological and literary traditions. Syriac, a dialect of the Aramaic language, serves as the vehicle for a major tradition of Christian literature and culture in the Near East, from the early period until today. He specializes particularly in asceticism, spirituality, and theological poetics in the thought of St. Ephrem the Syrian (4th century). He has published and presented research in the areas of the early Syriac authors, Jacob of Serugh and Philoxenus of Mabbugh (both 5th–6th century).