How Does a Law Develop in Eastern Christianity? Interuniversity Seminar

During late antiquity, with the rise of the Christian theology and the Christian institutions, rose its legal system. The early stages of this system are documented in the Church Orders and the Councils, in letters and the evolving legal literature. Further evidence, however, are to be found in theological, exegetical and historiographical Christian literature.

This topic will be the center of the discussions in our lab. We invite both research students and senior scholars to take part in this research. In the lab we will focus on evidence of law, custom, and legal thought, as preserved in Christian literature in Greek and Syriac, and discuss the means in which they can be used to describe the development of the Christian legal literature. We will ask how the evolving Christian legal tradition relates to halakha on the one hand, and Roman law on the other, and what is the relation between the formal legal system, and the practice.

The lab will hold three extended meetings during the semester (12 s”h), in which participants will share their findings, in addition to biweekly meetings of the students. Knowledge of Syriac, Greek or Latin is required and participation is dependent on a short interview. Participation in an advanced Syriac course, of the same name (677477401), is highly recommended.