Poems on Bishops by Gregory of Nazianzus and Ephrem the Syrian: Literary Comparison and Translation

Giovanni Colpani

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Poems on Bishops by Gregory of Nazianzus and Ephrem the Syrian

Literary Comparison and Translation

Giovanni Colpani

Languages: English, Ancient Greek

Published/Copyright: 2025

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This book is in the series

Volume 111 | Millennium-Studien / Millennium Studies

About this book

Open Access

Gregory of Nazianzus and Ephrem the Syrian are both regarded as foundational poets for their respective literary traditions. They wrote in the same period, the 4th Century, and they both devoted a cycle of poems to a debated theme of the time: bishops.

Aim of this work is enhancing the appreciation of these cycles (Gregory’s carmina II, 1, 10; 12; 13; 17 and Ephrem’s carmina nisibena 13-21) as works of literature embedded in the performance and reading practices of the time, in theological debates on the episcopal office and in their respective communities. The book compares performance and transimission methods of the two corpora, the word choice and imagery describing the episcopal office and how portraits of real-life bishops are influenced by theological expectations on what a bishop should be. Two chapters are devoted to literary phenomena peculiar to each author.

This book, the first extensive comparison of these two authors from a literary point of view, will interest scholars of Late Antique poetry and literature, Church history and Patristic theology. A new English translation of both corporas constitutes the appendix.

Author / Editor information

Giovanni Colpani, Gymnasium, Kolleg und Fachoberschule St. Matthias, Wolfratshausen, Germany.

Topics

Frontmatter Open Access Download PDF	I
Foreword Open Access Download PDF	VII
Contents Open Access Download PDF	IX
Abbreviations, Quotations and Names Open Access Download PDF	XIII
Introduction Open Access Download PDF	1
1 Texts and Context Open Access Download PDF	14
2 Images and Words for the Bishop Open Access Download PDF	103
3 The Bishop and His World Open Access Download PDF	216
4 Ephrem’s Themes: The Bishop as the March of History Through the Community Open Access Download PDF	388
5 Gregory’s Themes: Self-Portrait with Enemies Open Access Download PDF	441
General Conclusions Open Access Download PDF	543
Appendix 1: Translation of Ephrem’s Carmina Nisibena 13–21 Open Access Download PDF	553
Appendix 2: Translation of Gregory’s carmina II, 1, 10.12.13.17 Open Access Download PDF	571
Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	601
Index of Passages Open Access Download PDF	623
Index of Primary Sources Open Access Download PDF	635
Index of Names Open Access Download PDF	661

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

June 16, 2025

eBook ISBN:

9783111553788

Hardcover published on:

June 16, 2025

Hardcover ISBN:

9783111552880

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Front matter:

14

Main content:

665

Tables:

4

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111553788

eBook ISBN: 9783111553788

Hardcover ISBN: 9783111552880

Keywords for this book

Ephraem; Syrus; Gregorius; Nazianzenus; Late Antiquity; poetry

Audience(s) for this book

Classics scholars, classical philologists, literary scholars, historians

Creative Commons

BY 4.0

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Poems on Bishops by Gregory of Nazianzus and Ephrem the Syrian

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About this book

Author / Editor information

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