On November 27, the nun of the Holy Cross Nunnery Dinara (Ketevan) Jorbenadze, Master of Theology, delivered a lecture at Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary. The lecture, held as part of the series of public lectures, was dedicated to the topic: “Classical Syriac and Its Significance for Those Interested in the Christian East.” Mother Dinara spoke about the Judeo-Biblical origins of Syriac Christianity and reviewed the issues of historiography and missiology.
The speaker noted that Classical Syriac - the main dialect of Aramaic - is known as the language spoken by Jesus Christ and apostles which was the lingua franca of the East at that time.
The area of the spread of the Classical Syriac language and the place of settlement of the Syrians was modern Turkey, Lebanon, Qatar, southwestern Iran, and Syria itself. Accordingly, Ephrem the Syrian, Isaac the Syrian, John of Dalyatha, Joseph Khazaia and many other prominent theologians composed their hymns in this language.
The Peshitta, the oldest of the versions of the Gospels and the Bible, numerous ascetic and mystical collections, chronicles and works of hymnody were written in this language.
The lecture was attended by professors and students of Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary. At the end of it, a discussion was held, and significant opinions were expressed about Georgian-Syrian cultural relations. Mother Dinara expressed her readiness to teach the classical Syriac (Aramaic) language to all students interested in this issue.