6 – 17 July 2026, weekdays

IL: SY511

Taught by: Elie Zinati, LMO

Previous knowledge

Students entering this level will be expected to have a solid grasp of the material covered in Beginning Syriac.

Content

While continuing to build knowledge of Syriac grammar and syntax, the primary focus of this course is the reading, analysis, and interpretation of Syriac texts.

Week 1: Students will review and deepen their understanding of gender and number in Syriac nouns and adjectives. They will study the use of object pronouns attached to verbs, learn the conjugation of strong verbs in the causative form (active and passive voices), and the passive conjugation of strong verbs in the intensive form. Selected prose texts and excerpts from verse homilies will be read and analyzed.

Week 2: The course will focus on Syriac word formation and the conjugation of verbs of various root types across different tenses, forms, and voices. Students will read extracts from verse homilies and hymns to apply their grammatical knowledge in context.

Course activities

Throughout the course, students will complete exercises in Syriac grammar and read a variety of texts drawn from the Syriac New Testament, the writings of the Syriac “Fathers”, liturgical texts, and selected secular literature. By the end of the course, students will be able to analyze and translate intermediate-level Syriac texts and participate in the Project of Publishing unedited Syriac manuscripts from the British Library.

Course material

The instructor will provide all necessary course materials based on a method he has developed. He will also recommend online and offline resources to support continued study of Syriac beyond the course.

Recommended (optional) references:

• F. HEALEY, First Studies in Syriac (Birmingham University Semitic Study AIDS), University of Birmingham, Birmingham 1980.
• A. Kiraz, The New Syriac Primer (The Gorgias Handbooks 9), Gorgias Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2016.
• Robinson’s Paradigms and Exercises in Syriac Grammar, 6 ed. rev. J.F. Coakley, Oxford UP, Oxford 2013.

Hours: 4:00 – 5:50 with a break

The course anticipates the student will spend 15 hours in personal reading and study per week.

Cost: £300 per 2 weeks

Location: Liturgy Institute London (at Ealing Abbey)
74 Castlebar Road Ealing London, W5 2DD, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)20 8194 2320

For further details or to register contact the Institute:
E-mail Clare Cogswell, the Registrar, at this linked E-mail address.
Location on Google Maps is found here.

Notes: Students must be over 18 years of age.

This course is designed for all the students to begin together. Once the course has begun, new students may not join in subsequent weeks.

This course is held in the mornings and may be taken alone or in conjunction with our courses offered during afternoon sessions.

If students enrol in two concurrent courses, they may wish to prepare for the intensive schedule by reading suggested texts before the course begins.

The instructor will arrange with the students to be available regularly for some time at the Institute and is also available by appointment.

Students and the public are invited to attend the annual St Bede Lecture, to be held at Ealing Abbey on Saturday afternoon 11 July at 2.30 PM.

Students and the public are invited to attend the annual St Ephrem Lecture, to be held at Ealing Abbey on Saturday afternoon 25 July at 2.30 PM.