Ministries of Song is a tour-de-force study of the power of women’s liturgical singing in late antique Syriac Christianity. Extending women’s religious participation beyond the familiar roles of female saints and nobles, Syriac churches cultivated a flourishing tradition of women’s sacred song. Susan Ashbrook Harvey brings this music to life as she uncovers the ways these now-nameless women performed a boldly sung teaching ministry and invited congregations to respond aloud. Harvey demonstrates how these choirs helped to shape the formative ethical and moral ideals of their congregations and communities. Women’s voices, both real and imagined, enriched the ritual and devotional lives of Syriac Christians daily and weekly, on ecclesial and civic special occasions, in sorrow or joy, with authoritative theological significance and social and political resonance. Arguing for the importance of liturgy as social history, Harvey shows us how and why women’s voices mattered for ancient Syriac Christianity and why they matter still.
“This rich and compelling book offers the first focused history of Syriac women’s choirs in late antiquity and beyond. Harvey gives humane voice to an institution that has been overlooked for too long.” — Jeffrey Wickes, University of Notre Dame
“An enthralling guide to the vitality of women’s choirs and their unique portrayals of storied biblical women in ancient Syriac Christian worship. Through her unparalleled gifts as a storyteller and historian, Harvey reveals how drama and devotion intertwine in these dynamic ritual settings. A seismic achievement!” — Georgia Frank, Colgate University
Susan Ashbrook Harvey is the Willard Prescott and Annie McClelland Smith Professor of History and Religion at Brown University. She is the author of Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination.
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