The World Syriac Conference concluded at Bar Ebroyo Centre for Syriac Studies at Aleppo
Syrian Church
ALEPPO, SYRIA: A Colloquium commemorating the life and works of Bar Ebroyo, the famous Syrian polymath and renowned Church father, was held in Aleppo, Syria, July 1 – 4th, 2010. The participants who came from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Turkey and the United States as well as from Lebanon and Syria enjoyed the papers presented at the Colloquium by scholars and specialist in Syriac studies. These contributions, which included fourteen papers that were delivered in seven sessions, discussed the writings of the celebrated scholar and polymath Mor Grigorious Abul- Faraj Bar Ebroyo as a chronicler, grammarian, philosopher, physician, theologian, ecumenist, mystic and as a major contributor to church liturgy and canon law.
Prior to the start of the Colloquium, the new conference facility that had been prepared for the event at the Aleppo Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese was consecrated under the name Bar Ebroyo Centre for Syriac Studies with a special prayer by His Eminence Mor Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim, Archbishop of Aleppo.
The proceedings also included an opening session in which a letter of blessing from His Holiness Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East was read. The welcoming address and the first paper of the Colloquium were delivered by Mor Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim, Archbishop of Aleppo and the host of the Colloquium.
The Colloquium programme included visits to a number of archaeological and historical locations. These included a tomb structure in Sirreen, East of Mabug that contains an old Syriac inscription dating back to 74 AD, the grave of Sulaiman Shah one of the forefathers of the founder of the Ottoman empire, Qalaat Najm (Citadel) on the river Euphrates where Bar Ebroyo was imprisoned by Hulagu when he tried to intercede on behalf of the city of Aleppo and the town of Mabug, the birth place of Theodora, the Syrian Queen, and the seat of Mor Philoxenus of Mabug (+ 523).
List of Scholars who participated in the Conference:
1. Metropolitan Mor Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim (Syria)
2. Pier Giorgio Borbone (Italy)
3. Deena Dinno and Khalid Dinno (Canada)
4. Margherita Farina (Italy)
5. Jean Fathi (France)
6. Jan van Ginkel (Netherlands)
7. Hubert Kaufhold (Germany)
8. Fr. Elias Kesrouani (Lebanon)
9. George Kiraz (USA)
10. Hidemi Takahashi (Japan)
11. Sara Tanoglu and Ishak Tanoglu (Turkey)
12. Herman Teule (Belgium)
13. Fr. Baby Varghese (India)
14. Dorothea Wetecke (Germany)
