Four parallel sessions, 67 speakers from 51 universities and research centers around the world, grouped into 11 thematic panels: this was the summary of the second day of proceedings for the 14th World Congress of Syriac Studies, organized by the Levant Institute for Advanced Studies in the Culture of Peace, together with its national and international partners – demonstrating the richness and vitality of Syriac heritage, which continues to generate new topics and directions for scientific research.
The first plenary session of the day was led by Professor David Taylor (University of Oxford), who delivered a lecture on the representation of women in Ephrem the Syrian's Commentaries on Genesis and Exodus. The subsequent academic presentations focused on the main pillars of the Syriac ecclesiastical sphere: the Church and Syriac liturgy, Christology, the Antiochian Bible, and the authority of local bishops, with particular attention given to the figure of Jacob I of Sarug.
Two special panels – "Editorial Practices for Christian-Arabic Texts" and "Syriac Christianity in India" – highlighted new methodologies and research finds from recent years, broadening the field's geographical and cultural horizons.
In addition, a presentation for a new volume, titled "Rediscovering a Lost History of Christianity in Central Asia," was organised at the Gorgias Press stand, the Levant Institute's partner in organizing the Symposium Syriacum,
The day's proceedings were drawn to a close through a second plenary lecture by Professor Aaron Michael Butts (University of Hamburg), who made a case for strengthening the field of Oriens Christianus ("the Christian East"), highlighting the current limitations to interdisciplinary approaches to Syriac studies.
