Well-Versed in Pain: Biblical Narratives of Healing in St. Jacob of Serugh | Dr. Erin Walsh

St. Jacob of Serugh composed narrative poems (memre) on a variety of biblical stories featuring miraculous healings. He also wove the imagery of disease, disability, and medicine throughout his writings. This lecture turns our attention to the potency of such imagery and the prominence of Jesus as healer in Jacob’s poetry. Inhabiting the voice of the poetic narrator, Jacob frequently underscored the symbolic value of the bodily conditions of biblical characters, interpreting their stories to address the universal condition of human sinfulness. At the same time, Jacob’s artfully staged protagonists resist the erasure of their physical bodies, often giving voice to their emotional and physical distress as well as the social consequences of illness.

Dr. Walsh highlights memre on New Testament narratives such as the woman with a bent spine (Lk 13:10-17), the hemorrhaging woman (Mk 5:25-34, Mt 9:20-22, and Lk 8:43-48), and the leper (Mk 1:40-45, Mt 8:1-4, and Lk 5:12-16) to examine how Jacob’s poetry brought their encounters with Jesus to life within the liturgy.

Urho, The Way is pleased to announce that we will be a hosting partner of this illuminating online series organized by thehiddenpearl.org and the Eparchy of Los Angeles.

On the third Wednesday of each month in 2021, at 10:00 am ET (3pm GMT, 8.30pm IST), world-renowned scholars on St. Jacob of Serugh will be presenting a live lecture that can be viewed through Urho, The Way Facebook page.

May God bless all of you!

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