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Philip Forness

@philipforness.bsky.social
719 followers 183 following 45 posts

Associate Professor of Eastern Christianity at KU Leuven.

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Reposted by Philip Forness
Jamey Walters @jedwardwalters.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
We have a release date! According to the publisher, our volume on late antique Syriac homilies will be released on Sept. 23. The website doesn't have a pre-order option, so mark your calendars! @philipforness.bsky.social @degruyterbrill.bsky.social
Cover image for a book: at the top, with white letters against solid purple background, the title is: "A Guide to Preaching and the Homiletic Genre in Late Antique Syriac Literature". Then in a different font color against the purple background: Edited by Philip Michael Forness and James Edward Walters. There is an image from a manuscript at the bottom depicting two well known preachers from the Syriac tradition: Ephrem and Jacob.
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Great news!
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
On behalf of the entire editorial board of the Journal of Eastern Christian Studies, I am happy to announce a new and timely special issue in open access: "Orthodox Reforms in the 'Long Seventeenth Century': The Kyivan Model," edited by Liliya Berezhnaya. Enjoy reading! brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com
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REFORC @reforc.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Call for Papers: TransLATINg the Bible: the Creation, Transmission, and Reception of the Latin Bible, conference at KU Leuven April 7-9, 2027 @kuleuventheology.bsky.social tinyurl.com/2rej975v
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Sam Ottewill-Soulsby @samottewillsoulsby.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Very cool to see that this translation of the Syriac Chronicle of Seert is now out as I think its going to be very useful for late antique studies! www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978088...
hup.harvard.edu
The Chronicle of Seert, ca. 580–660 — Harvard University Press
The Chronicle of Seert, a Middle Arabic history written in the late tenth or eleventh century, draws on earlier Syriac sources from the Church of the East dating back to the sixth and seventh centurie...
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Jamey Walters @jedwardwalters.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Today @philipforness.bsky.social and I submitted the second corrected proof and all indices for this volume. Hope to see it in print some time soon! @degruyterbrill.bsky.social
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
An earlier translation of the fourth of the homilies on Cain and Abel appeared in @jedwardwalters.bsky.social's Eastern Christianity: A Reader (www.eerdmans.com/978080287686...) and can be read there alongside many other treasures of eastern Christian literature.
eerdmans.com
Eastern Christianity
A rich anthology of early Eastern Christian textsEastern Christianity: A Reader is an unparalleled collection of significant texts from Syriac, Armenian, Geo...
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
I discuss the transmission of these homilies in relation to the biographical and hagiographical tradition surrounding Jacob of Serugh in "Exegete, Preacher, Saint: The Reception of Jacob of Serugh Evidenced by the Transmission of His Homilies (6th–12th Centuries)," here: tinyurl.com/5yp3s3z3
academia.edu
Exegete, Preacher, Saint: The Reception of Jacob of Serugh Evidenced by the Transmission of His Homilies (6th–12th Centuries). Journal of Eastern Christian Studies 77, no. 3–4 (2025): 181–210 (Full Te...
Over four hundred Syriac manuscripts preserve the writings of the poet-theologian Jacob of Serugh (d. 520/1). Stretching from late antiquity to the present, they offer insight into Jacob's recepti...
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Jeff Wickes published on one of the most fascinating aspects of this set of homilies in his article: "'You Have Broken Me, Cain': The Piety of Sorrow in Jacob's Poems on Cain and Abel," which you can read here: www.academia.edu/86700849/_Yo...
academia.edu
"You Have Broken Me, Cain": The Piety of Sorrow in Jacob's Poems on Cain and Abel
"You Have Broken Me, Cain": The Piety of Sorrow in Jacob's Poems on Cain and Abel
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
I am happy to announce the publication of a new English translation of Jacob of Serugh's four homilies on Cain and Abel. It was wonderful to work on this project with Jeff Wickes! The homilies are fascinating theological and literary works: svspress.com/verse-homili...
svspress.com
Verse Homilies on Cain and Abel
Founded in 1968, St Vladimir's Seminary Press is the largest and most active publisher of Orthodox Christian books in the English language.
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
I have had such productive exchanges, including major grant writing, with colleagues from Exeter. If you have not already done so, consider signing this petition for theology and religious studies (docs.google.com/document/d/1.... ) and for the humanities (c.org/JFDSQr2WYV).
c.org
Sign the Petition
Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Just over a week left to apply! www.kuleuven.be/lectio/event...
kuleuven.be
LECTIO Summer School 2026: Translations in the Premodern and Early Modern World
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Dr. Elizabeth Schrader Polczer @libbiesp.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
It's true! Villanova is hiring a tenure-track position in Eastern Christianity! Please share far and wide. aarsbl.org/job/tenure-t...
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Alexandrinische und antiochenische Bibelexegese @bibelexegese.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Heute ist Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften #lndw @bbaw.bsky.social Bei uns gibt es eine Führung (21:30/22:30 Uhr): Was machen wir eigentlich, wenn wir spätantike Texte edieren? Welche Methoden wenden wir an? Und welche Rolle spielt moderne Computertechnik? www.tagesspiegel.de/themenspezia...
tagesspiegel.de
Geschichte zwischen den Zeilen: So entschlüsselt eine Berliner Forscherin spätantike Handschriften
Zur Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften am 6. Juni zeigen Experten in der Staatsbibliothek, wie sie tausend Jahre alte Schriften neu herausgeben – und warum das wichtig ist.
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Rachel Bridgewater @rachelbridgewater.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
📖New book! Edited by John-Paul Ghobrial, Michael A. Reynolds, Christian C. Sahner & Jack Tannous, it reimagines the history of the region by integrating Christian experiences and sources📖 edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-christi...
Book cover: Christians in Middle Eastern History: Strangers No More
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The CLAIM & GenAut Projects @receptionmatters.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Come work with the CLAIM team in the new ERC project in Vienna! Apply here: jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Postdoct... Details CLAIM.univie.ac.at/ @erc.europa.eu | @univie.ac.at | @etf-univienna.bsky.social
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Come join us in Leuven for our Summer School on translations!
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Our team at KU Leuven is organizing a Workshop on Letters & Epistolary Culture in Syriac Christianity at the Oxford Patristic Studies Conference (2–6 Aug 2027). We will be happy to receive proposals for papers by 30 June 2026 (marion.pragt@kuleuven.be). Details in the attached file.
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Arash Zeini @arashzeini.com · 29/05/2026
Christians in Middle Eastern History Ghobrial, John-Paul, Michael Reynolds, Christian C. Sahner & Jack Tannous (eds.). 2026. Christians in Middle Eastern history: Strangers no more (Edinburgh Studies in Middle Eastern Christianity). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. The dazzling array of…
biblioiranica.info
Christians in Middle Eastern History
Ghobrial, John-Paul, Michael Reynolds, Christian C. Sahner & Jack Tannous (eds.). 2026. Christians in Middle Eastern history: Strangers no more (Edinburgh Studies in Middle Eastern Christianity). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. The dazzling array of languages and religions in the Middle East, from Late Antiquity to the present, has long made the region a source of fascination. But the specific features of pluralism in the Middle East have also made writing its history a difficult enterprise, as scholarly specialisation has often meant that this or that religious group becomes invisible.
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Sabrina Inowlocki @sabrinainowlocki.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Proofs have arrived. Looking forward to the end product in early July!
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TeTra | Text and Transmission Research Seminar @tetraseminar.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Tomorrow!!!
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Marion Pragt @worldlyscribe.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Free access link to my own contribution - on why Gregory of Nyssa has quite so much to say about cinnamon: online.ucpress.edu/SLA/article/...
online.ucpress.edu
“Beyond Belief”Thinking with Cinnamon in Gregory of Nyssa’s Homilies on the Song of Songs
The Homilies on the Song of Songs by the late antique Christian author Gregory of Nyssa are commonly studied for their spiritual interpretations and mystical theology. At the same time, his Homilies a...
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Heleen Murre-van den Berg @hlmvdberg.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Great project (Women in Syriac Christianity, 1500-1800) directed by Lucy Parker (Oxford), looking for a postdoctoral researcher interested in Arabic manuscripts my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
my.corehr.com
Job Details
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Congratulations! That is fantastic!
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Reposted by Philip Forness
Society of Biblical Literature @sblsite.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
The Call for Papers for the 2026 Annual Meeting in Denver, CO, has been extended to 11:59PM ET on March 9. Don't miss this chance to engage the global community of biblical scholarship. buff.ly/4hRL28M
members.sbl-site.org
Annual Meeting Call for Papers
Impexium Association Management Software
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Last day to submit a proposal!
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
I appreciate the contrast of "door" and "wall" in the second foot.
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Still a few days to submit a proposal for the Syriac Studies program unit at SBL, including a joint session with the Religious World of Late Antiquity program unit!
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Come work with some of my fantastic colleagues in @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social! A full-time, four-year PhD vacancy in Latin Patristic Literature/Theology KU Leuven. Please spread the word! theo.kuleuven.be/apps/joboppo... @kuleuventheology.bsky.social
theo.kuleuven.be
Faculteit Theologie en Religiewetenschappen - Job Opportunities and Awards
Faculteit Theologie en Religiewetenschappen KU Leuven
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Regula M. Zwahlen @remaz.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
PhD Scholarship in Theology, Religious Studies or Slavic Studies at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of KU Leuven: www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...
kuleuven.be
PhD Scholarship in Theology, Religious Studies or Slavic Studies
PhD History Catholic Ecumenism
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Jamey Walters @jedwardwalters.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
I have been informed by the good folks at @gorgiaspress.bsky.social that my translation of the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch (aka 2 Baruch) is officially in print, though I don't have a hard copy yet. Here's a link: www.gorgiaspress.com/maccabees-3-...
gorgiaspress.com
3-4 Maccabees and the Apocalypse of Baruch According to the Syriac Peshitta Version with English Translation
This volume is part of a series of English translations of the Syriac Peshitta along with the Syriac text carried out by an international team of scholars.
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Congratulations! It is wonderful to see this in print!
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
We have extended the call for applications to July 30th for a post-doc position in the Frankfurt-Leuven Project “Commentary on the Ecclesiastical History of John of Ephesus.” The successful candidate would not necessarily need to move to Frankfurt to take up this position.
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
One more week to apply!
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
And here is the link: www.uni-frankfurt.de/48794849/FB0...)
uni-frankfurt.de
Goethe-Universität — FB08 - Philosophie und Geschichtswissenschaften
Die Goethe-Universität ist eine forschungsstarke Hochschule in der europäischen Finanzmetropole Frankfurt. Lebendig, urban und weltoffen besitzt sie als Stiftungsuniversität ein einzigartiges Maß an E...
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Congratulations!
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
I am happy to share an advertisement for a post-doc position in the Frankfurt-Leuven project "Commentary on John of Ephesus's Ecclesiastical History." The deadline is 23 July 2025, and the position is to be filled from 1 October 2025. Please feel free to contact me or Hartmut Leppin with questions.
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
This article appears in an edited volume on manuscripts, which I can highly recommend. It is published open access here: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
degruyterbrill.com
Manuscript Treasures from Afro-Eurasia
Throughout the Middle Ages manuscripts were routinely commissioned, copied, illustrated, displayed, read, and transferred across both sides of the Mediterranean. Their significance as vehicles for the...
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
The second article focuses on the relationship between the production of translations and the circulation of manuscripts, with an emphasis on the Syriac evidence. The full article can be found here: www.academia.edu/128835135/Tr...
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
The article is published in the most recent fascicle of the Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum as part of a broader article on translations, with sections also on classical antiquity and ancient Judaism.
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
The first discusses translation practice and theory and analyzes the evidence for translations into fourteen different languages. A preview of the article can be found here: www.academia.edu/128835239/%C.... But please contact me for a full offprint.
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
For about the last five years, I have been working on the translation and translation cultures of Christian communities in late antiquity, seeking especially to bring together the Latin and Greek evidence with that found in eastern Christian languages. The first two articles have finally appeared.
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
So sorry to hear this!
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Sorry to hear this, Jeremiah.
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Very sorry to hear this, Dan.
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Nicolas Atas @zoxe.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Next week in Palermo!
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Mateusz Kusio @mateuszkusio.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Very glad to see this volume, which I had the honour and the pleasure of co-editing with Julia Doroszewska, the prime mover of the project, from the Faculty of History of the University of Warsaw, being released today by @brepols.bsky.social
The cover of the volume "Boundaries of Holiness, Frontiers of Sainthood:
Negotiating the Image of Christian Holy Figures and Saints in Late Antiquity" (ed. Julia Doroszewska, Mateusz Kusio, Brepols, 2025), including a detail from the painting "Project of an Icon" by Jerzy Nowosielski
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Nicolas Atas @zoxe.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
L’Académie Belge pour l’Étude des Langues Anciennes et Orientales (ABELAO) a le plaisir de vous inviter à son école d’été, qui se tiendra à Louvain-la-Neuve du 29 juillet au 8 août. Plus de détails et inscriptions sur www.abelao.eu
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Very much looking forward to the visit of the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Awa III, to Leuven on Monday, February 24th! If you are in the area, please feel free to come (you can register via this website through February 20th). theo.kuleuven.be/en/research/...
theo.kuleuven.be
The Challenges for the Assyrian Church of the East: Lecture by Patriarch Mar Awa III
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Philip Forness @philipforness.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Thanks for this list! Could you add me as well?
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