Kristian Heal - The Magi and the Church in Persia: New Evidence from an Unpublished Syriac Sermon

Of the several Syriac texts that treat the story of the Magi, most have received recent and competent analysis. No such attention has been given, however, to an unpublished verse sermon on the Magi attributed, in a sixth century manuscript, to one of the illusive Syriac homilists called Isaac. This homily extends to over 800 seven-syllable lines, and recounts the story of the Magi from their commission as official emissaries to the new King of Judah, to their reluctant return home. This paper will focus on the rhetorical strategies used to establish a viable, peremptory connection between the person of Jesus and the Persian Empire.