St. Mary’s Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church, Los Angeles

09/08/2026

09/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/100067967684346/posts/1402606548681588/

Join us tomorrow at 10am EDT/7:30pm IST as Dayroyo Imad Syryany talks about his new English translation of the Sh'himo, the Syriac Prayer of the Hours.

📝 𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝘿𝙖𝙮𝙧𝙤𝙮𝙤 𝙄𝙢𝙖𝙙
From Lebanon, Dayroyo Imad graduated with a Bachelor of Theology and a Diploma of Syriac Studies and Liturgy from Mor Aphrem Theological Seminary in Syria in 2017. He completed graduate studies at the Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago in 2023 with a Master's of Divinity and Master's of Arts in Pastoral Counseling. He was tonsured as a monk brother in the Order of the Holy Cross in Saydnaya, Syria in 2023. He currently serves as the acting supervisor of the curriculum, formator, and instructor at the Mor Aphrem Seminary. He was co-editor of the book "160 Unpublished Homilies of Jacob of Serugh" along with H.E. Mor Serverios Roger Akhrass (2017). He also edited and translated the book "Jacob of Serugh: Homilies on Topics from the New Testament" (Arabic, 2021). Today, we talk about his latest effort in editing and translating the Syriac-English Shhimo.

07/17/2026

A video on weddings in ancient Mesopotamia by Rinyo, well worth watching. It shows how many of the customs we observe even today have roots in Mesopotamia, one of the earliest civilizations.

05/30/2026

Be still, and know that I am God. - Psalm 46:10 🤍

“Blessed is the person who has become a harp for the Holy Spirit, and whose heart is at peace in the stillness of God.” - St. Ephrem the Syrian

05/30/2026

HH Patriarch Mor Aphrem II on exemplary Christian life that seeks to attain "qadishutho", holiness. https://www.facebook.com/reel/921673416320790?s=yWDuG2&fs=e&mibextid=Nif5oz

05/09/2026

On Friday, May 1, 2026, St. Vladimir's Seminary hosted master practitioners from the Syriac and Armenian traditions as part of the two-day event, Exploring the Orient: Syriac & Armenian Liturgical Chant.

On the first day of Exploring the Orient at St. Vladimir's Seminary, Dr. Gabriel Aydin presented a two-part workshop, entitled: “The Structure, Theology, and Liturgical Function of Syriac Chant.” The day culminated with a wonderful lecture-recital by both Dr. Aydin and Dr. Haig Utidjian singing select hymns from the Syriac and Armenian liturgical music traditions, respectively.

00:00​ Welcome and Introduction by Dr. Peter Bouteneff and Dr. Alexander Lingas
10:50​ Dr. Gabriel Aydin, Session 1: “The Structure, Theology, and Liturgical Function of Syriac Chant”
01:28:38​ Dr. Gabriel Aydin, Session 2: “The Structure, Theology, and Liturgical Function of Syriac Chant”, Part 2
03:03:52​ Lecture-Recital: Drs. Gabriel Aydin & Haig Utidjian

ABOUT THE LECTURERS:

Gabriel Aydin, Ph.D., is a musicologist, author, and composer specializing in ancient Syriac liturgical chant and the musical traditions of the Christian Middle East.

Haig Utidjian, Ph.D., is an orchestral conductor, chorus master, musicologist, and patristics scholar. He has published extensively on the musicology and theology of the Armenian Hymnal and on the works of St. Gregory of Narek.

SPONSORS:

Exploring the Orient was made possible through a generous grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW), Grand Rapids, MI, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. The workshops and discussions were hosted at both St. Vladimir's Seminary (Yonkers, NY) and St. Nersess Armenian Seminary (Armonk, NY), and provided participants the opportunity to delve into commonalities and differences in Eastern and Oriental Orthodox approaches to sung worship.

On Friday, May 1, 2026, St. Vladimir's Seminary hosted master practitioners from the Syriac and Armenian traditions as part of the two-day event, Exploring t...

05/06/2026

A momentous occasion for the Syriac Orthodox Church in the land of its origins. The entire Church has a significant stake in these positive developments since loss of ancestral communities of faith will inevitably change the character of a Church that now has larger communities in the diaspora. Without a significant presence in its ancestral lands, the Church will struggle to maintain its identity and continuity in traditions. While the overall situation in Syria and Turkey remains precarious, a restored church in these lands, devastated by extremists, gives a glimmer of hope for a better future of our people there and for the Church at large.

04/30/2026

Deir ez-Zor is the largest city in Eastern Syria and was a home to Syriac Christians from Apostolic times. The name of the town is an Arabized form of the Syriac Dayr Z`uro - small/minor habitation/monastery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_ez-Zor

HH Patriarch and accompanying bishops being received in the city.
https://www.facebook.com/suborotv/videos/1483798123420363/?mibextid=CDWPTG

04/29/2026

Anthropic Wants Claude to Be Moral. Is Religion Really the Answer? (NY Times, Apr 20, 2026)

A.I. cannot meditate, fast or prostrate itself in prayer.