Narsai (410–502)
Born 410 CE, died 502 CE.
Narsai the Harp of the Holy Spirit (Classical Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܢܪܣܝ ܟܢܪܐ ܕܪܘܚܐ, romanized: Mar Narsai Kinnara d'Rukha, c. 399 – c. 502) was one of the most important poet-theologians of the early Church of the East. His homilies belong to the same late antique Syriac preaching culture as those of Jacob of Serugh and Isaac of Antioch, but they reflect the traditions associated with the School of Edessa, the School of Nisibis, and the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia. His stature in Syriac literature is seen as on par with Jacob's, both only second to Ephrem the Syrian. Narsai is venerated as a saint in all the modern descendants of the Church of the East; the Chaldean Catholic Church, Assyrian Church of the East, Ancient Church of the East, and Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Saint Narsai is known as the 'Flute of the Holy Spirit.' Although many of his works seem to have been lost, eighty-one of his mēmrē (ܡܐܡܖ̈ܐ), or verse homilies survive.
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