Sources: Aphrahat, Demonstrations (~340 AD); Ephrem the Syrian (~306–373 AD), Hymns; the Peshitta (Syriac Bible); Jacob of Sarug, Memre.

Syriac Christianity is the Eastern Aramaic Christian tradition centered on Edessa (modern Urfa, Turkey) — theologically and linguistically the closest surviving tradition to the Aramaic-speaking world of early Christianity. Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. Key features: (1) The Peshitta — the standard Syriac Bible, which for the Old Testament follows a Hebrew tradition independent of both the Masoretic text and the Septuagint, and for the New Testament originally lacked 2 Peter, 2–3 John, Jude, and Revelation; (2) Ephrem the Syrian (~306–373 AD) — the greatest Syriac theologian, whose hymns (madrasha) are among the finest Christian theological poetry, exploring the Incarnation through paradox and metaphor; he is the only non-pope named a Doctor of the Church; (3) The post-Chalcedon split — Syriac Christianity divided into: the Syriac Orthodox Church (Miaphysite, West Syriac, “Jacobite” after Jacob Baradaeus who secretly ordained Miaphysite clergy under Byzantine suppression) and the Church of the East (formerly “Nestorian,” East Syriac, the great missionary movement reaching China and India); (4) Maronite Christianity — the Lebanese church that entered communion with Rome (~12th century) while retaining the Syriac liturgical tradition. Syriac Christianity has been devastated by the ISIS genocide in Iraq and Syria (2014–2019), with ancient communities eliminated from their homelands.