ABSTRACT

Women and children are often missing from Syriac sources. However, attention to liturgy and devotional piety allows us to access their contributions to broader aspects of society. Late antique Syriac Christianity attests two public roles for women that appear distinctive in comparison with Greek- or Latin-speaking regions: the ecclesiastical office of Daughter of the Covenant and non-monastic women’s liturgical choirs. I will argue that the public nature of these two roles – and particularly their civic locations – allows us to re-frame how we understand the places, roles, and contributions of women and children in Late Antique Syriac Christianity.