Resumen de Missionary Stories and the Formation of the Syriac Churches by Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent (review)
Throughout her book she labels the texts of Acts and Lives as “missionary stories” and “myths.” Using terms such as “separate” and “emergent” conditions the reader to consider the Chalcedonian churches as orthodox, stable, and non-changing in contrast to the non-Chalcedonian churches emerging as new entities with new apostles and a new hierarchy—in contradiction to studies that demonstrate the same roots and same liturgy for both churches. The boundaries that Saint-Laurent sets for her study precludes it from addressing the theological aspects of the texts, though a significant part of the “icon” drawn by the hagiographers depicts the theological identity of the church.
