The author, Emmanuel Pataq Siman, OP, was born on Christmas Day in the Syriac Christian town of Qaraqosh, Iraq. In this book he shares memories of his childhood, of growing up Christian in a Muslim (though secular) Arab society, and of his decision to enter the Dominican order. He shares with the reader the culture shock that attended that decision, his subsequent move to the Convent of Saint Jacques in Paris and, as someone who has experienced life as a member of a religious minority, his admiration for French secularism, or laïcité. He then narrates the history of the Syriac Church, beginning with its roots in ancient Mesopotamia and its close relationship with the Jewish Christian communities of the first century. He observers that the Syriac Church was never politically ""established,"" and therefore was not exposed to imperial amendments in its formative years. And yet, though deprived of state support, the Syriac Church mounted a highly successful missionary effort throughout Central Asia and exercised a decisive influence over the early development of Islam. Siman's book concludes with a first-person, confessionally engaged presentation of the Pentecostal theology that is specific to the Syriac tradition. The result is a book that is eminently readable, yet scholarly, informative, and occasionally provocative. The original French version of the book was awarded the Prix littéraire de l’œuvre d’Orient, which was bestowed on the author beneath the vaults of Notre Dame Cathedral.
