Translations

The Martyrdom of Jacob and His Sister Mary is an anonymous Syriac hagiography recounting the execution of two Christian siblings during the Sasanian persecution under Sh…

Rabbula, bishop of Edessa (411/412–435), delivered this homily in Constantinople during the Christological controversies of the 420s or early 430s. The Syriac text survi…

This anonymous Syriac memra (homily) is a rhythmic, isosyllabic prose composition that employs biblical typology and direct address to the congregation. Surviving in a s…

Memra 10 is an anonymous Syriac metrical homily (memrā) preserved in a single, late manuscript copy from the 19th century. The work focuses on the ascetic disciplines of…

Memra 11 is an anonymous Syriac homily composed in rhythmic, isosyllabic prose with internal rhyme and scriptural allusions. Its elevated, exhortatory register suggests…

This anonymous Syriac memra (homily) explores the binary of 'hidden' (kasyā) and 'public' (galyā) ministry within the church, applying a mystagogical framework to eccles…

Memra 13, an anonymous Syriac homily from the 4th or 5th century CE, exhorts its audience to moral uprightness (kēnūtā) without tying this ideal to a specific monastic o…

Memra 14: On the Upright and the Perfect is an anonymous Syriac homily (memra) that contrasts two modes of Christian life: the 'upright' (kēnē), who live morally within…

This anonymous Syriac verse homily (memra) explores the origin of marital desire in Adam after the Fall, interpreting the serpent's deception as an instruction in desire…

Memra 16, an anonymous Syriac homily from the 4th/5th century CE, explores how interior disposition can surpass the observance of major commandments, such as the Decalog…

This anonymous Syriac memra (homily) interprets Christ's sufferings as an exemplary model for believers, urging them to embrace suffering as a path to spiritual transfor…

Memra 18: On the Tears of Prayer is an anonymous Syriac homily preserved in a single 19th-century Ethiopic manuscript (DSC 205). The work explores the dual nature of tea…

Memra 20: On the Difficult Steps that are on the Road of the City of Our Lord is an anonymous Syriac homily preserved in a single West Syriac manuscript (DSC 207) dated…

This anonymous Syriac homily, Memra 21: On the Tree of Adam, survives only in a single 9th–10th century manuscript (DSC 208) written in West Syriac script. The work is u…

Memra 22: On the Judgments That Do Not Save Those Who Observe Them is an anonymous Syriac homily preserved in a single manuscript (DSC 209). It argues that legal and pen…

Memra 23: On Satan and Pharaoh and the Israelites is an anonymous Syriac homily that reinterprets the Exodus narrative, arguing that the Israelites' suffering was self-i…

Memra 24: On Repentance is an anonymous Syriac homily, likely composed in the 4th or 5th century CE, that argues for the possibility of repentance even after death, coun…

Memra 25: On the Voice of God and of Satan is an anonymous Syriac homily preserved only in a single 19th-century manuscript (DSC 212) from the Church of the Forty Martyr…

Memra 26, an anonymous Syriac homily, interprets the 'second law' as a divine ordinance established from Adam, distinct from Mosaic legislation. It presents a typologica…

Memra 27: About the History of the Thief Who is Saved is an anonymous Syriac homily that narrates and reflects on the story of the Good Thief (the penitent thief crucifi…

Memra 28, an anonymous Syriac homily, argues against the identification of the human soul with blood, a view attributed to unnamed disputants. The author distinguishes b…

This anonymous Syriac memra (verse homily) exhorts ascetic discipline of the body, employing vivid imagery of the flesh as a servant to be controlled. The register is pa…

Memra 2: About Those Who Want to Become Perfect is an anonymous Syriac homily (memra) that exhorts listeners to embrace radical asceticism, including loving enemies and…

This anonymous Syriac memra, preserved only in an Ethiopic translation within the Faws Manfasawi manuscript, contrasts physical and spiritual forms of diaconal or liturg…

Memra 4: On the Vegetables for the Sick is an anonymous Syriac homily from the 4th or 5th century CE. It uses the metaphor of vegetables offered to the sick to explore s…

Memra 5: On the Milk of the Children is an anonymous Syriac homily, likely composed in the 4th or 5th century CE, though the original Syriac is lost. The work survives i…

Memra 6, titled 'On Those Who Are Made Perfect and Continue to Grow,' is an anonymous Syriac homily from the 4th/5th century CE. It survives in a single manuscript (6th–…

Memra 7: On the Commandments of the Upright is an anonymous Syriac homily from the East Syriac memra tradition, likely composed between the 4th and 5th centuries CE. The…

This anonymous Syriac homily, preserved only in a 19th-century Ethiopic manuscript, exhorts the faithful to give all their possessions to feed the poor. It draws on Paul…

This anonymous Syriac memra (homily) explores the theme of uprightness (kēnē) and the covenantal love (ḥubbā) that binds the prophets to God, linking their devotion to b…

Jacob of Serugh's 'First Memra on Joseph' is a metrical homily (memra) in Syriac, composed in twelve-syllable meter during his episcopate at Batnan (late 5th–early 6th c…

Jacob of Serugh's tenth memra on Joseph is a metrical homily composed in isosyllabic couplets, typical of his poetic style. The work presents Joseph as a typological pre…

This second memra (verse homily) by Jacob of Serugh on the patriarch Joseph belongs to a cycle of homilies on Joseph. Composed in isosyllabic couplets (12+12 syllables),…

This homily, attributed to Jacob of Serugh (d. ca. 521 CE), is the third in a cycle on the patriarch Joseph. Composed in twelve-syllable meter, it retells the biblical s…

Jacob of Serugh's fourth memra on Joseph is a metrical homily in Syriac, composed in twelve-syllable meter with acrostic patterns. It narrates the biblical story of Jose…

This memra (metrical homily) by Jacob of Serugh (c. 451–521) is the fifth in a series on the patriarch Joseph. Composed in twelve-syllable couplets, it was performed in…

Jacob of Serugh's sixth memra on Joseph, composed in twelve-syllable meter with acrostic structuring on the letter mīm, presents the biblical Joseph (Genesis 37–50) as a…

This memra (metrical homily) by Jacob of Serugh retells the biblical story of Joseph (Genesis 37–50) in twelve-syllable verse, expanding the narrative with dramatic dial…

This homily, the eighth memra on Joseph by Jacob of Serugh, retells the biblical story of Joseph (Genesis 37–50) in twelve-syllable meter with end-rhyme, a hallmark of J…

Jacob of Serugh's ninth memra on Joseph is a Syriac homily composed in twelve-syllable couplets, a hallmark of his liturgical and paraenetic style. The work typologicall…

Homily 10 of the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies is a Syriac translation of a Greek homily attributed to Clement of Rome. It presents a disputation between Peter and Simon Ma…

Homily 11 of the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies is a pseudepigraphical sermon attributed to Clement of Rome, set within a narrative of Peter's missionary discourses in Tripo…

Homily 12 of the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies, attributed to Clement of Rome, survives in a single Syriac manuscript translated from a Greek original. The homily continues…

Homily 13 of the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies is a pseudepigraphical sermon attributed to Clement of Rome, surviving only in a lacunose Syriac manuscript (British Library…

Homily 14 of the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies is a pseudepigraphical discourse attributed to Clement of Rome, surviving only in a Syriac translation from a lost Greek orig…

Demonstration 19 is a letter by Aphrahat, the fourth-century Syriac Christian author, directed against Jewish claims that they would be gathered together. Written in Syr…

The Letter of Rabbula to Gamalinus is a Syriac epistle from the early 5th century, attributed to Rabbula, bishop of Edessa (411/412–435 CE). It survives in a single Syri…

Letter 10 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, addressed to ʿAbdishoʿ, offers consolation on the death of ʿAbdishoʿ’s superior, Mār Ḥenanishoʿ. Written during Ishoʿyahb’s tenur…

Letter 11 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, Catholicos of the Church of the East (c. 649–659), is a consolatory and exhortatory epistle addressed to the monastic community o…

Letter 12 of Ishoʿyahb III, metropolitan of Adiabene (c. 628–650), addresses the monastic community of Mount Izla, explaining his delayed response and reporting on an un…

Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene writes to Paul, a solitary (iḥidāyā) called to lead another monastic community, addressing the tension between monastic humility and administra…

Letter 14 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses Henana, a teacher at the school of Nisibis, on the intertwined afflictions of diseas…

Letter 15 of Ishoʿyahb III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses accusations and defends his flight from his see during the turmoil follow…

Letter 16, attributed to Bishop Theodore and addressed to Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, is a Syriac epistle from the early 7th century (c. 628–637). It concerns ecclesiasti…

Letter 17 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses a schism within the Monastery of Izla near Nisibis. The letter laments the community…

Letter 18 of Ishoʿyahb III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses the monks of the monastery of Beth Abhe in Adiabene concerning the appoin…

Letter 19 of Ishoʿyahb III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), is a brief admonition addressed to Mar Qamishoʿ, a newly appointed monastic directo…

This untitled letter by Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), is a brief epistolary work preserved only within later manuscript collections of hi…

Letter 20 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), is a theological reply to Mar Iazdshapur defending dyophysite Christology against perceived mi…

Letter 21 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), is addressed to Mar Yazdeshapur, a metropolitan, and deals with ecclesiastical discipline and…

Letter 22 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses Mar Yazdegard, a metropolitan. The letter employs formal Syriac epistolary conventio…

Letter 23 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses the priest Ishoʿsabran on orthodox dyophysite Christology. Written during Ishoʿyahb’…

Letter 24 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East (c. 649–659 CE), is a formal epistolary address to the Catholicos. Written in Syri…

Letter 25 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, Catholicos of the Church of the East (649–659), is a Syriac epistle addressed to a figure titled 'Catholicos'—possibly a predeces…

Letter 26 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene is a pastoral epistle addressed to the monastic community at Mount Alfaf in northern Mesopotamia. Written in Syriac before 659 CE,…

Letter 27 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (c. 649–659 CE), is addressed to a priest named Moshe, likely a monastic or ecclesiastical figure. The le…

Letter 28 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses a certain Luliana, likely a female ascetic or lay leader, on orthodox Christology. T…

Letter 29 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (ca. 649–659), is a brief Syriac epistle addressed to a monastic colleague named Yoḥanan. The letter open…

Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), wrote this letter to solitary monks (iḥidāyē) exhorting them to zeal for faith. Likely composed…

Letter 30 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), is a pastoral epistle addressed to two brothers, Narsai and Maremmeh, likely monks or clergy.…

Letter 31 of Ishoʿyahb III, catholicos of the Church of the East (c. 649–659), is addressed to Mar Sabrishoʿ the bishop. The letter follows standard Syriac epistolary co…

Letter 32 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), is addressed to Mar Samuel the priest. The letter likely dates to Ishoʿyahb's patriarchate and…

Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), writes to a priest named Yoḥanan, whose identity and the letter’s occasion remain unknown. The letter opens…

Letter 34 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), is a mid-7th-century Syriac epistle addressed to a Catholicos. It forms…

Letter 35 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (ca. 649–659), addresses a metropolitan named Hormizd concerning ecclesiastical discipline and the author…

Letter 36 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East (c. 649–659 CE), is addressed to Alahazeka, a priest and teacher otherwise unknown…

Letter 37 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, Catholicos of the Church of the East (649–659), is a formal ecclesiastical letter addressed to the Catholicos Patriarch. The lett…

Letter 38 of Ishoʿyahb III, Catholicos of the Church of the East (c. 649–659), is addressed to Mar Aba, a bishop of uncertain see. The letter survives only in a single 9…

Letter 39 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, Catholicos of the Church of the East (649–659), is a Syriac epistle addressed to a Catholicos (likely the same office) during the…

Ishoʿyahb III, metropolitan of Adiabene, writes to the physician Sergius in response to a report of a disease, likely a plague outbreak in the 630s. The letter offers pa…

Letter 40 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, addressed to an unnamed Catholicos (likely the recipient himself), is a Syriac epistle from the 7th-century Church of the East. I…

Letter 41 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses a certain Moshe the priest. The letter discusses Christological controversies, parti…

Letter 42 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses Metropolitan Quriaqos of Beth Garmai on ecclesiastical discipline and metropolitan a…

Letter 43 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses the high-ranking convert Mar Yazdannan on orthodox Christology amid post-Chalcedonia…

Letter 44 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (c. 649–659), addresses Metropolitan Gabriel. The letter likely dates from Ishoʿyahb’s patriarchate and s…

Letter 45 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses the clergy and people of Balad (modern Eski Mosul) during a schism, likely following…

Letter 46 (Untitled II) by Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene is a Syriac epistle from the 7th century, likely composed during his patriarchate of the Church of the East (649–659…

Letter 47 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses Mar Quriaqos, metropolitan of Beth Garmai. The letter deals with administrative and…

Letter 48 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), is a pastoral yet firm epistle addressed to a group of monks, likely in the region…

Letter 49 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (ca. 649–659), addresses Metropolitan Gabriel, an otherwise unattested figure. The letter likely deals wi…

Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (c. 649–659), writes to the solitary Hnanishoʿ to address ‘difficult things that happen against faith.’ The letter lik…

Letter 50 of Ishoʿyahb III, Catholicos of the Church of the East (ca. 649–659), addresses Yoḥanan the priest and Teʿi, a lay leader in Erbil, Adiabene. The letter discus…

Letter 51 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (c. 649–659), is a pastoral and admonitory epistle addressed to several monks, likely responding to a mon…

Letter 52 of Ishoʿyahb III, Patriarch of the Church of the East (c. 649–659), is addressed to Mar Gabriel the Metropolitan and Hormizd the bishop. The letter belongs to…

Letter 5 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (ca. 649–659), addressed to Mar Daniel of Arbela, a teacher and monastic leader. Written in Syriac during…

Letter 6 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (c. 649–659), is addressed to a community or individual called 'the faithful Sabroi,' likely in the Persia…

Letter 7 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses Hormizd, a monastic leader, concerning the physical and spiritual arrangement of cell…

Letter 8 of Ishoʿyahb III, patriarch of the Church of the East (649–659), addresses Sabrishoʿ, abbot of the monastery of Mar Sliba. The letter exhorts steadfastness amid…

Letter 9 of Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene, addressed to an otherwise unknown Sergius, offers pastoral consolation after a military defeat described as the destruction of the…

The Letter from Andrew of Samosata to Rabbula is a formal Syriac epistle from the early 5th century, addressed to Rabbula, bishop of Edessa (r. 411–435 CE). It engages w…