Translations

Discourse 34 is an ascetical homily by Isaac of Nineveh, a late 7th-century East Syriac monastic writer. The discourse explores the progeny of virtues, particularly humi…

Discourse 36 by Isaac of Nineveh (7th c.) survives in the West Syriac manuscript tradition, part of the first volume of his discourses. Written during his monastic retir…

Discourse 37 is a late-7th-century Syriac ascetical text by Isaac of Nineveh, composed in the monastery of Rabban Shapur (modern-day Iran). It survives in a single 10th-…

Discourse 38 is a chapter from Isaac of Nineveh's second volume (Kephalaia gnostika), composed in Syriac during the late 7th century. It presents a series of antithetica…

Discourse 39 is a Syriac monastic text by Isaac of Nineveh, composed in the late 7th century. It belongs to his First Part, a collection of discourses on ascetic renunci…

Philoxenos of Mabbug's Discourse 3: On Faith presents faith (haymanuthā) as a living, embodied act of divine knowledge rather than mere intellectual assent. Composed dur…

Discourse 4 by Isaac of Nineveh is a Syriac ascetical treatise composed during his monastic retirement at Rabban Shapur in the late 7th century. It survives in the earli…

Discourse 40 is a chapter from Isaac of Nineveh's second volume (Part II), composed in the late 7th century during his retirement at Rabban Shapur. The Syriac text survi…

Discourse 41 is a chapter from the Second Part of Isaac of Nineveh, a late 7th-century Syriac monastic writer. The discourse explores themes of inner stillness (šelyā),…

Discourse 42 by Isaac of Nineveh is a formal treatise from the late 7th century CE, part of his first corpus of ascetic writings. Composed in Syriac in late Sasanian Mes…

Discourse 43 is a late 7th-century Syriac ascetical treatise by Isaac of Nineveh, composed during his retirement at Rabban Shabur. The text explores themes of faith, rep…

Discourse 44, part of Isaac of Nineveh's ascetical corpus, explores the distinction between natural and spiritual knowledge. Isaac defines natural knowledge as an innate…

Discourse 45, attributed to Isaac of Nineveh, is a late 7th-century Syriac ascetic treatise composed during Isaac's retirement at Rabban Shapur. The discourse explores t…

Discourse 46 by Isaac of Nineveh, a late 7th-century Syriac monastic writer, explores the interplay of mercy, knowledge, and contemplative practice. Using the simile of…

Discourse 47, part of Isaac of Nineveh's First Part, explores the initial stirring of divine mercy in the soul and Satan's opposition. Written in Syriac in the late 7th…

Discourse 48 is a late seventh-century Syriac text by Isaac of Nineveh, preserved in a single manuscript tradition within the Church of the East. Part of the Second Part…

Discourse 49, part of Isaac of Nineveh's first collection, addresses the ascetic's struggle against demonic distraction and the discipline of silence (šelyā). Written in…

Philoxenos of Mabbug's Discourse 4, 'On Faith and Simplicity,' is a Syriac ascetic treatise composed during his episcopate (485–518), likely in the early 6th century. It…

Discourse 5 by Isaac of Nineveh is a homily from his first collection of ascetical discourses, composed in Syriac during the late 7th century CE. The text explores theme…

Discourse 50, part of Isaac of Nineveh's ascetical corpus, survives in 7th–8th century Syriac manuscripts transmitted in West Syriac monastic circles. The text diagnoses…

Discourse 51 by Isaac of Nineveh, composed in the late 7th century CE, explores the contrast between faith and worldly knowledge within the Syriac ascetical tradition. T…

Discourse 52 by Isaac of Nineveh, part of his Second Collection, explores the interiorization of eschatology, contrasting natural knowledge (illumined by senses) with sp…

Discourse 53 by Isaac of Nineveh (7th c.) survives in a single Syriac manuscript (10th–11th c.) with lacunae and marginal corrections, indicating monastic copying. The t…

Discourse 54 by Isaac of Nineveh (7th c. CE) explores the concept of invocation (mǧʿānūṯā) as a means of sanctification, distinguishing between a sacramental, knowable r…

Discourse 55 is a late ascetical treatise by Isaac of Nineveh, composed after his withdrawal to the monastery of Rabban Shapur in the late 7th century. The Syriac text s…

Discourse 56 by Isaac of Nineveh is a Syriac ascetical text from the late 7th century, surviving in a single 10th-century manuscript. It explores the contrast between at…

Discourse 57, part of Isaac of Nineveh's later corpus, explores the ascetic virtue of endurance (msaybarānūtā) as a path to divine compassion through involuntary sufferi…

Discourse 58 by Isaac of Nineveh is a late 7th-century Syriac ascetical text that employs metaphors of life as a journey, spiritual warfare, and divine judgment. It surv…

Discourse 59 by Isaac of Nineveh is a late 7th-century Syriac ascetical treatise that critiques asceticism motivated by vain glory, contrasting it with genuine devotion…

Discourse 5: On Simplicity is part of a series of thirteen discourses by Philoxenos of Mabbug, a Miaphysite bishop active in the late 5th to early 6th century. The disco…

Discourse 6 by Isaac of Nineveh is a late 7th-century Syriac ascetical homily on solitude, prayer, and the stages of spiritual life. It survives in a single 10th- or 11t…

Discourse 60, part of Isaac of Nineveh's second volume of ascetical writings, explores the theme of divine hidden help for saints. It contrasts saints who seek miraculou…

Discourse 61 of Isaac of Nineveh is a late 7th-century Syriac ascetical treatise from the Church of the East, composed after Isaac's retirement to the monastery of Rabba…

Discourse 62 by Isaac of Nineveh, a late 7th-century Syriac monastic text, survives in a single manuscript (Vat. Syr. 125) with scribal corrections and marginalia. It pr…

Discourse 63, attributed to Isaac of Nineveh (7th c. CE), is a Syriac ascetical text exploring the soul's purification and elevation through renunciation. It employs rhe…

Discourse 64, part of Isaac of Nineveh's second collection, is a late 7th-century Syriac monastic text on ascetic psychology and prayer. It explores the discernment of s…

Discourse 66, part of Isaac of Nineveh's First Part, is a Syriac ascetic treatise composed between 660 and 680 CE during Isaac's monastic retirement in Beth Qatraye. It…

Discourse 67 by Isaac of Nineveh, part of his First Part, explores a systematic ontology of spiritual perception, defining intellect, vision, power, natures, passions, a…

Discourse 68 of Isaac of Nineveh is a late 7th-century Syriac ascetical text composed during Isaac's retirement at Rabban Shapur. It explores the limitations of spiritua…

Discourse 69 is a lengthy ascetical homily from Isaac of Nineveh's second volume (Part II), composed in Syriac during the late 7th century. It explores the hesychastic p…

Discourse 7 of Isaac of Nineveh, from his first volume (Part I), explores two kinds of trust in God—wise and foolish—using the example of a servant who abandons worldly…

Discourse 70 is a chapter from Isaac of Nineveh's second volume, the Ktābā d-tellāyātā, composed in the late 7th century during his retirement at Rabban Shabur. The disc…

Discourse 71, part of Isaac of Nineveh's second corpus, survives in a single 8th–9th century Syriac manuscript (ms. 7a) with scribal corrections and marginalia. Written…

Discourse 72, part of Isaac of Nineveh's Second Part, addresses the spiritual trials (πειρασμοί) and inner disturbances (taktūšā) that even advanced ascetics face. Isaac…

Discourse 73 is part of Isaac of Nineveh's second collection, composed in the late 7th century during his retirement at Rabban Shapur. The Syriac text survives in multip…

Discourse 74 by Isaac of Nineveh survives only in Syriac, with no complete Greek version. It belongs to Isaac's later, more ascetical phase and was excerpted in medieval…

Discourse 75 is a chapter from the second volume of Isaac of Nineveh's ascetical works, composed in Syriac in the late 7th century. It survives in a single Syriac manusc…

Discourse 76 by Isaac of Nineveh (7th c.) is a Syriac ascetic treatise on spiritual knowledge and interior contemplation. It survives in a single 10th–11th c. manuscript…

Discourse 77 by Isaac of Nineveh is a late 7th-century Syriac ascetic text that explores the virtue of simplicity (pšīṭūṯā) as a foundation for authentic faith, contrast…

Discourse 78, part of Isaac of Nineveh's first collection, explores the contrast between external spiritual combat against adversaries and internal struggle with the pas…

Discourse 79 by Isaac of Nineveh is a dense, apophatic text from his later Second Part, likely composed in the late 7th century CE within the Church of the East. It cont…

Discourse 8, from Isaac of Nineveh's second volume (Kephalaia gnostika), explores the spiritual prerequisites for approaching God, emphasizing humility, self-awareness,…

Discourse 80, part of Isaac of Nineveh's second collection, is a late 7th-century Syriac ascetical treatise composed during his retirement in the mountains of Khuzestan.…

Discourse 81 is a late 7th-century Syriac text by Isaac of Nineveh, a bishop and mystic of the Church of the East. It survives in a single manuscript tradition, with no…

Discourse 82 by Isaac of Nineveh is a late 7th-century Syriac ascetical treatise that explores humility as divine condescension, using biblical typology and patristic th…

Discourse 9 of Isaac of Nineveh, part of the first volume of his collected discourses, presents a taxonomy of sin origins—weakness, will, ignorance, event, habit, custom…

The Disputation between the Apostle Peter and Nero is a Syriac dialogue that stages a theological contest between the apostle Peter and the emperor Nero, casting Nero as…

The Syriac translation of Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History, Book 7, covers the Decian persecution and the rise of Cyprian of Carthage. Produced likely in th…

Narsai's memrā 'For Any Saints Day' is a Syriac metrical homily composed for the commemoration of a generic saint, likely used in the East Syriac vigil office. The text…

The History of Karka d-Beth Slok is a local ecclesiastical history of the city of Karka d-Beth Slok (modern Kirkuk, Iraq), focusing on its Christian community and martyr…

The anonymous Syriac History of Mar Matthew and Mar Andrew recounts the apostolic mission of Matthew and Andrew to a city of cannibals, identified as Kalbith. The sole s…

The Syriac version of the Hypomnemata, attributed to Ambrose (Pseudo-Justin Martyr), is an apologetic and polemical treatise preserved in a single manuscript (DSC 525).…

Isaac of Antioch's 'On the End Times' is a Syriac metrical homily (memra) on eschatological themes, structured as an alphabetic acrostic. Attributed to the 5th-century S…

The Metrical Grammar of Gregorius bar Hebraeus is a didactic poem in 12-syllable meter that treats Syriac grammar as a theological discipline. Composed in the late 13th…

Nativity 1 is a madrāšā (teaching hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian, likely composed in the mid-4th century in Nisibis or Edessa. The Syriac text survives in multiple manuscrip…

Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373) composed this madrāšā (teaching hymn) for the Nativity cycle, likely in Nisibis or Edessa in the mid-4th century. The Syriac text survives in…

Nativity 11 is a madrāšâ (teaching hymn) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, likely composed in Edessa during the mid-4th century. The hymn employs paradoxical imagery to c…

Nativity 12 is a madrāšâ (teaching hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian, composed in Syriac in the mid-4th century, likely during his episcopate in Edessa (c. 363–373). The hymn e…

Nativity 13 is a madrāšâ (teaching hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian (ca. 306–373 CE) for the Feast of the Nativity. The hymn employs typological exegesis, comparing Old Testam…

Nativity 14 is a madrasha (strophic hymn) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373 CE), celebrating the birth of Christ. The poem employs Syriac poetic devices such as is…

Nativity 15 is a madrāšâ (teaching hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian, part of his Nativity cycle likely composed in Edessa during the mid-4th century. The hymn employs Syriac w…

Nativity 16 is a madrāšâ (verse homily) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, likely composed in the mid-4th century in Syriac. It survives in sixth- to seventh-century manus…

Nativity 17 is a Syriac madrāšā (teaching hymn) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, likely composed in Edessa during the later period of his life (c. 363–373). The hymn cel…

Nativity 18 is a madrāšâ (teaching hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian (c. 306–373), composed in Syriac for liturgical use in Nisibis and later Edessa. The hymn celebrates the Na…

Nativity 19 is a madrāšâ (verse homily) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373), part of a cycle on the Nativity. The Syriac text survives in manuscripts from the 5th–6…

Nativity 2 is a Syriac madrasha (hymn) traditionally attributed to Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373 CE). It celebrates the birth of Jesus, employing typological imagery linking…

Nativity 20 is a madrāšâ (teaching hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373), composed for the feast of the Nativity during his late Edessan period. The Syriac text survives i…

Ephrem the Syrian's Nativity 21 is a madrāšâ (verse homily) composed for the feast of the Nativity, likely in the mid-4th century. The Syriac text survives in a single 6…

Nativity 22 is a madrāšā (teaching hymn) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, likely composed in Edessa in the mid-4th century. The hymn celebrates the Incarnation, using im…

Nativity 23 is a madrāšâ (teaching hymn) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian (c. 306–373 CE), composed for the Nativity cycle. The Syriac text survives in manuscripts from t…

Ephrem the Syrian's Nativity 24 is a madrasha (teaching hymn) composed for the feast of the Nativity, likely in the mid-4th century. The Syriac text survives in a single…

Nativity 25 is a madrāšâ (teaching hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian, composed in Syriac during the mid-4th century, likely in Edessa. The hymn celebrates the Nativity of Chris…

Nativity 26 is a Syriac madrasha (metrical hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian, composed in the mid-4th century, likely during his Edessene period. The poem uses 7-syllable coupl…

Nativity 27 is a madrāšā (teaching hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373), part of a cycle of hymns on the Nativity of Christ. The Syriac text survives in manuscripts from…

Nativity 28 is a Syriac hymn attributed to Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373), part of his Nativity cycle. It celebrates the Incarnation through dense typological imagery, contr…

Nativity 3 is a madrasha (verse homily) by Ephrem the Syrian (ca. 306–373 CE) for the feast of the Nativity. Composed in Syriac, it employs paradoxical epithets and typo…

Nativity 4 is a madrāšâ (metrical hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian, composed for liturgical performance in the mid-4th century. The hymn celebrates the feast of the Nativity,…

Nativity 5 is a madrasha (teaching hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian, composed in Syriac in the mid-4th century, likely in Nisibis or Edessa. The hymn celebrates Christ's nativ…

Nativity 6 is a madrāšâ (metrical hymn) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, composed for liturgical performance in the mid-4th century, likely after 363 CE. The hymn celebr…

Nativity 7 is a Syriac madrāšā (teaching hymn) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, likely composed in the late 4th century in Edessa. The hymn employs typological imagery—s…

Nativity 8 is a madrāšâ (teaching hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian, likely composed in the mid-4th century for liturgical use in Nisibis or Edessa. The hymn celebrates the Inc…

Nativity 9 is a Syriac madrāšâ (teaching hymn) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373), part of a cycle on the Nativity. The hymn employs typological exegesis, linking…

Nisibis 1 is a collection of madrāšê (teaching hymns) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, composed in seven-syllable couplets with refrains. The hymns are traditionally dat…

Nisibis 10 is one of the Nisibine hymns attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, composed during the Persian sieges of Nisibis (350–363 CE). The hymn reflects the community's ex…

Nisibis 11 is a memrā in 12-syllable meter attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, likely composed in the mid-4th century during the Sasanian sieges of Nisibis. The sole surviv…

Ephrem the Syrian's Nisibene hymns (madrāšē) are a collection of strophic poems composed between the 350s and 363 CE, reflecting the Persian sieges of Nisibis and its ce…

Nisibis 13 is a memrā by Ephrem the Syrian, composed in 12-syllable meter with isosyllabic structure and internal rhyme, indicating oral performance. Dated to Ephrem’s N…

Nisibis 14 is a memrā (metrical homily) in 12-syllable meter attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, part of his Nisibene cycle. Composed in the mid-4th century, it reflects th…

Nisibis 15 is a Syriac memra (verse homily) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, likely composed in the mid-4th century in Nisibis or Edessa. The poem employs first-person p…

The Nisibis cycle of madrāšê (teaching hymns) attributed to Ephrem the Syrian is a collection of liturgical poems composed in Syriac, traditionally dated to the 360s CE…