Religion

This edition of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) homily on the Transfiguration emphasizes the unity of the Old and New Testament. Jacob focuses on the symbolism of the apostles Jesus brings with him. Moses, the head of prophecy, and John, the beauty of apostleship, come together and Elijah and Simon are joined so that the keys Peter received over creation might be ratified. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

This edition of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) homily on the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple develops the character of Simeon. The author himself asks Simeon how we should understand his supplication. Simeon explains his wonder at Jesus offering the turtle doves, creatures which Jesus himself fashioned with the Father, presaging Jesus’ self-offering. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

This edition of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) homily on Pentecost draws a comparison between the Upper Room where the disciples receive the Holy Spirt and the Tower of Babel. The division of the tongues at Babel was a sign that the Good News would be spoken in all tongues. The One who divided the tongues at Babel gave the tongues of fire as well. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

For the student of ancient Iranian documents, this time-honored source for using the sacred texts of the Zoroastrians, this glossary and index is an historical dictionary of an unusual sort. The materials from three works provide the basis for this glossary: the Pahlavi text of Arda Viraf, the tale of Gosht-I Fryano, the Hadokht Nask, and extracts from the Din-Kard and Nirangistan. All of these documents pertaining to Zoroastrian belief and practice are facilitated by this historic glossary. Based on the edition of E. W. West, the text was revised by Martin Haug. A work of scholarly erudition in the nineteenth century, this book, now difficult to find, has now claimed a place among Gorgias Historical Dictionaries.

An original exploration into the governors of Egypt under the caliphs, this seminal study of Wüstenfeld has remained essential reading on the topic since its original publication in the 1870s. Originally published in four parts, this edition contains the entire study in its original German. A thorough and meticulous record of the rulers of Egypt during the period of the caliphs, this book should not be overlooked by students of the Islamic culture of Egypt. Written from a lifetime of study in the field, Wüstenfeld’s sharp outlines of the governors and their influence in the growth and development of Egypt under Muslim leadership hold an authority and insight that make the book a desirable addition to the library of Arabists and scholars of Egypt alike.

This volume collects all of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) extant homilies on the prophet Elijah. In these homilies Jacob shows a remarkable sensivity to the human motivations of the biblical characters which was quite rare in ancient biblical exegesis. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

The Parsis, descendants of the ancient Persians, are a Zoroastrian people that have survived into modern times. Dauphine Menant’s classic study on the history of the Parsis in India is made available in its first French edition. In the style of the travelogue, the study contains illustrations of parts of the Parsis life in the late nineteenth century. Twenty-one plates as well as illustrations within the text serve the valuable function of enabling the reader to visualize this swiftly disappearing culture. This basic introduction to the history and life of the Parsis will appeal to those interested in the state of religious minorities in Asia, as well as those who are researching the living traditions of Zoroastrianism

The Maronite Library of Aleppo is one of the most important collections of manuscripts in Syria. This catalogue gives the first detailed description of the Syriac manuscripts, also containing images and indices of titles, personal names, subjects and places.

This historic catalogue documents the oriental manuscripts of what is now the Saxon State Library at the Dresden University of Technology. Formerly the Royal Library of Dresden, this repository houses numerous manuscripts from antiquity. Catalogued before the tragic bombing of Dresden during WWII, this historic record, written in Latin, briefly describes the nearly 600 documents in the collections of Dresden and Guelferbytan at that time. Valued more as a historical memento, this catalogue provides a sense of importance of the manuscripts housed in the library of the early 19th century capital of Saxony. Adding to the utility of his register are the indices to the codices included with the collection.

Did scribes intentionally change the text of the New Testament? This book argues they did not and disputes the claims that variant readings are theologically motivated. Using evidence gathered from some of the earliest surviving biblical manuscripts these essays reconstruct the copying habits of scribes and explore the contexts in which they worked. Alongside these are studies of selected early Christian writings, which illustrate attitudes to and examples of textual change.

Eager to preserve the Spanish and Arabic heritage, Miguel Casiri set out to catalogue the 1800 Arabic manuscripts in the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real, known generally by the title El Escorial. The resulting work was a monument of scholarship in the eighteenth century. Containing a number of quotes from Arabic sources on history, geographical and historical manuscripts, full text of both volumes, indicies, and subject divisions, this edition, part of Gorgias Historical Catalogues, serves as a historic and linguistic study, as well as a reference work.

The book describes different facets of the Greek-Turkish conflict (1919-23) through the eyes of of the Australian press. Australia’s national identity was forged on the shores of the Gallipoli Peninsula fighting against the Ottoman Empire in 1915. After the war, Australia stayed involved with that area of the world as it sought to chart an 'independent' foreign policy within the framework of the British Empire. This book discusses the role that Australia's press played during that conflict and how it shaped Australian nationalism and identity going forward.

The work of the remarkable sisters Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson, this lectionary of what is now known as Christian Palestinian Aramaic, was re-edited in the light of two manuscripts from the Sinai, which they recovered, and from Paul de Lagarde’s Evangeliarium Hierosolymitanum. An important document for the textual criticism of the New Testament as well as for the early practice of the church, Lewis and Dunlap added to its value by composing this light “critical edition.” Presented in Syriac with English annotations to the Greek text of the Gospels, this useful study will be welcome by New Testament scholars and Syriac scholars alike.

The first volume of an ambitious project to document the history of the early church, this is one of John Mason Neale’s crowning achievements. Meticulously researched, Neale’s treatment of the early church in Egypt is among the required reading of any student of oriental Christianity still today. Beginning with the traditions of St. Mark’s foundation of the Egyptian church, the developments of Christianity are traced up through the controversies associated with Nestorius and the Council of Chalcedon. In Neale’s characteristically readable style, the early stages of Eastern Christianity and its noteworthy figures are presented here with historical accuracy and authority. The origins of monasticism, the troubles and triumphs of St. Athanasius, the Arian heresy, and the ecumenical councils are all treated in this important study of the church in Egypt.

More than a literary survey, this introduction to the history of late and Neo-Syriac (Neo-Aramaic) covers the works of the past several centuries. Macuch begins with the post-Mongolian period to the end of the 18th century. For the 19th century, Macuch considers the situation of the Assyrians in this period, including the American, Anglican, and Russian Orthodox missionary enterprises in Urmia, noting the writers of the foreign missions. For the twentieth century he includes literature from the period of the wars up to the 1970s. Various East-Syriac and West-Syriac authors of the Chaldean and Church of the East, and Syrian Orthodox and Maronite traditions, as well as the Syrian literature of Malabar in southern India are also considered.

The History of Holy Mar Ma‘in of Sinjar tells the story of a Sasanian general during the time of Shapur II (309-79) who suffered persecution after his conversion to Christianity. In this volume, the first in this new series from Gorgias Press, Sebastian P. Brock provides the first edition ever of the Syriac text of the History of Ma‘in as well as the first full translation of it. This volume also includes a basic guide to the whole corpus of Persian Martyr Acts as well as useful indices to these numerous texts.

Questioning the scholarly assumptions regarding the “heretical” Nag Hammadi Library and the “apocalyptic” Dead Sea Scrolls, Fairen argues that they were not diametrically opposed, but represent a scribal reconfiguration of an Enochic worldview as a critique of foreign rule.

The book represents a collection of articles devoted to the memory of Annie Jaubert, a French scholar known for her research on the calendrical teachings of the Hebrew Bible, the Second Temple pseudepigrapha (1 Enoch, the Book of Jubilees), and Qumran literature. The articles discuss various aspects of Jaubert’s work on early Christian and Jewish calendars, including her solution to an old problem of the conflicting chronologies for the Passion Week in the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John. The volume also contains the complete bibliography of Jaubert’s scholarly works and a biographical sketch of her life.

This work explores the points of contact, as well as the differences between the distinct notions of divine embodiment developed by Maximos the Confessor (580-662), one of the greatest Greek Fathers, and Tsong kha pa (1357-1419), arguably the most important thinker in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Both authors developed a spiritual theology where natural contemplation and the practice of the virtues are invested with a transformative value and are construed as a response to a cosmic intelligence, which sustains the universe, but also becomes manifest in history.

Aphrahat the Persian Sage, (fl. 337-345 C.E.), was a Syriac Christian author who wrote twenty-three treatises entitled The Demonstrations. This book examines “temple” as a key image for Aphrahat’s theological anthropology. The temple is central for both Jews and Christians; it is the place of sacrifice, meeting, and communication with the Divine. For Aphrahat, the devout Christian person may be a micro-temple which then allows one to encounter the divine both within oneself and through a vision ascent to the heavenly temple.

This invaluable eleven-volume set on the Chronicle of Michael the Great makes the scholarly resources on this unique manuscript available together for the first time. Now inaccessible, the Chronicle is the largest medieval chronicle known, and is available here for the first time in history as a facsimile copy of the original manuscript, as well as in a copy of the original Syriac, the French translation, an abbreviated Armenian recension, and Arabic versions. The Chronicle is one of the most important primary sources on the history of the Middle East, especially the period between the rise of Islam and the Crusades.

This invaluable eleven-volume set on the Chronicle of Michael the Great makes the scholarly resources on this unique manuscript available together for the first time. Now inaccessible, the Chronicle is the largest medieval chronicle known, and is available here for the first time in history as a facsimile copy of the original manuscript, as well as in a copy of the original Syriac, the French translation, an abbreviated Armenian recension, and Arabic versions. The Chronicle is one of the most important primary sources on the history of the Middle East, especially the period between the rise of Islam and the Crusades.

This edition of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) homily on the Veil of Moses asks what the veil means. Jacob finds the hermeneutical key in Paul’s exegesis of Gen. 2:24 – that the man and the woman becoming one symbolizes Christ and the Church. The bride must wear a veil until such time as her bridegroom comes to remove it at their marriage ceremony. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

This book covers the history of the Syrian church of India from its founding by the apostle Thomas in 52 A.D., until the first half of the 20th century. During which, the author explains the various obstacles the Indian Church faced in therms of theology and colonialism. The several delegations of the Apostolic See of Antioch to India from the 17th to the 20th centuries form an indispensable account of the vicissitudes of a struggling native Indian Church trying to preserve its Antiochene identity.

The invaluable Chronicle of Michael the Great makes the scholarly resources on this unique manuscript available together for the first time. Now inaccessible, the Chronicle is the largest medieval chronicle known, and is available here for the first time in history as a facsimile copy of the original manuscript. The Chronicle is one of the most important primary sources on the history of the Middle East, especially the period between the rise of Islam and the Crusades.