There are few figures in the history of Western Spirituality who are more enigmatic than the fifth or sixth-century writer known as the Pseudo-Dionysius. The real identity of the person who chose to write under the pseudonym of Dionysius the Areopagite is unknown. Even the exact dates of his writings have never been determined. Moreover the texts themselves, though relatively short, are at points seemingly impenetrable and have mystified readers over the centuries. Yet the influence of this shadowy figure on broad range of mystical writers from the early middle ages on is readily discernible. His formulation of a method of negative theology that stresses the impotence of humans' attempt to penetrate the "cloud of unknowing" is famous as is his meditation on the divine names. Despite his influence, relatively few attempts have been made to translate the entire corpus of his written into English. Here in one volume are collected all of the Pseudo-Dionysius' works. Each has been translated from the Migne edition, with reference to the forthcoming Göttingen critical edition of A.M. Ritter, G. Heil, and B. Suchla. To present these works to the English-speaking public, an outstanding team of six research scholars has been assembled. The lucid translation of Colm Luibheid has been augmented by Paul Rorem's notes and textual collaboration. The reader is presented a rich and varied examination of the main themes of Dionysian spirituality by René Roques, an incisive discussion of the original questions of the authenticity and alleged heresies in the Dionysian corpus by Jaroslav Pelikan, a comprehensive tracing Dionysius' influence on medieval authors by Jean Leclercq, and a survey by Karlfried Froehlich of the reception given the corpus by Humanists and sixteenth-century Reformers.

The Book of Jubilees, a Jewish retelling of Genesis and the first half of Exodus, was an important work for the community of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This Guide, following the format of this successful series, gives an introduction to Jubilees that covers its dating, its textual history and its purpose; a survey of its theological teachings and themes; and a section-by-section commentary that includes a comparison of its divergences from Genesis and the meaning and emphasis of each section. This volume, by the leading authority on Jubilees, provides the very best introduction for the student and scholar to one of the most important texts of Early Judaism.

The Syriac version of the Hexaemeron by St. Basil of Caesarea survives in Ms no. 9 of the Syriac collection in the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai (written before 734 AD), and in fragments, of which the earliest dates from the fifthe century. It predates the surviving Greek manuscripts by four centuries. It is not a literal translation, but expands the text in a discursive manner - as is not uncommon in Syriac. The Armenian version was made from this Syriac text by the seventh century. The Syriac version of the Hexaemeron is thus valuable as a witness to the original, as a text of importance for Syriac literature, and as the intermediary for the wide diffusion of the Hexaemeron in Armenia.

English

(Peeters 1950)

The first book of the Ethicon of Gregory Barhebraeus (d. 1286) contains a description of a number of ascetical practices such as the manner of saying prayers, reading spiritual books, reciting psalms, fasting, living in seclusion, pilgrimage, etc.. Barhebraeus' description is partly based on Greek and Syriac authors on the spiritual life. The originality of the work, however, lies in it being influenced by Islamic authors such as Al-Ghazali and B. Sina. This influence causes Barhebraeus to pay attention to basically Islamic concepts as sama, dhikr, etc. Much attention is given to the identification of the sources. In a special appendix one finds the parallel texts of Al-Ghazali's Ilhya 'ulum aldin and the first book of Barhebraeus' Ethicon.

La versione armena delle Regole di San Basilio di Cesarea, tramandata col titolo di Libro delle Domande, risale al V-VI secolo e testimonia della fama goduta dal grande Cappadoce in tutto l'Oriente cristiano e, in particolare, in Armenia. Il testo armeno, finora inedito, si rivela importante per la conoscenza dell'organizzazione monastica dell'Armenia medievale e per le sue implicazioni con la contemporanea letteratura ascetica originale in armeno. Dal punto di vista filologico e della storia complessiva del testo, la traduzione, eseguita sulla base di un manoscritto ignoto, ma certamente anteriore ai piu antichi codici greci conservati, riveste un particolare interesse perche presenta una redazione formalmente diversa da quella del textus receptus greco. Il 1 volume contiene l'edizione critica del testo armeno, preceduta da una bibliografia scelta e da un'ampia introduzione sulla tradizione manoscritta. In appendice ha una tabella delle varianti dei nomi propri. Il 2 volume contiene la traduzione in italiono del test armeno, con note relative alle varianti rispetto al greco, preceduta da un'introduzione nella quale si considera la versione sul piano storico e soprattutto linguistico, nell'ambito della letteratura di traduzione dal greco. Completano il volume due indici (biblico e onomastico) e una tabella di concordanza tra Regole greche e Domande armene.

Iacobi Edesseni Hexaemeron Seu in Opus Creationis Libri Septem. Syr. 48. = Syr. II, 56

Comment devient-on Pretre du Tres Haut? Rien de plus aise que d'interroger Melchisedek lui-meme, puisqu'il est eternel, comme son sacerdoce. Entre l'apocalypse de Gamaliel, qui fut a l'origine de sa vocation, et les revelations de mysterieux messagers, qui l'assurent de vaincre a la fin des temps toutes les puissances de ce monde opposees a son ministere, Melchisedek celebre sous nos yeux la liturgie du Grand Pretre il s'offre en action de graces au Pere du Tout avec tous les siens; il recoit et dispense un bapteme d'eau qui inonde de lumiere celeste et ramene a leurs origines transcendantes les fils de Seth. Demeurant sur terre de l'origine a la fin des temps, il est le maillon le plus proche d'une longue chaine de remontee des ames lumineuses. christologiques, ses positions antidocetes et son exegese paradoxale de l'Epitre aux Hebreux, ce traite represente un cas extreme de christianisation de la gnose sethienne. Le texte copte etabli par Wolf-Peter Funk ameliore substantiellement celui de l'Editio Princeps (1981). L'introduction de Jean-Pierre Mahe montre la coherence de cet ecrit, qui, sous une apparence apocalyptique, est en fait essentiellement liturgique et communautaire; elle en precise les liens avec la tradition sethienne. Tout en resolvant les nombreuses difficultes que pose la lecture d'un texte extremement lacunaire, le commentaire de Claudio Gianotto eclaire l'interpretation gnostique du personnage de Melchisedek et articule ses rapports avec le Christ des Evangiles et le Sauveur celeste

As a witness to the early Coptic and Greek Biblical traditions, Papyrus Bodmer III is of vital interest to biblical scholars. This updated transcription is unique in providing readers with direct access to the original text by positioning digital images of the actual papyrus side by side with a new transcription of each page. Over 100 corrections to Kasser's 1958 transcription underscore the importance of this book for serious students of the New Testament.A detailed introduction examines the provenance, codex and paleography of P. Bodmer III, presents the singular readings discovered in the text, and separates these readings into meaningful categories. Finally, the appendices provide a complete list of the 1,960 singular readings, a brief description of the 119 corrections made by the original scribe, and a quick reference to the location of all corrections to Kasser's 1958 transcription, as well as corrections to citations in the NA 28th edition.This work will prove a valuable asset to anyone interested in Coptic Biblical studies, New Testament textual criticism, scribal habits, and other related fields.

Amda-Seyons "chronicle" is in fact a detailed report of a year's (1332 AD) campaign of the king against a coalition of Muslim petty kingdoms in Ethiopia's southeast. It was most probably written by an eye witness of the events who furthermore disposed of some document material. Because of its pure language and elegant style as well as its masterly compostion as a true Christian hero's drama it must be ranged among the best products of Ge'ez medieval literature.Published for the first time more than hundred years ago it proved even in its deficient edition and rather tentative translation to be a principal source for the history of Ethiopia in the 14th century. Other sources for the same period are extremely rare, the historical tradition deriving from the Muslim counterpart included. The new critical edition made of all available mss. provides the long needed sound textual base for further research. The slightly commented translation, as well as the introduction, sums up the results of scholarly discussion so far; comparison is made to fragments of Muslim chronicles in Arabic and a few, partially unpublished documents in Ethiopic texts.The documentary value of the long list of Muslim contingents and territories in the coalition has been a real gazetteer of that region. The second - important from the historical and literary point of view - is that this text stands in a long tradition of Ethiopic historiography, near to hagiography (in the style of Lalibala's the Zagwe king's vita) where the manierated search for authentic and pure Ge'ez expression covers almost the Amharic reality of the time.

Theodore Abu Qurrah (c.750-c.825) was an intellectual heir of St. John of Damascus. Both became monks of Mar Sabas monastery in the Judean desert. Whereas John of Damascus was prominent among the generations of Greek writers in the Holy Land in early Islamic times, Theodore Abu Qurrah was the first Orthodox scholar whose name we know regularly to write Christian theology in Arabic. He spoke and wrote the Arabic language at a time when it was just becoming the cultural language of classical Islamic civilization, as well as the lingua sacra of the Qu'ran and of the new world religion. He was among the first Christians to exploit the apologetic potential of the new Arabic medium of public discourse. Abu Qurrah's Arabic tract in defense of the veneration of the holy icons was a response to the problem of the public veneration of the symbols of Christianity in an Islamic environment in which the caliph's policies since the time of 'Abd al-Malik (685-705) had been to claim the public space for Islam. In this treatise one finds arguments once expounded by earlier Greek writers, now deployed to meet the needs of a new generation of Arabic-speaking Christians, who were more evidently in contact and debate with Muslims.