St. Basil was one of the most popular of the Greek Fathers amongst the Syrian churches, and his De Spiritu Sancto was twice translated into Syriac. The first version, made in the late fourth/early fifth centuries, survives the three manuscripts of the fifth-seventh centuries and is edited and translated here for the first time. It is a paraphrastic text and so is of theological interest in its own right. Its biblical citations are also noteworthy. The second translation, made in the seventh century, survives only in fragments and these have been collected from florilegia manuscripts and edited in parallel with the Greek text. Introductions to the two volumes explore the Syriac manuscript traditions of this work and their significance, and investigate St. Basil's contacts with Syriac-speaking Christians and the theology of the first Syriac version. Unusually, a detailed orthographic index of textual variants is also included.

Jacob of Edessa (c.640-708) is considered the most learned Christian of the early days of Islam. In all fifteen contributions to this volume, written by prominent specialists, the interaction between Christianity, Judaism, and the new religion is an important issue. The articles discuss Jacob’s biography as well as his position in early Islamic Edessa, and give a full picture of the various aspects of Jacob of Edessa’s life and work as a scholar and clergyman. Attention is paid to his efforts in the fields of historiography, correspondence, canon law, text and interpretation of the Bible, language and translation, theology, philosophy, and science. The book, which marks the 1300th anniversary of Jacob’s death, also contains a bibliographical clavis.

Patristic Literature in Arabic Translations explores the Arabic translations of the Greek and Syriac Church Fathers, focusing on those produced in the Palestinian monasteries and at Sinai in the 8th–10th centuries and in Antioch during Byzantine rule (969–1084). These Arabic translations preserve patristic texts lost in the original languages. They offer crucial information about the diffusion and influence of patristic heritage among Middle Eastern Christians from the 8th century to the present. A systematic examination of Arabic patristic translations sheds light on the development of Muslim and Jewish theological thought. Contributors are Aaron Michael Butts, Joe Glynias, Habib Ibrahim, Jonas Karlsson, Sergey Kim, Joshua Mugler, Tamara Pataridze, Alexandre Roberts, Barbara Roggema, Alexander Treiger.

This volume deals with the part on practical philosophy in Barhebraeus's "Butyrum sapientiae" or " Cream of Wisdom". The practical philosophy in this large encyclopaedia of Aristotelean thinking in this Syriac language consists of three books: Ethics, Economy and Politics. The books of Ethics and Politics have been edited, translated and commented upon for the very first time in this publication. These books are unique and probably the only specimens of its kind, surviving in the Syriac language and literature. They were written at the end of Barhebraeus's life (1285/86) during a period in which the Syriac language had been rapidly losing ground to Arabic and was to almost disappear as a living language not long after the author's death.

If Basil of Caesarea receives mention in a standard course of lectures on Christian theology or history it is as the first person to write a dedicated discourse on the Holy Spirit. The author argues that Basil did regard the Holy Spirit as fully divine and an equal Person of the Holy Trinity.

In twenty-five chapters by leading scholars, this volume propagates a nuanced understanding of Byzantine "literature", highlighting key problems, and presenting basic research tools for an audience of specialists and non-specialists.