Prof. Catalin-Stefan Popa (Romanian Academy, Bucharest)

The Placement of the Fathers of the Council of Nicaea in Syriac Manuscripts: Considerations on Scribal Intentions in the Sequencing of Narratives

This paper examines the sequencing of homilies on the Nicene Fathers in selected Syriac manuscripts, analyzing their placement within different liturgical contexts. In some manuscripts, these homilies appear alongside major feasts such as the Nativity and the Baptism of Christ (Epiphany), while in others, they are positioned during the summer period between Ascension and Pentecost. This discussion will explore possible hypotheses regarding the scribal intentions behind these variations, aiming to understand the rationale for the differing placements of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea within Syriac manuscript traditions.

Curriculum Vitae

Prof. Catalin-Stefan Popa is a research professor at the Romanian Academy and has additionally been affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levantine Culture and Civilization (Bucharest) since 2019. He served as the Director of the Department for the History of the Cultures and Civilizations of the Levant from 2019 to 2024 and currently holds the position of Interim Director-General of the Institute. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Syriac Annals of the Romanian Academy and editor-in-chief of The International Journal of Levant Studies. Additionally, he is the convener of the 2026 Symposium Syriacum in Bucharest, Romania. Dr. Popa earned his doctorate from the Georg August University in Göttingen (2016) and obtained his Habilitation in Church History (Kirchengeschichte) from the Karl Franzens University in Graz (2021), where he remains an associate docent.

Publications and Works

- Gīwargīs I. (660–680): Ostsyrische Christologie in frühislamischer Zeit, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2016 (Göttinger Orientforschungen, I. Reihe: Syriaca, Band 50). - The Making of Syriac Jerusalem: Representations of the Holy City in Syriac Literature of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, London & New York: Routledge, 2023 (Routledge Studies in the Early Christian World). - Soul and Body: Diseases, Remedies, and Healing in Middle Eastern Religious Cultures and Traditions, Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2023 (Studies on the Children of Abraham, 10). - Teaching and Learning the Norms of Life and Faith: Pedagogues, Educators, and Their Heritage in Abrahamic Religions, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck (SERAPHIM Collection – Studies in Education and Religion in Ancient and Pre-Modern History in the Mediterranean and Its Environs), forthcoming. Recently, Dr. Popa identified parts of an early Ḥarklean manuscript previously thought to be lost. His findings were published in the article “An Early Ḥarklean Version in a Syriac Gospel Fragmentary Manuscript (MS OR 403)”, Journal of Biblical Literature 143, no. 4 (2024): 717–47.