Dr. Ephrem Aboud Ishac (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna)

The Syriac Nicaea 325 in a New Critical Edition

This paper presents a forthcoming critical edition of the Syriac documents of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325 AD), with a primary focus on the textual history. The necessity for this new edition stems from the limitations of the existing edition by Friedrich Schulthess, published in 1908. While Schulthess’ work was groundbreaking at his time, it only utilized manuscripts available in Western libraries, overlooking the Syriac manuscript witnesses which became known in the intervening century. These findings, housed in libraries across the Middle East and Europe, offer crucial insights into the complex transmission and reception of the Nicene canons within diverse Syriac Christian communities. The forthcoming edition will incorporate these significant manuscripts, examining the distinct recensions of the Syriac documents of Nicaea, tracing their evolution and interrelationships through manuscript analysis. It will illuminate the pathways of textual transmission, highlighting the variations and adaptations that occurred as the canonical texts moved across different Syriac communities and were integrated into various canonical collections. This study will draw upon a wide range of manuscripts, including: • Alqosh 169 (olim Baghdad 509): A key East Syriac manuscript, dated to the 13th century, containing a rich collection of texts, including those of Nicaea, alongside synodal acts and other related documents. • Mardin 309 and 310: Dated between the 8th and 9th centuries, these two closely related West Syriac manuscripts preserve the canons and the Creed of Nicaea along with the Corpus Canonum, offering valuable insights into the early transmission of these texts. • Paris Syr. 62: Another 9th-century West Syriac manuscript with significant similarities to Mardin 309 and 310, further illuminating the textual history of the Nicene documents. • BL Add. 14,528, BL Add. 14,529, BL Add. 12,155: Early West Syriac manuscripts containing different recensions of the Nicene canons and Creed, showcasing the diversity of the Syriac textual canonical tradition. In addition to these extant manuscripts, the project presentation will address the critical issue of lost manuscripts, notably Seert 65 and Basebrin, which were unfortunately lost during the Sayfo Genocide in 1915. By reconstructing their potential contributions based on surviving fragments and cataloging information, this edition aims to recover a more complete picture of the Syriac textual tradition of Nicaea. The research will build upon the contributions of previous scholars who have investigated the Syriac transmission of the Nicaea texts. Hubert Kaufhold’s studies on the Corpus Canonum and the Syriac translation of the Nicene canons revealed the potential involvement of Jacob of Edessa (†708) in shaping the textual tradition. This forthcoming critical edition hopes to serve as a helpful resource for scholars, students, and the Syriac Church communities, particularly during the celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. By reconstructing the complex transmission of these Syriac documents of Nicaea across different communities and through time, the edition will shed new light on the dynamic interaction between textual tradition and theological development in the Syriac world.

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Ephrem Aboud Ishac is a Senior Postdoc and Principal Investigator of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) project: Identifying Scattered Puzzles of Syriac Liturgy Manuscripts, hosted at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna. His research focuses on Syriac liturgical texts, synods, and manuscripts, with a particular interest in their transmission, reception, and digital preservation. He holds a PhD in Liturgy from the Holy Spirit University (Kaslik), where his dissertation focused on the Syriac liturgical Anaphora of Mor Jacob of Edessa. He also earned a Master of Arts in General Theology from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (New York). Ishac’s research has been supported by numerous fellowships and grants, including those from Yale University (USA), the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (USA), the Religious Studies Foundation in Bologna (Italy), and the Austrian Research Fund (Austria). He has held visiting positions at Yale University, Graz University, and the Central European University in Vienna. His publications are mainly focusing on Syriac manuscripts and exploring liturgical traditions. His edited volume with his colleagues, Tracing Written Heritage in a Digital Age (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2021), reflects also his commitment to digital humanities and the preservation of Syriac written heritage in past and present, especially in an ecumenical milieu. He taught courses on Syriac language, liturgy, and canons at Yale University, the Central European University, and the University of Salzburg, He is committed to sharing his knowledge and passion for Syriac heritage with students and scholars alike.

Publications and Works

- “A Journal of Two Cities: «Proche-Orient Chrétien» from Jerusalem to Beirut,” Cristianesimo nella Storia: Studies in History, Theology and Exegesis 1 (2020): 295–321. - “Hidden Syriac Manuscripts at Yale,” in Tracing Written Heritage in a Digital Age, edited by Ephrem Aboud Ishac et al., Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2021, 159–94. - “Jacob of Edessa’s Liturgical Commentary to George the Stylite of Serugh”, with Gabriel Aydin, Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Journal 60 (2022): 67–89. - “In Colophons and Margins of the Syriac Liturgical Manuscripts,” in Literary Snippets: Colophons Across Space and Time, edited by Sabine Schmidtke and George Anton Kiraz, Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2023, 187–99. - (with Alberto Melloni, ed.), The Synods of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Turnhout: Brepols, 2023 (Corpus Christianorum, Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Generaliumque Decreta, 1). - (with Alberto Melloni, ed.), The Synods of the Church of the East, Turnhout: Brepols, 2023 (Corpus Christianorum, Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Generaliumque Decreta, 2). - “The First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea 325 in Syriac Synodal Politics,” Annales Historiae Conciliorum 53 (2023): 69–86. - “Manuscript Without Borders: Syriac Migrating Written Heritage,” in Mfaḥmono Kashiro: Perspectives on the Syriac Bible in Honor of Andreas Juckel, edited by George Anton Kiraz and Hannah Stork, Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2024 (Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies 71), 35–56. - “A ‘Colophon’ or a ‘Chronicle’? A Lengthy Garshuni–Arabic Colophon,” Literary Snippets: A Colophon Reader, edited by Sabine Schmidtke and George Anton Kiraz, Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2024, 101–45.