Hill Museum & Manuscript Library

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Project Profiles Lebanon Armenian Catholic Clergy Institute Bzommar, Lebanon Bibliothèque Orientale at the Université Saint-Joseph Beirut, Lebanon Our Lady of Balamand Monastery and University Tripoli, Lebanon Armenian Apostolic Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia Antelias, Lebanon Deir Mar Yuhanna al-Shuwayr (“Monastery of Saint John the Baptist at Shweir”) Khonchara, Lebanon Monastery of Saint George at Deir-esh-Shir Jounieh, Lebanon Université du Saint-Esprit Kaslik, Lebanon Deir el-Kreim, Lebanese Maronite Missionary Order Jounieh, Lebanon Knights of Malta Priory of Rome National Archives of Malta Syria Melkite Greek-Catholic Archdiocese of Aleppo Aleppo, Syria Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo Aleppo, Syria Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Aleppo Aleppo, Syria Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Homs Homs, Syria Ukraine The Stefanyk Library of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine L’viv, Ukraine L’viv Historical Museum L’viv, Ukraine India Saint Thomas Christian Manuscript Collections Kerala, India Legacy Preservation Projects Austria/Germany/Switzerland British Isles Iberia Italy Malta South Africa Sweden Ethiopia	Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo Aleppo, Syria 225 Manuscripts HMML Middle East field director Walid Mourad and executive director Father Columba Stewart, OSB visit with Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo Mor Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim. ©HMML 2007 Like the Antiochian Greek Orthodox and Melkite Greek-Catholics, Syriac Orthodox Christians trace their origins to the original Church of Antioch. Their center of their life, however, was Edessa, now the city of Şanliurfa in southeastern Turkey. The Syriac language itself is the dialect of Aramaic spoken in and around Edessa. Syriac-speaking Christians rejected the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon in 451, a position taken also by the Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Armenian Apostolic Churches. These churches are independent, yet they maintain communion with one another. The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch now lives in Saint Ephrem Monastery in Sednaya, Syria, having left Turkey during the persecutions of Christians during and after World War I. The community in Aleppo is both ancient and modern, having grown considerably since the late 19th century with the influx of Syriac Christians from Turkey. Syriac remains their liturgical and theological language. The manuscripts in Aleppo include some ancient and highly significant texts that feature the outstanding illuminations often found in Syriac manuscripts. Learn more about the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. This manuscript is a copy of the Shhimo, the book of chants used for the Liturgy of the Hours celebrated at intervals throughout day and night. These poetic compositions are a great treasury of Syriac theology and spirituality, and are still sung in monasteries throughout the Middle East, India, and the Syriac diaspora in the west. Shown here are the opening pages of an undated Shhimo. The words in red on the right-hand (first) page are the scribe’s personal dedication. SOAA 0087, fols. 002r-001v. Manuscript on paper.