Syriac lectionary printed at the Dominican Press of Mosul, here in its first and only edition by Clemens Joseph David (1829-1890). Clemens Joseph David was a prominent scholar of the Syriac Catholic Church, who was greatly admired for his knowledge of the Syriac language (a form of Aramaic), history, literature and liturgy by the most distinguished European Syriac scholars. In 1879, he became Archbishop of Damascus. The present lectionary is one of his principal Syriac publications.
A lectionary is a book containing a collection of scripture readings (pericopes) which are appointed to be read on particular days of the year, here excluding the lent term in June (according to the title).
The present work also includes a preface, written by Ignatius Jirjis Shalhat, Patriarch of Antioch. The Dominican Press of Mosul played a major role in the formation and education of Chaldean and Syriac Catholic intellectuals in the late 19th and early 20th century. As the Mosul Dominican Press was "a melting pot of Syriac and Latin theological traditions", the present Lectionarium Syriacum shows us - even more because of the Latin title-page - how the Syriac Christian tradition goes hand in hand with the liturgical traditions of the Roman Church. The work is extremely rare: we have traced no copy ever offered for sale and only three copies in institutional libraries (the British Library and the university libraries of Bonn and Bamberg) making the present copy the fourth copy known.
Binding slightly worn around the edges. Some small marginal tears and some browning to the first and last leaves, but overall in good condition. An extremely rare Syriac liturgical work. Cf. J.F. Coakley & David G.K. Taylor, "Syriac books printed at the Dominican Press, Mosul", in: George Kiraz (ed.), Malphono w-Rabo d-Malphone (2008), pp. 71-110 ; Gabriel Oussani, "The modern Chaldeans and Nestorians, and the study of Syriac among them", in: Journal of the American Oriental Society, 22 (1901), pp. 79-96.