Books about Syrian Orthodox

[Jimmy]

Are there any good Syrian Orthodox books in English? 

Also, is it possible to find any writings of any of the Syrian fathers like Philoxenus and St. James of Sarug in English?  I have the St. James book of homiles on Mary published by SVS press.  I have many of the hymns of St. Ephrem.

[Salpy]

This might have some of what you are looking for:

http://www.orthodox-library.org/catalogue.htm

[Jimmy]

Thankyou Salpy.  That looks like it includes a lot of stuff I would like to read.

[EkhristosAnesti]

You'll find some works of Sts Philoxenus of Hierapolis and James of Sarugh here:

www.tertullian.org/fathers

The above site also has the works of other Syrian Orthodox writers, including Sts Dionysius Bar Salibi and Severus of Antioch (the latter's works being mainly polemical though). There are other translated works of these SO Fathers in the offline world; you should be able to find them at a good library.

The only other Syrian Orthodox writer whose works have been translated that i'm aware of, is the great polymath Mar Gregorios Bar Hebraeus. Nothing online though, as far as i'm aware.

[surajiype]

Jimmy,

You can check out www.gorgiaspress.com, the books there are mostly targeted towards an academic readership and are a bit pricey, but they do have a very good collection.

Suraj

[Jimmy]

Thanks.  Are there any books that give an overview of what the Syrian Orthodox believe?  Kind of like Bishop Ware's The Orthodox Church. 

[EkhristosAnesti]

Unfortunately, I don't think any of the OO Churches have a good, reliable, and coherent catechism-type book published, at least in english, yet. I am working with others (others more learned and knowledgeable than I, including clergy) from my church (the Coptic Church) on a general OO catechism which considers all types of authority from all of the OO traditions, yet that is not likely to be finished for at least a couple of years (and even then, we are speaking about a very "basic" caetechism).

Nevertheless, you may be interested to consider, for now, The Syrian Orthodox Church: Its Religion and Philosophy (Kottayam: D.C. Press, 1973). This was authored by the late Metropolitan Athanasius when he was still a lay person under the name Dr. Paulos Mor Athanasius Kadavil. I had to order my copy directly from the Syrian Orthodox study centre at Kottayam, India. It's not the best, but it's better than nothing. H.E. frequently refers to the authority of the Syrian Orthodox Fathers however, so if your concern is Syrian Orthodox patristics you should find it insightful. The Fathers H.E. frequently refers to are: St Ephrem the Syrian, St Moses Bar Keepho (10th Century), Mar Gregorios Bar Hebraeus (13th Century), and St Dionysius Bar Salibi (12th Century), and a certain St Jacob (though I can't figure out which precise St Jacob this may be--the sub-professional standard of referencing doesn't leave one with any real clue).

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