16 Manuscripts From Dayr Al Qiddīs Yūḥannā Al Maʻmadān In Dūmā, Lebanon, Are Now Available In Reading Room
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16 manuscripts from Dayr al-Qiddīs Yūḥannā al-Maʻmadān in Dūmā, Lebanon, are now available in Reading Room
Posted: 2023-10-27Cataloging is complete for the collection of Dayr al-Qiddīs Yūḥannā al-Maʻmadān, or Saint John the Baptist Monastery, a Greek Orthodox institution in Dūmā, Lebanon (DUMA). The collection is almost entirely Arabic with a little Syriac and is surprisingly rich for its small size. It includes an Old Testament manuscript dated to 1236 CE, a liturgical book dated to 1322, and several other manuscripts that are likely of similar age, such as a rare Gospel commentary of Coptic origin. Rare patristic and medieval homilies are joined by numerous liturgical books copied in the late 18th century by Afthīmiyūs, a monk who worked to renovate and expand the monastery. View now
Image caption: Opening from an Arabic Old Testament dated to 1236 CE (DUMA 00010)