The Commentary of Gabriel of Qatar on the East Syriac Morning Service on Ordinary Days: Text, Translation, and Discussion

The liturgical commentary of Gabriel of Qatar, written in the first half of the seventh century, is an extremely important source for the study of the East Syriac liturgical tradition, precisely because it describes this tradition before the reforms of Išöyahb III. The commentary presents Gabriel's explanation of both the Eucharistic Liturgy and the Liturgy of the Hours, but translations of his work have focused almost exclusively on Gabriel's commentary on the Eucharistic Liturgy. Given the relevance of this text to the study of East Syriac Christianity, it is both surprising and unfortunate that only parts of the text have thus far been edited and translated into any modern language. This volume provides an original edition and translation from Syriac into English of Discourse Two of Gabriel's liturgical commentary: his interpretation of the East Syriac Morning Service on Ordinary Days. This study briefly introduces the author of the commentary and the manuscript in which his commentary is found, reviews the secondary literature thus far written about Gabriel's commentary, provides a description of his comments on the ferial Morning Service, and analyses these comments, comparing the ferial Morning Service in the time of Gabriel with that used by the East Syriac tradition today and noting several other points of interest.