Catalogue des manuscrits conservés dans la bibliothèque de l’archevêché grec-catholique d’Alep (Syrie)

This catalogue is typical of an ecclesiastic library belonging to a theological institution devoted to the training of priests. It is an invaluable testimony for the study of the situation and development of the Melchite church in Syria, and bears witness to the great efforts they invested in training their clergy. The works reflect the spirit of a religious community fighting to keep its faith alive and to preserve its forms of worship, tolerated though not encouraged by the Turkish Muslim authorities, and in uneasy coexistence with its Christian brothers. <br/>The catalogue also bears witness to the vigour of the Arabic language in the Christian communities in a chronological period in which the language has generally been considered to be in decline or disuse. Arabic was used to transmit the faith, for ecclesiastical organization, and also as an instrument for literature in genres such as poetry, science, history and grammar. This intellectual rearmament of the Melchite community and its development in Arabic represent a kind of pre-Nahda, a preparatory stage for the rebirth of the language, in which a key role was played by the Christian authors of this confession.

English summary: This catalogue is typical of an ecclesiastic library belonging to a theological institution devoted to the training of priests. It is an invaluable testimony for the study of the situation and development of the Melchite church in Syria, and bears witness to the great efforts they invested in training their clergy. The works reflect the spirit of a religious community fighting to keep its faith alive and to preserve its forms of worship, tolerated though not encouraged by the Turkish Muslim authorities, and in uneasy coexistence with its Christian brothers. The catalogue also bears witness to the vigour of the Arabic language in the Christian communities in a chronological period in which the language has generally been considered to be in decline or disuse. Arabic was used to transmit the faith, for ecclesiastical organization, and also as an instrument for literature in genres such as poetry, science, history and grammar. This intellectual rearmament of the Melchite community and its development in Arabic represent a kind of pre-Nahda, a preparatory stage for the rebirth of the language, in which a key role was played by the Christian authors of this confession. French description: En 1999 l’Institut du Proche Orient Ancien de l’Universite de Barcelona adherait au programme MANUMED de la Comunite Europeenne pour la conservation et la sauvegarde du patrimoine documentaire du Proche Orient. D’apres l’organigramme prevu, l’Institut pris en charge le catalogage des fonds de manuscrits appartenant a des institutions plus ou moins privees du Proche Orient, dispersees et demunies de protection. Apres les premieres approches avec les autorites civiles et religieuses (dans la plupart des cas chretiennes) du Liban et de Syrie, on adopta comme ligne d’actuation de debuter notre tache par le catalogage des collections qui n’avaient pas de registre officiel ou imprime, et qui, par consequent, risquaient d’etre dispersees ou espoliees. Etant donnees les connexions prealables avec la ville d’Alep, il sembla tout a fait approprie de commencer le travail dans cette ville. Nos premieres prises de contact furent avec les autorites religieuses melchite, syro-orthodoxe et maronite, mais aussi avec les resposables de la Bibliotheque Sbath (Fondation Georges et Mathilde Salem) et l’Institut de la Science Arabe, de l’Universite d’Alep. Le point de depart du travail a ete le fond de manuscrits de l’Archeveche Grec-Catholique dont on offre ici la catalogue complet. Il sera suivi, nous esperons, par celui de la Bibliotheque Sbath, deja complete, dans la partie qui correspond au lot de manuscrits acquis apres la publication du son catalogue, aussi bien que du reste, revise et complete, de la collection conservee a Alep.. Le catalogue offre le contenu typique d’une bibliotheque ecclesiastique appartenent a un centre de formation theologique pour des pretres. C’est un temoin de premier ordre pour etudier la situation et le developpement de l’Eglise melchite en Syrie, et de comprendre le grand effort de formation de son clerge. Par l’intermediaire de ces oeuvres on appercoit l’haleine d’une communaute religieuse en lutte pour garder vivante sa foi et sa peculiarite confessionelle minoritaire, dans le contexte de tolerance sous tutelle, comme celle offerte par l’administration musulmane turque, et de coexistence toujours difficile avec leurs freres chretiens. La catalogue temoigne aussi de la culture vigoureuse de la langue arabe de la part des communautes chretiennes a une epoque qui a ete consideree d’ordinaire egard comme une periode de cette langue en decadence ou en complete latence. La langue arabe, misse au service de la propre foi et de l’organisation ecclesiastique, fut aussi utilisee comme instrument de creation litteraire dans des genres comme la poesie, la science, l’histoire ou la grammaire. Ce rearmement intellectuel de la communaute melchite et son developpement en langue arabe configure une sorte de pre-Nahda, ou etape preparatoire de la renaissance de cette langue, renaissance dans laquelle a ete reconnu le role joue par des auteurs chretiens qui surgissent justement de ce milieu confessionel.

• By (author) Francisco del Río Sánchez
• By (author) Manuel Forcano Aparício
• By (author) Margarida Castells Criballés
• By (author) Pius Hormizd Elias Alibek
• Edited by Gregorio del Olmo Lete

„Short description (in French) of 455 manuscripts (including 7 mss not numbered and 3 diplomas) preserved now in the library of the Greek Catholic archbishop of Aleppo in Syria. Description proceeds as follows: headings (in bold) provide the manuseript number in the present catalogue; a short title (in French); the language of the text. When appropriate, the full title is given (in French translation and the original language (Arabic)). Description is divided in three main parts: 1. physical description, wich medium (including its quality and state of preservation), ink, number of folios (including numeration), blank leaves when appropriate, size of the leaves (in mm), ruling and written surface (including measures of the margins, in mm), and binding; 2. writing: type and size of the module (in mm); 3. additions of any kind. Six indiees follow: 1. works by literary genres; 2. authors and translators; 3. copyists; 4. proper names (persons); 5. proper names (places); 6. lost manuscripts.“<br/><br/>In: Scriptorium. (2005) 1. S. 29.
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