Surat ktab. Bemerkungen zum sogenannten „Rituale“ des Theodor von Mopsuestia am Beginn der Katechetischen Homilien 12–16.

Leonhard Clemens

Abstract

The last Ž ve of Theodore of Mopsuestia's (died 428) Catechetical Homilies,in which he expounds the liturgies of the Christian initiation, are precededby short statements under the heading surat ktab. These passages are interpretedas a highly authoritative and very old liturgical source, which Theodoreof Mopsuestia used when he composed his homilies. The paper presents evidencefor the assumption that these texts are excerpts based on the Syriactranslation of the homilies. The thesis is supported by observations about thetextual character and genre of these passages, their relationship to the followinghomilies and to later East-Syrian liturgies and by the fact that theterm surat ktab cannot be translated ‘text of the book'-a translation whichsupported the hypothesis of the existence of a written source which Theodoreused. The excerpts are not absolutely accurate and some of their deviationsfrom Theodore's homilies as well as the selection of the material to be chosenfor these summaries may betray the excerptor's ecclesiastical background.Thus, the passages under the heading of §rat ktˆb contain a quotation ofthe text of the Sanctus which predates the oldest manuscripts of the Anaphoraof Addai and Mari which contain the text of the Sanctus.