''Nuhrā d-Tešmeštā ʿEdtānāytā'' ("Commentary of the Ecclesiastical Services"), better known by its

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

title, ''Expositio officiorum ecclesiae'', is an anonymous Syriac commentary on the East Syriac liturgy. Its author is usually referred to as Pseudo-George of Arbela (or Pseudo-Gewargis). The work is dedicated to a certain Daniel. The ''Expositio'' is preserved in many manuscripts.Vat. sir. 148
has been digitized. It is the longest preserved Syriac liturgical commentary. Its date is uncertain. It was probably written in the ninth century, but perhaps as early as the seventh. It quotes the seventh-century author Abraham bar Lipeh, whose work is based on that of Gabriel Qaṭraya, and must have been written after the liturgical reforms of the Catholicos

Ishoʿyahb III Ishoʿyahb III of Adiabene was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 649 to 659. Sources Brief accounts of Ishoʿyahb's patriarchate are given in the ''Ecclesiastical Chronicle'' of the Jacobite writer Bar Hebraeus (thirteenth-century), and t ...

(). In the 18th century,

Giuseppe Simone Assemani Giuseppe Simone Assemani ( Classical Syriac : ܝܵܘܣܸܦ ܒܲܪ ܫܸܡܥܘܿܢ , ( ''Yusuf ibn Siman as-Simani'', , ; July 27, 1687 – January 13, 1768) was a librarian, Lebanese Maronite orientalist, and Catholic bishop. For his efforts, an ...

assigned the ''Expositio'' to George of Arbela, but he gave no reasons. As George lived in the tenth century, this attribution has been discredited. The ''Expositio'' has also been wrongly credited to ʿAbdishoʿ bar Bahrīz. The ''Expositio'' is structured as a series of question on liturgical practices, divided between seven sections: #24 questions on the

liturgical year The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be obse ...

. #21 questions on '' ramšā''. #9 questions on '' lelyā'' and '' ṣaprā''. #30 questions on the eucharistic mysteries. #9 questions on

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

. #8 questions on the

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

of a church at the start of every year. #7 questions on funeral and marriage rites. The ''Expositio'' has been translated into Latin, but not any modern language.

Editions

* Connolly, R. H., ed. ''Anonymi auctoris expositio officiorum ecclesiae Georgio Arbelensi vulgo adscripta, II. Accedit Abrahae bar Lipheh interpretatio officiorum''. Vols
1
an
2
Louvain: Secretariat du Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, 1913–1915. Syriac text with Latin translation.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{refend Texts in Syriac Church of the East