On the biographical information about St. Isaac the Syrian in Greek and Arabic (Part I)

Part I. Greek sources

Abstract

The biographical information in Greek about St. Isaac the Syrian is reviewed in this paper. It is contained in the title of the Greek translation of the works of the saint and in the preface to this translation, written no later than XIII — early XIV c. The preface reports of St. Isaac’s education in the region of Edessa and his accession to the episcopal throne of Nineveh after a special revelation from God. The list of manuscripts with this preface is provided and the conclusion is made of a quite broad distribution of the mentioned data about St. Isaac.