This fulcrum of generally unobtainable writings is widely used as a resource for those Syriac documents which are often inaccessible. Containing a selection of the writings of St. Ephraem the Syrian, virtually all existent writings of Rabbula, the Bishop of Edessa, and hymns, songs, and homilies of Balai, as well as other Syrian works, this compendium has found a place in the libraries of serious Syriac scholars. Overbeck publishes these documents in Syriac along with a description of the codices found in the British Museum and the Bodleian Library. Complete with an explanatory Latin preface, this is a sourcebook no Syriac scholar can afford to ignore.

Julian Joseph Overbeck (1821-1905) was a German Catholic priest who converted to Lutheranism. Upon coming to England he was received into the Anglican Church. He was a strong supporter of dialogue and cooperation between Anglo-Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.