Aramaic, the language spoken in the Near East in Antiquity and traditionally associated with the time of Jesus Christ, underpinned the development of the Syriac language—a literary dialect in which some of the earliest Christian texts were written.
It is in this highly specialized field that Cătălin-Ștefan Popa, an expert in Syriac Christianity and Christian communities in the Middle East, whose contribution has drawn the attention of the international scientific community through his study of a manuscript belonging to the Harklean tradition of the New Testament, has focused his efforts.
The manuscript, which contains a Syriac-language version of the Gospels derived from the 7th-century translation of Thomas of Heraclea, was identified in the manuscript collection of the Romanian Academy and dated, most likely, to the end of the 12th century. The discovery was described by Professor Sebastian Brock (University of Oxford) as "truly exceptional”.
The study and critical edition of this manuscript were published in the Journal of Biblical Literature, contributing to enhancing current research towards a deeper understanding of the transmission and circulation of the Syriac tradition.
The article "Catalin-Stefan Popa, An Early Ḥarklean Version in a Syriac Gospel Fragmentary Manuscript (MS Or. 403)" can be accessed here »»»
https://cart.sbl-site.org/books/061434J
In this context, the appointment of Dr. Cătălin-Ștefan Popa as chair of the 14th World Congress of Syriac Studies (Symposium Syriacum) and the 12th International Conference on Christian Arabic Studies, organized in Bucharest by the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization from August 3–7, 2026 reflects the international recognition of research efforts that bring to light foundational cultural heritage.
