The approved library

The Library

Read the sources for yourself and go as deep as you like. These are the books behind everything you learn here, from the liturgy’s own service books to the classical commentators and modern scholars of the rite.

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Two Commentaries on the Jacobite Liturgy by George, Bishop of the Arab Tribes, and Moses bar Kepha

Public domain

R. H. Connolly & H. W. Codrington (eds.) · 1913 · Williams & Norgate, London

Classic commentaries on the West Syriac (Jacobite) liturgy by George of the Arabs and Moses bar Kepha, with the anaphora of St James — foundational for understanding the meaning of each rite.

Covers anaphora · order of the qurbono · signs and symbols · history and identity · names and meaning of the liturgy · sanctuary and altar · church year · vestments

Fr Givergis Paniker, The Holy Qurbono in the Syro-Malankara Church

Cited as “Paniker, Holy Qurbono”

Fr Givergis Paniker's liturgical study of the Holy Qurbono as the Syro-Malankara Church celebrates it, published by SEERI in Kottayam. It walks through the celebration part by part and reads it as the living memorial of Christ's whole mystery, from creation to his second coming. Clear and SMCC-normative, it is a standard modern account of what the Qurbono is and how it unfolds.

Louis Moolaveetil, The Anaphora of St James

Cited as “Anaphora Study”

Dr Louis Moolaveetil's Malayalam study of the Anaphora of Saint James, the central Eucharistic prayer of the West Syriac tradition. It traces the anaphora's history and works through the meaning of each of its parts, drawing out ideas like rozo (mystery) and the Qurbono as the medicine of life. It is a scholarly Malankara reading of the prayer at the heart of the liturgy.

John of Dara, Commentary on the Eucharist (tr. Varghese)

Cited as “John of Dara”

The ninth-century Eucharistic commentary of John of Dara, a Syriac Metropolitan, in Baby Varghese's English translation from SEERI. Instead of following the liturgy in order, John draws out the symbolism of its rites, and he says more about the preparation before the anaphora than most of his fellow commentators. He is an important early witness to how the Liturgy of Saint James was developing in his day.

Dionysius Bar Salibi, Commentary on the Eucharist (tr. Varghese)

Cited as “Bar Salibi”

The Eucharistic commentary of Dionysius Bar Salibi, the twelfth-century bishop of Amid, in Baby Varghese's English translation from SEERI. It explains the meaning behind each rite of the Syriac liturgy and stands as the last great link in the chain of West Syriac commentators. Bar Salibi drew heavily on Moses Bar Kepha by design, wanting to hand on the shared tradition faithfully rather than to innovate.

The Sacred Lectionary (Syro-Malankara Catholic Church)

Cited as “Lectionary”

The official reading system and liturgical calendar of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, issued by the Major Archiepiscopal Curia. It assigns the Scripture readings for every day and feast through the year, following the principle that the lectionary should unfold the mystery of Christ before the faithful. It is what tells the Church what is read, and when.

SMCC Rubrics (Tukoso, 2014)

Cited as “Rubrics”

The Syro-Malankara Church's official book of rubrics, the Tukoso, approved by the Holy Episcopal Synod in 2014. It prescribes how the holy services are to be carried out, from the orientation and four parts of the church building to the order of the Qurbono and the other rites. It is the practical directory that governs how the liturgy is celebrated in the SMCC.