All the Syriac manuscripts from the collection of the Major Archbishop’s house in Ernakulam, Kerala, India have now been cataloged and made available in HMML Reading Room (project code APSTCH EMAP). This collection is primarily composed of liturgical materials for use by the Syro Malabar Church.

Of particular note are nine copies of the Psalter according to the East Syriac rite, complete with canons of Mar Aba I and other paratextual features added by Theodore of Mopsuestia. These Psalter manuscripts also each contain a copy of an East Syriac liturgical work known as the “Before and After” (Ktābā da-qdām wa-d-bātar), a collection of readings and prayers for the daily office. In addition to these liturgical manuscripts, there are also a number of grammatical manuscripts that demonstrate the bilingual nature of the Syro Malabar liturgical tradition (employing both Syriac and Malayalam). The most significant manuscript in this collection is a 16th-century copy of the Nomocanon of ʻAbdīshōʻ bar Brīkā. It is remarkable that this manuscript survived because the Nomocanon was formally banned by the Synod of Diamper in 1599. View now