The Letters of Isidore of Pelusium in Syriac Canonical Collections and What to Make of Them

Abstract This article examines the unusual inclusion of ten letters of Isidore of Pelusium within the eighth-century canonical collection copied in Vat. Sir. 560A. While the Syriac tradition generally departs from the original arrangement – by omitting the names of addressees, reordering the material, and transmitting several expanded or otherwise unattested letters – Vat. Sir. 560A stands apart in that it incorporates ten letters of Isidore ( ep. 1, 3, 29–33, 35, 68, 89) among the patristic canons, preserving both the Greek sequence and the onomastic designations, and thereby indicating dependence on an exemplar that still reflected the Greek arrangement prior to later reconfigurations. The selected letters, moral and exhortatory in character, contain minor additions when compared to the Greek, and reflect an interest in ascetic, prescriptive and disciplinary matters for different holders of offices. Vat. Sir. 560A thus bears witness to an interesting reception strand of Isidore, embedding him within the West Syriac canonical collections, while still preserving traces of an earlier collection that kept the Greek order and onomastic apparatus.