We are proceeding with the edition of the Chapters on Knowledge of rabban Aphnīmāran, an East Syriac mystical writer of the 7th century, and of the East Syriac anonymous commentary on them. The present paper covers the chapters 14–41 and includes the critical edition of the Syriac text based on fourteen manuscripts, the Arabic version of the chapters, and a Russian translation provided with various commentaries. Aphnīmāran’s work and the anonymous commentary on this text engage the problems of the Protology, Divine Economy, the exegesis of Scripture, and various aspects of the mystical doctrine, in particular the teaching on the Pure and Spiritual prayer and the related anthropological topics. 

The purpose of the article is to explore the history of studying the manuscript heritage of Isho‘dad of Merw (d. after 850), a prominent East Syrian exegete of the Church of the East. Unlike other Syriac biblical commentaries of the 8th–9th centuries, the commentary of this author on all books of the Bible was completely preserved, published and translated in the beginning and middle of the 20th century. In this regard, on the basis of this material, it seems possible not only to reconstruct the East Syriac exegetical tradition up to the middle of the 9th century, but also better understand the sources of medieval Syriac lexicography which was created taking into account the philological achievements of this tradition. The present research is intended to fill the gap in the Russian study of the life and work of the East Syrian bishop of the Church of the East and thus become the basis for future translations of the Isho‘dad’s biblical commentaries.

Macarius Macres (ca. 1391–1431) was one of the most creative thinkers of the Palaiologan epoch. In the article’s first section we try to argue, on the basis of the 5th capter of his Dialogue with the Pope and Those Near Him, that he continued, though with some reservations, the tradition of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit’s eternal illumination (Nicephorus Blemmydes, St. Grego ry of Cyprus). In the article’s second section we show, on the basis of Macarius’ reasoning in the 6th chapter of the same treatise, that our author’s teaching on some propositions and middle terms being predicated upon different individuals, but not upon different properties, which was developed in course of the polemics against Filioque, can be juxtaposed with some tenets of Richard Montague’s formal semantics. According to Montague, if one and the same constants, analogous to the Holy Trinity Persons’ properties, are put into identical formulas, the identity of the formulas in question is lost. We consider such a comparison of those Medieval and modern post-classical theories, which seem to be close to one another, to be a fruitful scientific pursuit.

The article analyzes the description of the Kuvuklia, compiled by the end of the XIV century by the Smolensk monk Agrefeny. Its comparison with the earlier story of Abbot Daniel and the testimonies of contemporary European pilgrims allows us to reveal the essence and nature of the Russian pilgrim's interest in the external and internal features of the Jerusalem shrine, which was determined by the desire to form a clear and visual representation of it in the reader.

The publication is devoted to the still unexplored material contained in four fragments of the Hebrew manuscripts of the original book of Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira) — marginals, available in manuscript fragments, mainly in the manuscript B. Statistics, general characteristics and classification of all marginalia and a comparative table of all verses with marks and verses parallel to them in other fragments without marks are given. 

The seventh issue of Apocrypha published articles in French, English, Italian and German. The researchers focus on the following apocryphal plots, monuments and groups of texts: «The Tradition of the Apostle Thomas» (Paul-Hubert Poirier), «The Secret Gospel of Mark» (Alain le Boulluec), Pseudo-Clementines (Bernard Pouderon), «The Apocalypsis of Ezra», «The Vision of Ezra» and «The Apocalypsis of Sedrach» (Flavio Nuvolone), «Tübingen Theosophy» (Pierre Franco Beatrice), «Homerocentra» (Andre-Louis Rey), the physical appearance of the Apostle Peter in the «Church History» of Nicephorus Callistus (Christopher Matthews), the tradition of Simon Magos (Alberto Ferreiro), «The Golden Legend» (Barbara Fleith), the tradition of st. apostle James the Elder (Marek Starowieyski), an early Italian translation of the monument «Ps. Marcellus brevior» (Eduardo Barbieri). In addition, evangelical quotations from authors of the second century (Annevies van den Hoek) and a number of monuments of fine art (Margaret Rassart-Debergh, Nicole Thierry, Giuseppe de Spirito, Pierre-Alain Mariaux) are studied. The issue also contains a significant discussion on the relationship between the apocrypha and the canon, presented by articles by Pierre Gisel, Mark Faessler, Walter Rebell and Catherine Paupert.

There is the continuation of review of the Journal of Ecclesiastical History (2020). Here is issue 4 (November) which traditionally conclude twenty items of publications in each of them. In proposed review of this journal's issue all the published materials will be as usually briefly considered from the point of view of their content and main ideas.