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The Library

Forty Centuries of Christian Writing

1774 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.

701–800

The Eighth Century

2 works

c. 782–783

Syriac

The Apology before the Caliph al-Mahdi

Timothy I · c. 728–823

A patriarch's own record of two days of courteous questioning by the caliph on the Trinity, the crucifixion, and whether the gospels foretold Muhammad.

Church of the East · DialogueRead elsewhere

c. 780–820

Syriac

The Letters

Timothy I · c. 728–823

The correspondence of a patriarch in Baghdad appointing bishops for Tibet and China, hunting for manuscripts of Aristotle, and negotiating with the caliph's officials.

Church of the East · LettersRead elsewhere

901–1000

The Tenth Century

1 work

c. 960–974

Arabic

On the Reformation of Morals

Tahdhib al-Akhlaq

Yahya ibn Adi · 893–974

A philosophical ethics of the soul's three faculties and the training of character, written without appeal to scripture so that Muslims, Jews, and Christians could all use it.

Miaphysite · EthicsRead elsewhere

1001–1100

The Eleventh Century

1 work

c. 1030–1043

Arabic

The Paradise of Christianity

Firdaws al-Nasraniyya

Ibn al-Tayyib · d. 1043

A commentary on the whole Bible in Arabic by a Baghdad physician, philosopher, and priest who also wrote on Aristotle and on medicine.

Church of the East · CommentaryRead elsewhere