The Syro-Malabar rite is part of the ancient and wonderfully rich East Syriac liturgical tradition, and its liturgical services, arranged to cover the entire year, are full of poetic texts that are both illuminating and of great beauty.

Father Robert Matheus has done an amazing service for the Syro-Malabar Church in translating into English a large proportion of the texts to be found in the three-volume edition of the Syriac liturgical cycle published by Father Paul Bedjan (1838-1920).

In this way he has made them readily available for both clergy and laity to access and to be enriched spiritually through reading and praying them.

At a turning point in the life of St. Augustine he heard a mysterious child’s voice telling him ‘Take up, and read’.

The same words of invitation equally apply today in the case of these liturgical texts from the rich heritage of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

It gives me great joy to recommend the scholarly website of Fr Robert Matheus, a priest incardinated in my Eparchy of Thuckalay, who continues his invaluable work from Belgium. Having visited Fr Robert recently, I can attest to his unwavering dedication to preserving and sharing the treasures of our Oriental Church tradition.

Fr Robert’s website stands as a remarkable repository of liturgical and theological scholarship, containing over 125 documents in English alone, totalling nearly 4,000 pages of meticulously researched material. His translations of the Hudra (Breviarium Chaldaicum) and the Supplementum Mysteriorum into multiple languages—English, Dutch, German, and French—represent an extraordinary gift to the global Church, making these sacred texts accessible to scholars and faithful alike.

The breadth of Fr Robert’s scholarship is truly impressive: from his profound work on the qudasa of Mar Nestorius to his historical investigations into Palestine during Jesus’ time, from his exegetical commentaries on the Passion to his studies of the great Syriac exegetes like Isodad de Merv and Theodoret of Cyrus. His commitment to authentic liturgical tradition, evidenced in his article “Genuine Liturgy in India: Indian, Chaldean or Indo-Chaldean?” demonstrates his deep understanding of our Church’s identity and heritage.

As a bishop who deeply values the preservation of our Oriental Church traditions, I recognise in Fr Robert a scholar-priest who combines rigorous academic pursuit with genuine pastoral concern. His website serves not only as a scholarly resource but as a spiritual treasury where clergy and laity can discover the profound beauty and wisdom of our liturgical heritage.

I wholeheartedly recommend this website to all who seek to deepen their understanding of the Syro-Malabar tradition and the broader East Syriac liturgical heritage. Fr Robert’s work is a true service to the universal Church and a precious gift to future generations.