Emanuele Scieri has qualified for the award of his doctorate for his thesis on catena manuscripts on the Acts of the Apostles.
Emanuele at the end of his viva voce examination, along with his examiners, chair and lead supervisor.
Emanuele is the third and final doctoral student supported by the European Research Council-funded CATENA project to complete his PhD on the subject of catena manuscripts on the Greek New Testament. He moved to ITSEE in 2020, just before the first lockdown, after winning a prize for his masters degree in Classical Philology.
Following Jacopo Marcon (who focussed on the letter to the Romans, and is now working in Berlin) and Andy Patton (who studied the Gospels and is now employed at KU Leuven), Emanuele studied the catenae on the Acts of the Apostles. His research, supervised by Prof. Hugh Houghton and Dr Catherine Smith, focussed on the manuscript presentation of these catenae. By identifying multiple layers of commentary within individual documents, he has shone new light on how the tradition developed. During the course of his studies, he published an article in Vigiliae Christianae proposing a reclassification of the Catenae on Acts, which has since been adopted by the official Clavis Patrum Graecorum register, presented online in the Clavis Clavium. He has also contributed to multiple other publications, including co-editing a volume of conference papers, and presented his research at conferences from Sicily to San Antonio.
Emanuele is now working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Glasgow, and continues to teach in the department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology at Birmingham. He has also contributed to the Insular Latin Gospels transcription project.
His thesis is entitled: "Multilayered and Multiple-Text Catena Manuscripts on the Acts of the Apostles" and will be available in the University's eTheses portal. The Abstract is as follows:
This study examines Greek catenae (or ‘chains’) on the Acts of the Apostles, specifically focusing on a group of manuscripts that contain catenae enriched with multiple layers of scholia and reflect various compilations. The primary objective of this thesis is to understand the nature of these works and uncover the connections among different catena types present in Acts. Starting with an overview of the historical research in this field, this investigation develops innovative methodological approaches to identify the core characteristics of these catena types, which are categorised into distinct content units. Furthermore, it seeks to reconstruct the editorial stages involved in their formation, divided into separate phases of production, and explores their role in understanding the origins and development of the principal catena types, specifically the Pseudo-Andreas catena (CPG C150), Pseudo-Oecumenius catena (CPG C151), and Pseudo-Theophylact catena (CPG C152), along with the evolution of particular codices singuli (CPG C155). This research sheds light on previously unnoticed writings, elucidates how they establish connections between separate catena traditions, and provides insights into scribal practices, compilation techniques, and the reception of catenae during the Byzantine Era.
Many congratulations to Emanuele on the successful outcome of his research and his other achievements during his studies at Birmingham!
Doctoral Researcher
Biographical and contact information for Emanuele Scieri, doctoral researcher in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham.
