Diaries of the Greek Orthodox Bishop of Homs 1888-1891

The Diaries of the Orthodox Bishop of Homs, Athanasius Attallah, 1888 – 1891 was edited by Nuhad Mounir Samaan, with an introduction by Samaan and Asaad Kattan. It was a joint publication by the University of Balamand and Dar An- Nahar, Beirut, 2006.

Cataloging in publication data was prepared by the Library of the University of Balamand. Bishop George abu Zakhm, current bishop of Homs wrote a foreword, thanking all those who helped in the publishing of the volume.
The introduction contains a short biography of the writer of the diaries, and a short description of the city of Homs and its Christian community at that time.  It also evaluates the literary value of these diaries and its liturgical, political and social aspects as well as the relations between the different religions. Finally, the editor explains the method used to edit this manuscript and lists the sources  and references used in the introduction.
The manuscript begins by mentioning the events of 1888 then 1889 then those of 1890 from February to December. Then the events of 1891. There are also some writings written on some scraps of paper during 1891. The appendices include timings and chronology used in the diaries as well as the currency and measurements used at the time. There are also photographs of the Bishop. The book ends with indexes of subjects, events, places and names.
Keywords:
Manuscript editing  – Homs – Personalities.