Exeter College Fellow publishes new two-volume study of Byzantine work Theodore of Edessa
Professorial Fellow at Exeter College, Professor Stratis Papaioannou, has published a new two-volume work, Euthymios the Iberian, Theodore of Edessa, together with Charis Messis University of Athens). Published by Uppsala University on 8 September 2026 as part of the Studia Byzantina Upsaliensia series, both volumes are now available to read online for free.
The study offers a comprehensive re-evaluation of Theodore of Edessa, an important but relatively little-known gem of Byzantine Greek literature. Preserved in numerous manuscripts and medieval translations, the work comprises two parts – the Life of Theodore and a collection of one hundred Chapters – which circulated under the names of Basil of Emesa and Theodore.
Professors Papaioannou and Messis attribute the work to Euthymios the Iberian (c. 955–1028), the renowned Georgian abbot and co-founder of the Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos. Euthymios is best known for his extensive translations from Greek into Georgian and as the author of the widely circulated Barlaam and Ioasaph.
Volume I: Introduction explores Euthymios’s career and literary production, his compositional techniques, and the wider literary world of Theodore of Edessa. It also traces the work’s reception across Greek, Georgian, Arabic and Slavic traditions. Volume II: Theodore’s Life, Critical Edition of Versions α and β, with Annotated Translation of β presents the first critical edition of the Life’s two Greek versions, alongside an annotated English translation of version β.
Professor Papaioannou joined Exeter College in April 2026 as Professorial Fellow and Stavros Niarchos Foundation Bywater and Sotheby Professor of Byzantine and Modern Greek Language and Literature. His research explores Greek literary traditions from late antiquity through the Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods.
Both volumes of Euthymios the Iberian, Theodore of Edessa are available to read and download for free from Uppsala Scholarly Books.
Euthymios the Iberian, Theodore of Edessa. Volume I: Introduction
