History

On June 1, 1931 the Rev. Prof. Henry Hyvernat, Head of the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures, wrote to the CUA Board of Trustees to propose a “Foundation for Research in Christian Oriental Literature” at the University. Already in 1919 Hyvernat had transferred $5800.00 in bonds and other monies to the University, and his neighbor Miss Margot had given her real estate in Brookland to the University (sold by CUA for $18,000.00) to provide for this foundation. In 1923 Hyvernat turned over to the University the title to his own 20,000 volume library of books and antiquities with the understanding and agreement that the library be kept separate for the use of the department, and that no materials be withdrawn from it and located elsewhere except with his formal consent. He added that it was his sincere hope that the Foundation shall always remain as an adjunct to the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures.

On June 10, 1931, the University Board of Trustees established the Foundation (for Research in Christian Oriental Literature) “for the promotion of research in Christian Oriental Literature … By research is meant, not teaching or lecturing (already provided for by the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures), not publishing (already provided for by the Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, jointly with the University of Louvain), but the scientific study of texts relating to the patrology, liturgy, hagiography, history, canon law, etc., of the Eastern Churches … with a view to the interpretation and publication of such documents.” By mutual agreement between the Board of Trustees and Hyvernat, the name of this Foundation was changed to Institute for Christian Oriental Research, and later it became the Institute of Christian Oriental Research.

Today the Institute of Christian Oriental Research (ICOR) continues to serve as the research auxiliary of the Faculty of Semitics. The ICOR library and antiquities collections in the Semitics/ICOR Library support the work of the faculty and the Institute. The library rooms (Mullen 031-037, entrance at 035 on the garden level of Mullen) house the academic faculty, the graduate cohort in Semitics, the postgraduate research institute, and the ICOR collections and faculty library. The library collections focus on the languages of the Hebrew Bible and the languages, literatures, and history of the early Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities in the Middle East and North Africa. ICOR materials constitute the bulk of the collections.

Through its endowment, ICOR provides a majority of the Semitics/ICOR Library’s periodical subscriptions, monographs, and research tools. It provides conservation support for the antiquities and manuscripts collections. The library is staffed by a curator, who reports to the University Librarian, and by a Graduate Library Pre-Professional (GLP). The Semitics/ICOR library is one of the University Libraries' Special Collections. The Semitics faculty and ICOR support the work of the Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium (CSCO). This series of editions, translations, and studies is a major repository of the published texts of early Near Eastern Christianity. Since 1912, the CSCO has been published jointly by The Catholic Universities of Louvain and of America--currently through Peeters Press (Leuven, Belgium). As of 2024 some 685 volumes have appeared. In 1997 CUA faculty established a new and complementary series: Eastern Christian Texts in Translation (ECTT).

ICOR Committee

The Committee meets annually.

Dr. Nathan Tilley (Faculty of Greek and Latin and Faculty of Semitics), Director
Dr. Monica J. Blanchard (Curator, Semitics/ICOR Library; Faculty of Semitics)
Dr. Aaron M. Butts (Faculty of Semitics, on leave)
Dr. Andrew Gross (Faculty of Semitics)
Dr. Shawqi Talia (Faculty of Semitics)
Dr. Janet A. Timbie (Faculty of Semitics)

ICOR Fellows Program

Scholars of the languages, literatures, history, and cultures of the Christian Near East holding a doctoral degree may apply to be a Fellow of the Institute of Christian Oriental Research at The Catholic University of America.  ICOR Fellows hold a one-year non-stipendiary appointment (renewable for a maximum of five years; the annual term runs from August 20 to August 19 of the following year) that provides library access and allows them to apply for potential ICOR research grants or travel funding.

Fellows are expected to be local to the Washington, DC metropolitan area, although remote work on projects with a distinctive connection to The Catholic University of America and Semitics/ICOR may be considered.  Fellows are also required to present their research to the university community as a lecture, seminar, or comparable event at least once each academic year, and to participate actively in the intellectual community of The Catholic University of America, especially in relation to the study of Christian Near East texts, languages, history, and cultures.

Fellows must acknowledge or include the name of ICOR in any public lectures or presentations delivered during the term of the Fellowship, as well as in any resulting publications. Fellows should also send a PDF of such publications to the Director and Secretary to be kept for ICOR records.