A Manichaean Prayer and Confession Book

The Manichaean Prayer and Confession Book was first published by W. B. Henning in 1937 as ‘Ein manichaisches Bet- und Beichtbuch’ (BBB). It is one of the best-preserved of the Manichaean books found in the Turfan area and the only one which survives in the form of a bound codex. The surviving parts of this beautifully decorated miniature book include Middle Persian and Parthian hymns and readings for the Bema festival, the high-point of the Manichaean liturgical calendar, followed by an elaborate confessional formula for the Elect in the Sogdian language. The manuscript constitutes a precious treasure-trove of information on its three languages, on Manichaean codicology and book-art, and on the Manichaean religion itself. This new edition also includes the supplementary Sogdian texts which Henning added to his ‘BBB’. Written by leading experts and incorporating magnificent colour photos never seen before, the volume appropriately inaugurates the Series Iranica of the Corpus Fontium Manichaeorum. With an Introduction by John S. Sheldon, and Codicology by Zsuzsanna Gulacsi.