Dr. Abdulmasih Saadi

Scholar of Syriac Studies, Historian, and Professor of Arabic and Aramaic

Dr. Abdulmasih Saadi is a highly respected academic, linguist, and author renowned for his deep expertise in Syriac Christianity, historical theology, and Middle Eastern languages. Over a career spanning decades, he has become a leading authority on the preservation and pedagogy of both classical and colloquial Syriac-Aramaic, bridging ancient texts with modern communities.

Key Accomplishments & Career Highlights

• Distinguished Academic Career: Dr. Saadi has taught at several prestigious American institutions. He served as a faculty member at the University of Notre Dame in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies (teaching Syriac and Arabic) and later joined Baylor University in Texas as a professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures.

• Groundbreaking Biblical Translations: A monumental highlight of his career is his work with the United Bible Societies, where he successfully translated the New Testament into the colloquial Aramaic dialect of Tur Abdin (Suryoyo) as well as Modern Standard Arabic. This historic endeavor brought foundational literature into the living, spoken dialects of the region for the first time.

• Patristic and Manuscript Conservation: Holding a Ph.D. in New Testament and Syriac Studies from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Dr. Saadi has dedicated years to the critical analysis and indexing of a vast treasury of ancient Syriac manuscripts. He is highly regarded for his critical editions and translations of 9th-century West Syrian scholar Moshe bar Kepha's commentaries.

• Global Educational Leadership: In 2010–2011, Dr. Saadi temporarily returned to the ancestral homelands to help manage and teach the newly formed Syriac Graduate Studies branch at Mardin Artuklu University in Turkey, helping build a modern academic framework for the language where it has been spoken for millennia.

Research Focus: Dr. Saadi’s extensive publications explore early Christian-Muslim dialogue, the linguistic evolution from Classical Syriac to modern Suryoyo, and the preservation of indigenous Near Eastern identities through literacy and education.

EDUCATION

PhD, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Syriac Studies, 1999.

Dissertation title: “Moshe Bar Kepha’s Commentary on Luke: A Ninth Century Apology.”

ThM, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, New Testament, 1995

MA, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Church History, 1993

MA, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Theology, 1992

BA, University of Damascus, Business and Management, 1990

BA, University of Aleppo, Civil Engineering, 1984

D.Th., St. Ephrem Theological Seminary, Lebanon, Theology and Literature, 1976

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2022—Present, Lecturer in Syriac Language and Patrology, Nisibis Assyrian Theological College

2019—Present, Associate Professor in Syriac and Arabic, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, Baylor University

2013—2019, Assistant Professor in Syriac and Arabic, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, Baylor University

2011—2013 Lecturer, in Syriac and Arabic, Department of Modern Foreign Languages, Baylor University

2010—2011, Professor in Syriac Language and Culture, Artuklu University, Mardin/Turkey

2002—2010 Teaching Professor in Syriac and Arabic, Department of Classics, University of Notre Dame

1998—2011, Visiting Professor in Syriac and Church History, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

1984—1990

Dean, Administrator, and Instructor in Syriac, and Christian Studies, St. Ephrem Theological Seminary, Damascus, Syria

LANGUAGES

Classical and Modern Standard Arabic, several Arabic dialects, Classical Syriac, three Modern Aramaic dialects, Biblical Hebrew, New Testament Greek, French, and German.

As my publications show I have:

Translations from English into Arabic

Translation from Syriac into English

Translation from Syriac (and Greek) into Modern Standard Arabic

Translation from Syriac (and Greek) into Mardini (Mesopotamian) dialect

Translation from Syriac (and Greek) into Modern Suryoyo (Surayt) dialect

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2004—2010, Cataloguer for the Syriac and Arabic Manuscript Project,

Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Minnesota

2003—2011, Research Associate, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago

2002—Present, Exegetical Consultant, Wycliffe Bible Translators (Aramaic Bible Translation)

1998—Present, Bible Translator, Wycliffe Bible Translators (Aramaic Bible Translation)

1994—2004, Cataloguer of the Voobus Syriac and Arabic Manuscript Collection,

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago