BEDJAN, PAOLO. - Orientalist, priest of the Mission, b. at Khosrova in Persia in 1838, and, after having been a zealous missionary among Christians of the Chaldean rite, d. at Cologne-Nippes (France) in 1920. Extraordinary was his activity as editor of ancient texts in the Syriac language.
They comprise 36 vols. published over a period of 27 years. Among these should be mentioned the Chaldean breviary and missal, the publication of which encountered opposition from the Chaldean hierarchy. Also very famous are the 7 vols. of the Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum, which contain almost entirely unpublished hagiographical material, the 4 vols. of the Homiliae selectae Mar Iacobi Sarugensis, and the edition of the Book of Heraclides, a work, hitherto unknown, by Nestorius.
B., even without being an eminent critic, rendered an incomparable service to Oriental studies.