The article deals the problem of reception in several confessions of the writings of the ascetic writer and bishop of the Church of the East Martyrius-Sahdona (o. ~650). The question about his confessional orientation is not clear now. There are saved a few manuscripts with his writings in syriac (the date of the earliest is 837), as well as in arabic (one manuscript of 1492) and georgian translations (a few manuscripts, the date of the earliest is 925). Analysis of the manuscript tradition of his writings permited to establish that the literary tradition, on which drew the writer and which was the base of his ascetical teaching, became essential factor of reception of his writings by orthodox in the most extent, while the other confessions saved only small fragments of these. The determination of causes of the popularity of the writings of Martyrius-Sahdona in several confessions is contribution in solution of the question of his confession, which is unclarified aspect of the biography of this church doer and representant of the East Syrian ascetic literature.

The modern quest for unity of the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches goes back to the mid-20^th century, beginning with informal consultations in the 1960s and continuing with the work of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue in the 1980s onward. This has led to a paradoxical situation. The Christological issues that prompted the division of the churches in the 5^th century appear to have been resolved, yet the division continues. Why? This article begins by exploring the specific context of our current quest for unity: the modern ecumenical movement and modern historical scholarship. Then, after surveying pre-modern quests for unity, the article explores some of the ways in which liturgical and disciplinary differences came to be invested with new meaning, becoming symbols of division rather than expressions of legitimate diversity. We may now have reached a point where such differences no longer are taken automatically as signs of Christological disagreement, yet the impulse towards reunion of the churches appears to have slowed in recent decades. New questions have arisen. Who has the authority to lift anathemas which the churches hurled against each other in the past? What is the meaning and authority of an "ecumenical council"? How will the results of dialogue be received and effectively implemented in church life? The basic question now is whether we really desire unity more than the disunity of the status quo.

Out of all the regions and cultures of the Christian East, Nubia remains the one least studied, with the smallest number of researchers taking upon themselves the task of studying its political history, its Church and its archaeology. Below is the English version of the chapter of the book by the famous Russian historian Yuri M. Kobishchanov.