Curetonian Gospels the later period. The Syriac versions of the New Testament remain less thoroughly studied than the Greek. The standard text is that of Francis Crawford Burkitt, 1904; it was used in the comparative edition of the Syriac gospels that was edited by George Anton Kiraz, 1996. Curetonian Gospels The Curetonian Gospels, designated by the "siglum" syr, are contained in a manuscript of the four gospels of the New Testament in Old Syriac. Together with the Sinaiticus Palimpsest the Curetonian Gospels form the Old Syriac Version, and are known as the Evangelion Dampharshe ("Separated Gospels") in the Syriac Orthodox Church. The
New Testament the Gospel of Matthew known today was composed in Greek and is neither directly dependent upon nor a translation of a text in a Semitic language. The process of canonization of the New Testament was complex and lengthy. In the initial centuries of early Christianity, there were many books widely considered by the church to be inspired, but there was no single formally recognized New Testament canon. The process was characterized by a compilation of books that apostolic tradition considered authoritative in worship and teaching, relevant to the historical situations in which they lived, and consonant with the Old Testament.