Hagiography is, without a doubt, an important element, with examples such as the Lives by Severus of Antioch in Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic, the Ethiopic lives of the saints (Atti di Banadlewos, Gädl di Abuna Demyanos), and the Miracle de Saint Michel à Colosses.

The Works of the Church Fathers are obviously at the forefront with, for instance, the example of the monumental edition of the Homiliae Cathedrales by Severus of Antioch. The series also includes the principal works of the Fathers preserved in translation into one of the eastern languages, such as Ephrem’s Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching and Hymns in Armenian, or the Kephalaia Gnostica by Evagrius Ponticus. Original works are available, unpublished for the most part, especially in Syriac. Examples include the writings of Jacob of Sarugh, Narsai, and Philoxenus of Mabbug, and the Lettre sur les trois étapes de la vie monastique by Joseph Ḥazzaya. The De Deo of Yeznik of Kołb is also worth noting.

Liturgy is very well represented. Foremost are the Synaxaria, the Lenten antiphonary and the Ethiopic Divine Office, the Armenian lectionary (cašoc‘), the Lectionary for Holy Week in Bohairic Coptic, the Greek Euchologium sinaiticum, Le Grand Euchologe du Monastère Blanc in Coptic, and the Eastern martyrology.