PAVONe is an online digital corpus of the Gospels in Arabic. This online database includes both explicit and implicit verses of the Gospels with different layers of metadata (textual, paleographical, codicological, linguistic, etc.). Over time, this corpus will include the transcribed texts, citations and allusions of the Arabic translations of the Gospels. In addition to this digital corpus, the project provides a set of tools to enable and facilitate the study of the text.

The main obstacle in studying the history of the Arabic text of the Gospels is its heterogeneous aspect. This is due to many elements: the wide spectrum of translation dates, the different Vorlagen of the translations and their linguistic origins, the plurality in terms of compilations and forms (continuous text, lectionary…), etc..This complex nature of the text requires a comprehensive approach that tackles the Arabic text of the Gospels from different angles. According to this approach, our project deals with the whole tradition of the Arabic translations of the Gospels as one dynamic entity made up of inter-related components and witnessing to the life of Christian communities in their social, cultural and religious contexts.