In 1996 various leaders of the Syrian Orthodox Church gathered at the Ecumenical Institute of Ruprecht-Karls University, including his holiness, Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas. During their meeting, several essays concerning various topics in the Syrian Orthodox tradition were delivered. The present volume presents the text of four of the works presented during this historic meeting: 1) A history of monasticism in the Syrian Orthodox tradition, 2) a survey of the observation of Holy Week in the Syrian Orthodox tradition, 3) an essay about evil and regret from the book of Jonah, and 4) a brief biographical sketch of Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas. The present work is a German translation prepared by Amill Gorgis and George Toro.