List of maphrians

The Maphrian, originally known as the Grand Metropolitan of the East and also known as the Catholicos, was the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East,[1] and was the second highest-ranking prelate within the Syriac Orthodox Church, after the Patriarch of Antioch.[2] According to tradition, the Church of the East was established by Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century AD,[3] but split into two separate churches after the ordination of Ahudemmeh as Grand Metropolitan of the East by Jacob Baradaeus in 559 due to christological differences.[4] The miaphysite church organised by Ahudemmeh went on to form what was later named the Maphrianate of the East, whilst the dyophysite church is known simply as the Church of the East.

The title of maphrian was first used to refer to John IV Saliba,[5] and was likely adopted in c. 1100.[2] A separate Maphrianate of Tur Abdin under the authority of the Patriarch of Tur Abdin was established in c. 1479, which endured until 1844,[6] and eventually the Maphrianate of the East was abolished in 1860.[2] A maphrianate in India was established in 1912, thereby creating the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, but was not recognised by the Syriac Orthodox Church until 1958.[7] In 1975, Patriarch Ignatius Jacob III withdrew recognition of the maphrian Baselios Augen I, and appointed Baselios Paulose II as his successor.[7] The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church thus split from the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, which remained part of the Syriac Orthodox Church.[7]

List of maphrians

Grand Metropolitans of the East before 559

Grand Metropolitans of the East from 559 to 1075

Unless otherwise stated, all information is from the list provided in The Syriac World, as noted in the bibliography below.

• Ahudemmeh (559–575)

vacant (575–578)

• Qamishoʿ (578–609)

vacant (609–614)

• Samuel (614–624)

vacant (624–629)

• Marutha of Tikrit (629–649)
• Denho I (649–659)

vacant (659–669)

• Barishoʿ (669–683)
• Abraham II (c. 684)[nb 1]
• David (c. 684–c. 686)
• John I Saba (686–688)
• Denho II (688–727)
• Paul (728–757)
• John II Kionoyo (759–785)
• Joseph I (785–c. 790)

vacant (c. 790–793)

• Sharbil (793–ca. 800)
• Simon (c. 800–c. 815)[nb 2]
• Basil I (c. 815–829)
• Daniel (829–834)
• Thomas (834–847)
• Basil II Lazarus (848–868)[nb 3][10]
• Melchisedec (858–868)

vacant (869–872)

• Sergius (872–883)

vacant (883–887)

• Athanasius I (887–903)

vacant (904–c. 910)

• Thomas (910–911)
• Denho III (913–933)

vacant (933–937)

• Basil III (937–961)
• Cyriacus (962–980)
• John III (981–988)

vacant (988–991)

• Ignatius I bar Qiqi (991–1016)

vacant (1016–1027)

• Athanasius II (1027–1041)

vacant (1041–1046)

• Basil IV (1046–1069)

vacant (1069–1075)

Maphrians of the East from 1075 to 1859

• John IV Saliba (1075–1106)

vacant (1106–1112)

• Dionysius I Moses (1112–1142)
• Ignatius II Lazarus (1142–1164)[nb 4]
• John V Sarugoyo (1164–1188)
• Gregory I Jacob (1189–1214)

Dionysius bar Masih (1189–1190)[nb 5]

• Ignatius III David (1215–1222)
• Dionysius II Saliba (1222–1231)[nb 6]
• John VI bar Maʿdani (1232–1252)
• Ignatius IV Saliba (1253–1258)

vacant (1258–1263)

• Gregory II bar Hebraeus (1264–1286)

vacant (1286–1288)

• Gregory III Barsawmo (1288–1308)[nb 7]

vacant (1308–1317)

• Gregory IV Matthew (1317–1345)[nb 8]

vacant (1345–1360)

Gregory V Dioscorus (1360–1361)[nb 9]

vacant (1361–1364)

• Athanasius III Abraham (1364–1379)[nb 10]

vacant (1379–1404)

• Basil Behnam I (1404–1412)

vacant (1412–1415)

• Dioscorus II Behnam (1415–1417)[nb 11]

vacant (1417–1422)

• Basil Barsawmo II (1422–1455)[17]

vacant (1455–1458)

• Cyril Joseph II (1458–c. 1470)
• Basil ʿAziz (1471–1487)

vacant (1487–1490)

• Basil Noah (1490–1494)

vacant (1494–1496)

• Basil Abraham III (1496–1507)[18]

vacant (1507–1509)

• Basil Solomon (1509–1518)
• Basil Athanasius Habib (1518–1533)
• Basil Elias (1533–c. 1554)
• Basil Nimat Allah (1555–1557)
• Basil ʿAbd al-Ghani I al-Mansuri (1557–1575)[19]
• Basil Pilate (1575–1591)
• Basil ʿAbd al-Ghani II (1591–1597)
• Basil Peter Hadaya (1597–1598)

vacant (c. 1598–c. 1624)

• Basil Isaiah (c. 1624–1635/c. 1646)[nb 12]
• Basil Simon (1635–1639)
• Basil Shukrallah (1639–1652)
• Basil Behnam III (1653–1655)[22]
• Basil Abdulmasih (1655–c. 1658)
• Basil Habib (c. 1658–c. 1671)
• Basil Yeldo (c. 1671–1683)
• Basil George (1683–1686)
• Basil Isaac (1687–1709)
• Basil Lazarus III (1709–1713)
• Basil Matthew II (1713–1727)
• Basil Simon (c. 1727–c. 1729)
• Basil Lazarus IV (1730–1759)[23]

Basil Shukrallah (1748–1764)[nb 13]

• Basil George (1760–1768)

vacant (1768–1783)

• Basil Sliba (1783–1790)
• Basil Bishara (1790–1817)
• Basil Yunan (c. 1803–c. 1809)
• Basil Cyril (c. 1803–c. 1811)
• Basil ʿAbd al-ʿAziz (c. 1803)
• Basil Matthew (1820–c. 1825)
• Basil Elias Karmeh (1825–1827)
• Basil Elias ʿAnkaz (1827–1839)
• Basil Behnam IV (1839–1859)

Maphrians of Tur Abdin from c. 1479 to 1844

• Basil (c. 1479)

vacant (c. 1479–1495)

• Basil Malke (1495–1510)

vacant (1510–1537)

• Basil Abraham (1537–1543)

vacant (1543–1555)

• Basil Simon I (1549–1555)

vacant (1555–1561)

• Basil Behnam (1561–1562)

vacant (1562–1650)

• Basil Habib Haddad (1650–1674)

vacant (1674–c. 1688)

• Basil Lazarus (c. 1688–c. 1701)

vacant (c. 1701–1710)

• Basil Simon II (1710–1740)
• Basil Denho Baltaji (1740–1779)
• Basil ʿAbdallah Yahya (1779–1784)
• Simon (1786)
• Sliba al-ʿAttar (1779–1815)
• Basil Barsawmo (1815–1830)
• Basil ʿAbd al-Ahad Kindo (1821–1844)

Catholicoi of India from 1964 to present

• Baselios Augen I (1964–1975)
• Baselios Paulose II (1975–1996)

vacant (1996–2002)

• Baselios Thomas I (2002–present)

See also

• List of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch
• List of Syriac Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch

References

Notes

1. Abraham is counted as either Abraham I, as the first Syriac Orthodox Grand Metropolitan of the East by that name, or Abraham II, after Abraham I (r. 148–171).[8]
2. Barsoum places Simon's reign in 806–c. 813.[9]
3. Basil is also counted as Lazarus I.
4. Ignatius is also counted as Lazarus II.
5. Dionysius is considered an illegitimate maphrian.[11]
6. Dionysius is also counted as Saliba I.[12]
7. Gregory is also counted as Barsawmo I.[13]
8. Gregory is also counted as Matthew I.[14]
9. Gregory is considered an illegitimate maphrian.[15] He is also counted as Dioscorus I.
10. Athanasius is also counted as Abraham II.[16]
11. Dioscorus is also counted as Behnam II.
12. The end of Basil Isaiah's reign is placed either in 1635 by Barsoum,[20] or in c. 1646 by Wilmshurst.[21]
13. Basil Shukrallah was maphrian of Malabar.[24]

Citations

1. Ignatius Jacob III (2008), p. 5.
2. Takahashi (2018), p. 957.
3. Baum & Winkler (2003), p. 12.
4. Barsoum (2003), p. 299.
5. Ignatius Jacob III (2008), p. 51.
6. Wilmshurst (2019), pp. 812-813.
7. Kiraz (2011).
8. Barsoum (2003), p. 333.
9. Barsoum (2003), p. 372.
10. Ignatius Jacob III (2008), p. 60.
11. Ignatius Jacob III (2008), pp. 86–87.
12. Barsoum (2003), p. 70.
13. Barsoum (2003), p. 487.
14. Barsoum (2003), p. 491.
15. Ignatius Jacob III (2008), pp. 87-88.
16. Ignatius Jacob III (2008), p. 83.
17. Barsoum (2003), p. 499.
18. Ignatius Jacob III (2008), p. 115.
19. Barsoum (2003), p. 67.
20. Barsoum (2003), p. 21.
21. Wilmshurst (2019), p. 812.
22. Barsoum (2003), p. 514.
23. Ignatius Jacob III (2008), p. 226.
24. Barsoum (2003), p. 519.

Bibliography

• Barsoum, Ephrem (2003). The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences. Translated by Matti Moosa (2nd ed.). Gorgias Press. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
• Baum, Wilhelm; Winkler, Dietmar W. (2003). The Church of the East: A Concise History. Translated by Miranda G. Henry. RoutledgeCurzon.
• Ignatius Jacob III (2008). History of the Monastery of Saint Matthew in Mosul. Translated by Matti Moosa. Gorgias Press.
• Kiraz, George A. (2011). "Maphrian". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts; George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 13 September 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Takahashi, Hidemi (2018). "Maphrian". In Oliver Nicholson (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity. Oxford University Press. p. 957.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Wilmshurst, David (2019). "West Syrian patriarchs and maphrians". In Daniel King (ed.). The Syriac World. Routledge. pp. 806–813.