Barsoum Madani, maphrian of the East
(1455)
Barsoum Madani studied under the priest Tuma (Thomas) and mastered the fundamentals of the Syriac language and its literature as well as religious sciences. He became a monk at the Monastery of Mar Yaqub (Jacob) in Salh and was ordained a priest. He became known for his ascetic life and piety and, therefore, was chosen by the patriarch Behnam to become the Maphrian of the East. He was consecrated on April 9, 1422 under the name Basilius. He fulfilled responsibilities of his office most appropriately and became reputed for his outstanding virtues and deeds. He died at the beginning of 1455.
In 1417 Maphrian Barsoum abridged Bar Salibi’s scholia on the Gospels and added unto them useful information he had gathered from the writing of the doctors of the church. This abridgement in his own handwriting forms a thick volume and is preserved at our library. In it he recorded his genealogy and some aspects of his affairs. Two copies were transcribed from this manuscript, one at the end of the fifteenth century,544 and the second one in 1713.545 Both of these copies erroneously referred to Maphrian Barsoum as a monk, contrary to what is recorded in the margin of the original copy. We have read prose songs he composed, one on the woman sinner546 and the other on the consecration of the Holy Chrism and a metrical song to the tune of “Rise, O Paul.”