268. The Priest Addai of Basibrina (d. 1502)
The Priest Addai of Basibrina (d. 1502) Addai is son of the priest Malke, son of the priest Addai. He was born at Basibrina and studied Syriac under his uncles, Master Gurgis and the monk Yeshu. He was ordained a priest in 1464 and for a time taught at the school of his town which had more than three hundred pupils.583 He became reputed for his learning and many students were graduated under him. He was also known for his neat thick handwriting.584 In 1490 he went to Jerusalem to perform the pilgrimage and died shortly after 1502. Some of his sons became priests. In correct but...
Read More270. Patriarch Nuh the Lebanese (d. 1509)
Patriarch Nuh the Lebanese (d. 1509) Patriarch Nuh was a prominent church dignitary known for his piety and good administration. He was also a writer and a poet but some of his verse is marred by the unnaturalness of style which was prevalent in his time. He was at the village of Baqufa in the mountain of Lebanon in 1451 and was converted from Maronism to Orthodoxy. He studied the Syriac language and religious sciences under the monk-priest Tuma of Hims in the Monastery of Mar Musa the Abyssinian. He was ordained a priest and then a metropolitan for Hims in 1480 under the name Cyril. He was...
Read More269. Metropolitan Sergius of Hah (d. 1508)
Metropolitan Sergius of Hah (d. 1508) Sergius is son of Yusuf (Joseph) Qaruna of Hah. He became a monk in 1470 at the Cross Monastery where he was trained in asceticism by Masud the head monk of Tur Abdin, and reached a high degree of ascetic life. He was ordained a priest and performed the pilgrimage to Jerusalem twice, in 1489, and 1495. He also visited Cyprus. He was consecrated a metropolitan of Hah in 1505 under the name Dionysius. He most likely died in 1508. He was a good writer and calligrapher, praised by his contemporaries. He wrote a useful tract on his trip to Cyprus and Jerusalem...
Read More266. Metropolitan Gurgis of Basibrina (d. 1495)
Metropolitan Gurgis of Basibrina (d. 1495) Gurgis became a monk at the Qartamin Monastery. In 1450 he was ordained a metropolitan with the name Yuhanna. He was the most prominent among the bishops of his time. Twice he performed the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and bought a house for two hundred golden dinars and made it an endowment of our St. Mark’s Monastery in Jerusalem.563 He died at Mar Hananya Monastery in 1495. In 1462 he compiled a liturgy from nine liturgies by doctors of the church, all of which share the common name Yuhanna, including his own name. To this compilation he...
Read More267. The Monk Dawud (David) of Hims (d. 1500)
The Monk Dawud (David) of Hims (d. 1500) Dawud is son of Abd al-Karim, son of Salah known as the Himsi (or the Phoenician).566 He was born at al-Qaryatayn in 1431 and moved to Hims when he was a young boy. He studied under the priest Musa Mukaysif and entered the Monastery of Mar Musa in al-Nabk where he became a monk and concentrated on learning. He was ordained a deacon. While still young he went to the Zafaran Monastery in 1459 to study. He remained at the monastery for a while, was ordained a priest and then he moved to the Monastery of the Cross near Hisn Kifa. For a time he became the...
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