Patriarch Aziz Ibn al-Ajuz (Bar Sobto)
(d. 1481)
Ibn al-Ajuz, also known as Abu al-Maani, was born at the village of Basila near Mardin. He became a monk at the Qartamin Monastery and followed a strict life of asceticism and austerity. He studied under Master Yeshu of Basibrina and became reputed for his virtue. He was ordained a priest and then a bishop for the diocese of Hah. On Maundy Thursday of the year 1461 he was invited to ascend the See of Tur Abdin. He died in 1481. He was very strict in observing church rules. In a correct but unsophisticated style he wrote the following:
1. A small book in seven chapters (covering forty-six pages) on spiritual revelations which an ascetic saw through the eye of his mind how God dwells in the hearts of the children of light, the earthly paradise and the souls which inhabit it, the creation of Angels, human souls, repentance, and the fires that burn sin. He called it The Ascent of the Mind.549
2. A book called The Path of Truth in fifty-five pages and slightly imperfect, containing useful knowledge for monks.550
3. A treatise on the Mass, on the person who does not deserve to receive the holy communion and on the priest.551
4. Two sermons for his parishioners: the first one on the passing away of this world and the immortality of the world to come. The second one contains an exhortation to the clergy and a warning against the evils of magic.552