St. Ephrem the Syrian
The only authentic sources for Ephrem’s life are the occasional autobiographical allusions in his own work. The fact that these usually contradict the popular “Lives” adds credibility to their statements. He was born near Nisibis, a military outpost on the eastern edge of the Roman Empire. He was the child of Christian parents (CHaer. 26, 10). The often cited date of his birth, 306, cannot be substantiated. He became a believer at an early age. (Hvirg 37, 10), and was probably baptized in his early teenage tears (CHaer 3, 13). He became an early...
Read More275. Abd al-Ghani al-Mansuri, maphrian of the East (d. 1575)
Abd al-Ghani al-Mansuri, maphrian of the East (d. 1575) Abd al-Ghani was born at the village Mansuriyya near Mardin. His father was the priest Istephan. He became a monk at the Monastery of Mar Hananya and studied Syriac grammar and etymology under some masters of his time. He devoted his time to the reading of religious sciences in which he became proficient and was made a priest. He was ordained a metropolitan and chosen as a deputy patriarch. At the beginning of 1557 he assumed the maphrianate of the East under the name Basilius. He died on June 19, 1575. Maphrian Mansuri wrote a lengthy...
Read More274. Yusuf al-Gurji Metropolitan of Jerusalem (d. 1537)
Yusuf al-Gurji Metropolitan of Jerusalem (d. 1537) Metropolitan Yusuf al-Gurji was born at Aleppo and was raised by the Patriarch Yuhanna (John) XIV after the death of his parents. He studied under the Patriarch Jacob I, became a monk at the Zafaran Monastery where he was ordained a priest in 1495.607 He became proficient in grammar, literature and calligraphy. We found precious manuscripts transcribed by him at the Church of Hisn Kipha and at the Oxford and Zafaran libraries. About 1510 or 1512 he was ordained a metropolitan for Jerusalem under the name Gregorius. For a time Hims, Damascus,...
Read More273. Jacob I, Patriarch of Antioch (d. 1517)
Jacob I, Patriarch of Antioch (d. 1517) Jacob is son of the monk Abd Allah, known as Ibn al-Muzawwiq. He was born at al-Ahmadiyya village in al-Sawr and became a monk at the Monastery of Mar Musa (Moses) in al-Nabk. He studied under the Master and Metropolitan Musa Ubayd of Sadad.601 He became efficient in calligraphy. He was ordained a priest and went to the Monastery of Mar Hananya and then in 1480 to the Monastery of Mar Abhai. In 1496 he was ordained a metropolitan of Amid under the name Philoxenus.602 He was installed as patriarch in 1512 under the name Ignatius Jacob.603 He died in...
Read More272. Patriarch Masud of Zaz (d. 1512)
Patriarch Masud of Zaz (d. 1512) Patriarch Masud is son of Shimun (Simon). He was born at the village of Zaz in 1431. In 1453 he resided at the Monastery of the Cross in Bethel where he lived a strict ascetic life. At the beginning he was an illiterTo update this app, you need to accept it on the Account page in the App Store.ate but when he took to ascetic life in some caves he was enlightened through divine providence, and began to dictate to his companions wonderful spiritual treatises without his knowledge. Later he studied the Syriac language and was ordained a priest. In 1464 he was...
Read More271. The Monk Aziz of Midyat (1510)
The Monk Aziz of Midyat (1510) Monk Aziz is son of the monk Saliba, son of Basus. He was born at Midyat and later joined the staff of Patriarch Masud by whom he was trained for the ascetic life, and whom he served for forty-five years at the Cross Monastery and at Salh after he had become a monk in 1465 and a priest. In a polished style he wrote the biography of his instructor, Patriarch Masud, after he became a metropolitan. This biography consists of six pages. He compiled the ascetic treatises of Patriarch Masud in a book entitled The Spiritual Ship,593 which otherwise would have been...
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