Ignatius Abdullah I

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Ignatius Abdullah I
Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East
Church Syriac Orthodox Church
See Antioch
Installed1521
Term ended1557
Predecessor Ignatius David I
Successor Ignatius Ni'matallah
Personal details
Died1557

Ignatius Abdullah I was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1521 until his death in 1557. [1] [a]

Contents

Biography

Abdullah was born at Qalʿat Mara probably at the end of the fifteenth century. [8] He became patriarch of Antioch in 1521. [9] As patriarch, he temporarily moved the patriarchal see from the Mor Hananyo Monastery to Amid. [8] In 1521 (AG 1832), Abdullah issued a document to attest that the Shamsīyah adhered to Syriac Orthodox beliefs and practices. [10]

Abdullah convened a synod at the Mor Hananyo Monastery in 1523 to resolve a dispute between Yusuf al-Gurji, metropolitan of Jerusalem, Syria, ‘Ayn Ḥalyyā, ‘Ayn Ḥaūr, and half of Ṣadad, and Diyūsqūrūs ‘Īsā Ibn Ḥūriyyah, bishop of Dayr Mār Mūsā, Al-Nabek, Ṣālḥiyyah, and half of Ṣadad. [11] [b] The dispute concerned a marriage at Ṣadad in 1519 which had divided the villagers and the two bishops as ‘Īsā Ibn Ḥūriyyah approved of the wedding whereas Yusuf al-Gurji did not. [14] However, the controversy escalated after ‘Īsā Ibn Ḥūriyyah took control of the diocese of Syria from Yusuf al-Gurji with a decree that he had received from Janbirdi al-Ghazali, who he had given 400 ašrafī, and Yusuf al-Gurji responded by retaking the diocese after having paid 70 ašrafī. [14] The synod was attended by Basilius Habib, Maphrian of the East, Philoxenus Saliba, metropolitan of Cyprus, Timothy, bishop of the Patriarchal Office, Severus Bishara, metropolitan of Gargar, and Yusuf al-Gurji. [15] Yusuf al-Gurji attended the synod on 28 January 1523. [16] Abdullah issued canons in Arabic that allowed marriages up to the fifth degree. [17]

Abdullah, with Philoxenus Faraj Allah, metropolitan of Amid, authenticated a document issued by Basil Iiya’ I, Maphrian of the East, dated 6 October 1542 (AG 1853), to confirm again that the Shamsīyah had accepted and conformed to Syriac Orthodox beliefs and practices. [18] The monk priest Moses of Mardin was despatched by Abdullah with two copies of the Peshitta New Testament and a commendatory letter to Rome, where he arrived in or shortly before 1549, and was tasked with procuring printed Syriac Bibles or for the opportunity to produce them. [19] Abdullah may have sent Moses in response to an invitation to send a delegate to the Council of Trent. [3] It is debated as to whether Abdullah had directed Moses to negotiate union with the Catholic Church. [20] Upon Moses' return, Abdullah entrusted him with a letter to the pope, written at the Mor Hananyo Monastery and dated 28 May 1551 (AG 1862), and a profession of faith to take back to Rome. [21] Pope Julius III replied to Abdullah in a letter dated 26 May 1553. [21] The Syriac New Testament was eventually printed by Moses with Johann Albrecht Widmannstetter and Guillaume Postel at Vienna in 1555, in which Abdullah was mentioned in the colophons. [22] Abdullah served as patriarch until his death in 1557 and was buried in the mausoleum of the Mor Hananyo Monastery. [23]

Episcopal succession

As patriarch, Abdullah ordained the following bishops:

References

Notes

  1. The patriarchate of Ignatius Abdullah I is alternatively placed in 1520–1556, [2] or 1520/1521–1557. [3] Also known as Ignatius Abdallah ben Istifan, [3] Ignatius Abdullah I ben Stephanos, [3] and Ignatius ʿAbdullāh I bar Sṭephanos. [4] Alternatively spelt as ‘Abd Allah or Abdallah. [5] He is also counted as Ignatius III Abdallah. [6] (Syriac: ܥܒܕܗ ܕܐܠܗܐ ܐ ܕܡܢ ܚܣܢܐ ܕܐܢܬܬܐ). [7]
  2. The synod at the Mor Hananyo Monastery is placed in either 1521, [12] or 1523. [13]

Citations

  1. Kiraz (2011), p. 4; Wilmshurst (2019), p. 809; Burleson & Rompay (2011), p. 488; Bcheiry (2004), p. 217; Minnich (2023), p. 41.
  2. Barsoum (2009), p. 180; Barsoum (2008), p. 8.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Minnich (2023), p. 41.
  4. Burleson & Rompay (2011), p. 488.
  5. Barsoum (2009), p. 166; Barsoum (2008), p. 39; Briquel-Chatonnet & Debié (2023), p. 206.
  6. Wilkinson (2007), p. 65.
  7. Dolabani (1990), p. 203.
  8. 1 2 Kiraz (2011), p. 4.
  9. Kiraz (2011), p. 4; Wilmshurst (2019), p. 809; Burleson & Rompay (2011), p. 488; Bcheiry (2004), p. 217.
  10. Barsoum (2009), pp. 187–188.
  11. Bcheiry (2004), pp. 215–217; Barsoum (2003), p. 134; Barsoum (2009), pp. 166–167.
  12. Barsoum (2003), p. 134.
  13. Bcheiry (2004), p. 216; Barsoum (2009), pp. 166–167.
  14. 1 2 Bcheiry (2004), pp. 215–216.
  15. Barsoum (2009), pp. 166–167.
  16. Barsoum (2009), p. 166.
  17. Barsoum (2009), p. 167; Barsoum (2003), p. 134; Bcheiry (2004), p. 216.
  18. Barsoum (2009), pp. 180, 188–189.
  19. Kiraz (2011), p. 4; Rompay (2011), p. 300; Wilkinson (2007), p. 65.
  20. Minnich (2023), p. 41; Rompay (2011), p. 300.
  21. 1 2 Borbone (2017), p. 80.
  22. Borbone (2017), p. 80; Kiraz (2011), p. 4.
  23. Kiraz (2011), p. 4; Barsoum (2008), p. 61.
  24. 1 2 Barsoum (2008), pp. 39, 56; Barsoum (2009), p. 189.
  25. Bcheiry (2004), p. 217.

Bibliography

Preceded by Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch
1521–1557
Succeeded by