Simandu (West Syriac diocese)

Last updated

Simandu was an archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Cappadocia, attested between the tenth and twelfth centuries. Thirteen of its bishops are mentioned in the lists of Michael the Syriac and other Jacobite sources.

Contents

Sources

The main primary source for the Syriac Orthodox metropolitans of Simandu is the record of episcopal consecrations appended to Volume III of the Chronicle of the Syriac Orthodox patriarch Michael the Syrian (1166–99). In this Appendix Michael listed most of the bishops consecrated by the Syriac Orthodox patriarchs of Antioch between the ninth and twelfth centuries. Twenty-eight Syriac Orthodox patriarchs sat during this period, and in many cases Michael was able to list the names of the bishops consecrated during their reigns, their monasteries of origin, and the place where they were consecrated.

Two twelfth-century bishops omitted from Michael's list are mentioned in the Chronicon Ecclesiasticum of the Jacobite maphrian Bar Hebraeus (ob.1286).

Location

Simandu was a district near Melitene, known in Greek as Tzamendos. During the twelfth century it was included in the territories of the Frankish County of Edessa. [1]

Bishops and metropolitans of Simandu

Eleven Jacobite metropolitans of Simandu are mentioned in the lists of Michael the Syrian. [2]

NameFromConsecrated in the reign ofPlace of consecration
YaʿqobUnspecifiedIwanis II (954–7)not known
BasilMonastery of the Mother of GodYohannan VI (965–86)not known
EliyaMonastery of PeterAthanasius IV Laʿzar (987–1003)Not known
PhiloxenusMonastery of Mar Bar Sawma, MeliteneDionysius IV Heheh (1032–42)Not known
IgnatiusMonastery of BaridAthanasius V Haya (1058–64)not known
AthanasiusMonastery of BaridYohannan VIII bar Shushan (1063–73)Harran
Yohannan ʿAbdonMonastery of Bar Gaghi, MeliteneBasil II (1074–5)Monastery of Mar Bar Sawma, Melitene
BasilMonastery of BaridAthanasius VI bar Khamara (1091–1129)not known
MattaiMonastery of Beth QenayaYohannan X Maudiana (1129–37)not known
BasilMonastery of Mar Ahron, ShigarAthanasius VII bar Qutreh (1139–66)not known

Two twelfth-century bishops of Simandu omitted from the lists of Michael the Syrian are mentioned in the Chronicon Ecclesiasticum of Bar Hebraeus:

The diocese of Simandu seems to have lapsed around the end of the twelfth century, perhaps after the death of the bishop Basil (1139/1166).

Notes

  1. ↑ Fiey, POCN, 268
  2. ↑ Michael the Syrian, Chronicle, iii. 451–82 and 502
  3. ↑ Bar Hebraeus, Chronicon Ecclesiasticum, i. 520

Related Research Articles

Michael the Syrian ,(Classical Syriac: ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܣܽܘܪܝܳܝܳܐ‎, romanized: Mīkhoʾēl Sūryoyo), died 1199 AD, also known as Michael the Great or Michael Syrus or Michael the Elder, to distinguish him from his nephew, was a patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1166 to 1199. He is best known today as the author of the largest medieval Chronicle, which he composed in Syriac language. Some other works and fragments written by him have also survived.

Dioceses of the Syriac Orthodox Church

Dioceses of the Syriac Orthodox Church: In the period of its greatest expansion, in the tenth century, the Syriac Orthodox Church had around 20 metropolitan dioceses and a little over a hundred suffragan dioceses. By the seventeenth century only 20 dioceses remained, reduced in the twentieth century to 10. The seat of Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch was at Mardin before the First World War, and thereafter in Deir Zaʿfaran, from 1932 in Homs, and finally from 1959 in Damascus.

The Diocese of Tirhan was an East Syriac diocese of the Church of the East, within the central ecclesiastical Province of the Patriarch. The diocese is attested between the sixth and fourteenth centuries.

Ishoʿ bar Nun was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 823 to 828. He succeeded Timothy I, widely considered to be the most impressive of the Nestorian patriarchs.

Abris, also called Abres, Abrosius and Abrisius, was a legendary Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in Persia, who is conventionally said to have sat from 121–137. He is said to have been from the family of Saint Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus.

Ahadabui was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, who is conventionally believed to have sat from 204 to 220.

Shahlufa was a legendary primate of the Church of the East, who is conventionally believed to have reigned from 220 to 224 A.D.

Hadath was a diocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church in the Malatya region of what is now Turkey, attested between the eighth and eleventh centuries. It was based in the town of Hadath.

Gubos was a diocese in the Syriac Orthodox metropolitan province of Melitene (Malatya), attested between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. Around a dozen Jacobite bishops of Gubos are mentioned either by Michael the Syrian or Bar Hebraeus, and Bar Hebraeus himself was bishop of Gubos from 1246 to 1255. By 1283, as a result of several decades of warfare and brigandage, the diocese of Gubos was ruined. It is not again mentioned, and seems to have lapsed before the end of the thirteenth century.

Zuptara was a Syriac Orthodox diocese in the Melitene region of eastern Turkey. The diocese of Zuptara is attested between the eighth and eleventh centuries, and twelve of its bishops are mentioned in the lists of Michael the Syrian. The diocese almost certainly lapsed during the twelfth century.

Qlisura was a diocese in the Syriac Orthodox metropolitan province of Melitene, attested between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. Eighteen Jacobite bishops of Qlisura are mentioned in the histories of Michael the Syrian and Bar Hebraeus, and in other West Syriac sources. By 1283, as a result of several decades of warfare and brigandage, the diocese of Qlisura was ruined, though it apparently still had a bishop several years later. The diocese is not again mentioned, and seems to have lapsed around the end of the thirteenth century.

Qlaudia was a diocese in the Syriac Orthodox metropolitan province of Melitene (Malatya), attested between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. Sixteen Jacobite bishops of Qlaudia are mentioned either by Michael the Syrian or Bar Hebraeus. By 1283, as a result of several decades of warfare and brigandage, the diocese of Qlaudia was ruined. The diocese is not again mentioned, and seems to have lapsed around the end of the thirteenth century.

The city of Tarsus was a Syriac Orthodox archdiocese, attested between the seventh and thirteenth centuries. Nearly twenty Syrian Orthodox metropolitans of Tarsus are mentioned either by Michael the Syrian or in other Syriac Orthodox narrative sources. The archdiocese is last mentioned towards the end of the thirteenth century, and seems to have lapsed during the fourteenth century.

The city of Anazarbus was an archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church, attested between the sixth and twelfth centuries. Nearly thirty Syriac Orthodox bishops or metropolitans of Anazarbus are mentioned either by Michael the Syrian or in other Syriac Orthodox narrative sources. The archdiocese is last mentioned towards the end of the twelfth century, and seems to have lapsed in the early decades of the thirteenth century.

Tel Patriq was a diocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church near Melitene (Malatya), attested during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

Laqabin was a diocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church, suffragan of the archdiocese of Melitene. The diocese, also known as Qarna and Tella d'Arsenias, is attested between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. Twenty-three bishops of Laqabin are mentioned in the histories of Michael the Syrian and Bar Hebraeus and in other West Syriac sources. The last-known bishop of Laqabin, Timothy, was consecrated by the patriarch Philoxenus Nemrud (1283–92), and the diocese seems to have lapsed in the early decades of the fourteenth century.

The city of Melitene was an archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church, attested between the ninth and thirteenth centuries but probably founded as early as the seventh century. More than thirty Syriac Orthodox bishops or metropolitans of Melitene are mentioned either by Michael the Syrian or in other Syriac Orthodox narrative sources. The archdiocese is last mentioned towards the end of the twelfth century, and seems to have lapsed in the early decades of the thirteenth century.

Kfar Tab (West Syriac diocese)

Kfar Tab was a diocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church near Apamea in Syria, attested in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Four of its bishops are mentioned in the lists of Michael the Syrian.

Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Baghdad is an archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church, centered in Baghdad, capital city of Iraq. The diocese originated during the early medieval period. It is attested between the 9th and the 13th centuries, but later declined, to be renewed again, thus existing up to the modern times. The diocese was probably established soon after Baghdad became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate in the 770s. Eight Syriac Orthodox bishops of Baghdad from the medieval period are mentioned in the narratives of Michael the Syrian, Bar Hebraeus and other sources. Current Archbishop is Severius Jamil Hawa.

Gumal was a diocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Bishops of Gumal are attested between the sixth and tenth centuries, but the diocese may have persisted into the thirteenth century.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.