Saint Maruthas or Marutha of Martyropolis was a Syrian monk who became

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

"The Armenian Life of Marutha of Maipherkat", Ralph Marcus, ''The Harvard Theological Review'', Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan., 1932), 47. of Maypherkat in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

( Meiafarakin)"The Armenian Life of Marutha of Maipherkat", Ralph Marcus, ''The Harvard Theological Review'', 50. for a period beginning before 399 up to around 410. He's believed to have died before 420. He is venerated as a Saint in the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

and

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...

Churches, his feast being kept on 4 December. He brought into his episcopal city the relics of so many martyrs that it received the surname ''Martyropolis''. He was a friend of Saint

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of ...

. He acted as an ambassador between the East Roman Emperor and the Persian Emperor. In the interests of the Church of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, which had suffered much in the persecution of

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings ( Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reign ...

, he came to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, but found Emperor

Arcadius Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ...

too busily engaged in the affairs about the exile of St. John Chrysostom. Later Maruthas was sent by Emperor

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

to the court of Persia, where, notwithstanding the

Magi Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin '' magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius t ...

, he won the esteem of King

Yazdegerd I of Persia Yazdegerd I (also spelled Yazdgerd and Yazdgird; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 399 to 420. A son of Shapur III (), he succeeded his brother Bahram IV () after the latter's assassination. Yaz ...

by his affability, saintly life, and, as is claimed, by his knowledge of medicine. Marutha therefore managed to negotiate a peace between the two empires. He was present at the general

First Council of Constantinople The First Council of Constantinople ( la, Concilium Constantinopolitanum; grc-gre, Σύνοδος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 b ...

in 381 and at a Council of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

in 383 (or 390), at which the Messalians were condemned. For the benefit of the Persian Church he is said to have held two synods at

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...

. A great organizer, he was one of the first to give a regular structure to the church, helped in his mission by the

catholicos Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...

Isaac. His writings include: *''Acts of the Persian Martyrs'' (these acts remember the victims of the persecution of Shapur II and Yazdegerd I)"The Armenian Life of Marutha of Maipherkat", Ralph Marcus, ''The Harvard Theological Review'', 47-48. *''History of the Council of Nicaea'' *A translation in Syriac of the canons of the Council of Nicaea *A Syrian liturgy, or anaphora *Commentaries on the Gospels *''Acts of the Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon'' He also wrote hymns on the Holy Eucharist, on the Cross, and on saints killed in Shapur's persecution.

Notes

References

Maruthas
from the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' (1915) * De Lacy O'Leary, ''The Syriac Church and Fathers'' (2002) * Smith, William & Wace, Henry (editors); ''A dictionary of christian biography, literature, sects and doctrine'', "Maruthas (1)", (1877). * Moffett, Samuel Hugh. ''A History of Christianity in Asia'', (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1998) p. 154-155 {{Authority control 4th-century births 420 deaths 5th-century Mesopotamian bishops 4th-century Mesopotamian bishops Persian saints Syrian Christian saints 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Byzantine writers Martyropolis Roman–Iranian relations People from Diyarbakır Province