Theodosius Romanus

Theodosius Romanus ( syr, ܦܛܪܝܪܟܐ ܬܐܘܕܘܣܝܘܣ, ar, البطريرك ثاودوسيوس) was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 887 until his death in 896.

Biography

Romanus was born at Tikrit in the 9th century and became a monk at the monastery of Qartmin in Tur Abdin. He was educated in medicine and became known as a skilful physician. His nickname, "the Roman" (Romanus), was derived from his knowledge of Greek. At this time, the patriarchal office had lain vacant for four years after the death of Ignatius II in 883 due to disagreement amongst the church's bishops. In response to the demands of their congregants, the bishops assembled at Amida to deliberate and hold an election by lot in which twelve names were put forward.

Romanus was thus chosen to succeed Ignatius II as patriarch of Antioch, and was consecrated at Amida on 5 February 887 ( AG 1198) by Timothy, archbishop of Samosata, upon which he assumed the name Theodosius. No details of Theodosius' tenure as patriarch are known, except that he had some buildings constructed at the monastery of Qartmin with Ezekiel, bishop of Tur Abdin. He served as patriarch of Antioch until his death on 1 June 896 ( AG 1207) at the monastery of Qartmin, where he was buried. As patriarch, Theodosius ordained thirty-two bishops, as per Michael the Syrian's ''Chronicle'', whereas Bar Hebraeus in his ''Ecclesiastical History'' credits Theodosius with the ordination of thirty-three bishops.

Works

Theodosius translated and commented on the ''Book of Hierotheos'' at the request of Lazarus, bishop of Cyrrhus. His commentary consisted of five books in three treatises, of which the first two treatises were completed at Amida, whilst the third was finished at Samosata. Although the book had been deemed heretical and repudiated by the Patriarch Quriaqos of Tagrit as the work of Stephen Bar Sudhaile in a canonical statement at a synod, Theodosius seems to have accepted its authenticity and makes no mention of Stephen. Theodosius' positive opinion of the book has been noted to reflect the tradition of mysticism prevalent at the monastery of Qartmin. Theodosius' commentary was later used by Bar Hebraeus in his own commentary on the book, and was also recopied by Abu Nasr of Bartella in 1290 in a manuscript entitled ''On The Hidden Mysteries of the House of God'', but only contained half of the commentary ( Za'faran MS. 213).

Other surviving works include a medical ''syntagma'' ( syr, Kunnash, "compendium") attributed to Theodosius, as noted by Bar Hebraeus, of which only a fragment survives (Vatican MS. 192). In addition, a synodical epistle to Pope Michael III of Alexandria and a homily for Lent, both of which are in Arabic, is preserved (Brit. Mus. MS. 7206). He also wrote a treatise for the deacon George in which he compiled and explained one hundred and twelve maxims ( syr, melle remzonoyoto d-ḥakime, "symbolic sayings of wise men"), most of which were of Pythagorean origin that he had translated from Greek into Syriac; a copy of this treatise in Syriac and Arabic still survives (Paris MS. 157). A few canons were later also attributed to Theodosius.

Episcopal succession

As patriarch, Theodosius ordained the following bishops:

#Athanasius, archbishop of Tikrit
#Job, archbishop of Herat
#Dionysius, archbishop of Apamea
#Cyril, archbishop of Anazarbus
#Dionysius, bishop of Tella
#Ezekiel, bishop of Melitene
#Daniel, archbishop of Damascus
#Denha, bishop of Callisura
#George, bishop of Circesium
#Gabriel, archbishop of Tiberias
#Michael, archbishop of Mabbogh
#Jacob, archbishop of Samosata
#Ignatius, archbishop of Aphrah
#Ezekiel, bishop of Tur Abdin
#Silvanus, bishop of Arzen
#Basil, bishop of Armenia
#John, bishop of Irenopolis
#Habib, archbishop of Anazarbus
#Simeon, bishop of Tell Besme
#Habib, archbishop of Resafa
#John, bishop of Sarug
#Lazarus, archbishop of Tarsus
#Elias, bishop of Gisra
#Habib, bishop of Kaishum
#Basil, bishop of Zeugma
#Matthew, bishop of Tella
#Thomas, bishop of Circesium
#Thomas, bishop of Irenopolis
#Severus, bishop of Dara
#Jacob, bishop of the Najranites
#Habib, bishop of Irenopolis
#Sergius, bishop of Reshʿayna

References

Bibliography

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{{Authority control

9th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops
Syriac Patriarchs of Antioch from 512 to 1783
Year of birth unknown
896 deaths
Greek–Syriac translators
Upper Mesopotamia under the Abbasid Caliphate
9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate
Christianity in the Abbasid Caliphate
People from Tikrit
9th-century physicians
9th-century Syriac-language writers
9th-century Arabic writers
9th-century births