Athanasius IV Salhoyo ( syr, ܐܬܢܐܣܝܘܣ ܪܒܝܥܝܐ, ar, اثناسيوس الرابع) was the

Patriarch of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 986/987 until his death in 1002/1003.

Biography

Lazarus studied and became a monk at the monastery of Saint Aaron, in the vicinity of Callisura, a town near Melitene. Lazarus' sobriquet "Salhoyo" is interpreted by Aphrem Barsoum to reflect his origins in the town of Ṣalāḥiyya, east of Yarpuz, as opposed to the village of Ṣalaḥ in

Tur Abdin Tur Abdin ( syr, ܛܽܘܪ ܥܰܒ݂ܕܺܝܢ or ܛܘܼܪ ܥܲܒ݂ܕܝܼܢ, Ṭūr ʿAḇdīn) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the borde ...

. He was chosen to succeed John VII Sarigta as patriarch of Antioch and was consecrated on 21 October 986/987 ( AG 1298) by Lazarus, archbishop of Anazarbus, at the village of Qattina in the province of Homs, upon which he assumed the name Athanasius. The monastery of Barid, the residence of Athanasius' predecessor John and located near Melitene, was renovated by Athanasius and became the latter's residence also. According to the histories of Michael the Syrian and

Bar Hebraeus Gregory Bar Hebraeus ( syc, ܓܪܝܓܘܪܝܘܣ ܒܪ ܥܒܪܝܐ, b. 1226 - d. 30 July 1286), known by his Syriac ancestral surname as Bar Ebraya or Bar Ebroyo, and also by a Latinized name Abulpharagius, was an Aramean Maphrian (regional primat ...

, Athanasius was praised for his piety by Agapius II, the Chalcedonian (later termed Greek Orthodox) Patriarch of Antioch, in spite of their religious differences, who subsequently put an end to the persecution of

non-Chalcedonians Non-Chalcedonian Christianity comprises the branches of Christianity that do not accept theological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Non-Chalcedonian denominations reject the Christological De ...

. The monk Gabriel is attested as ''

syncellus ''Synkellos'' ( el, σύγκελλος), latinized as ''syncellus'', is an ecclesiastical office in the Eastern Rite churches. In the Byzantine Empire, the ''synkellos'' of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was a position of major import ...

'' (secretary) to Athanasius from 994 to 999. He served as patriarch of Antioch until his death in 1002/1003 ( AG 1314) at the monastery of Saint Barsoum, where he was buried on the north side of the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

. As patriarch, Athanasius ordained thirty-nine bishops, as per Michael the Syrian's ''Chronicle'', whereas Bar Hebraeus in his ''Ecclesiastical History'' credits Athanasius with the ordination of thirty-eight bishops.

Works

In 1000, Athanasius compiled lectionaries from both the Old and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

s that were then recorded by his pupil the monk Romanus (Brit. Mus. MS. 258).

Episcopal succession

As patriarch, Athanasius ordained the following bishops: #Paul, archbishop of Tarsus #Andreas, archbishop of

Cyrrhus Cyrrhus (; el, Κύρρος ''Kyrrhos'') is a city in ancient Syria founded by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Other names for the city include Coricium, Corice, Hagioupolis, Nebi Huri ( ar, نبي هوري), and Khoros ...

#John, bishop of

Arsamosata Arsamosata (Middle Persian ''*Aršāmšād''; Old Persian ''*Ṛšāma-šiyāti-'', grc, Ἀρσαμόσατα, ) was an ancient and medieval city situated on the bank of the Murat River, near the present-day city of Elâzığ. It was founded i ...

#Isaac, bishop of Callisura #Peter, bishop of Sarug #Iwannis, bishop of Mardin, Reshʿayna, and Kfar Tutho #Philoxenus, archbishop of

Dara Dara is a given name used for both males and females, with more than one origin. Dara is found in the Bible's Old Testament Books of Chronicles. Dara �רעwas a descendant of Judah (son of Jacob). (The Bible. 1 Chronicles 2:6). Dara (also known ...

#Christodulus, bishop of Baalbek #Cyril, bishop of Armenia #Moses, bishop of

Samosata Samsat ( ku, Samîsad), formerly Samosata ( grc, Σαμόσατα) is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Balesh #Timothy, archbishop of Mabbogh #Iwannis, archbishop of

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...

#Gregory, bishop of Birtha #Moses, archbishop of

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...

#Philoxenus, bishop of Tella Qastra #Ignatius, archbishop of Tikrit #Basil, bishop of 'Arqa #John, bishop of Zeugma #Ignatius,

archbishop of Edessa Early bishops The following list is based on the records of the ''Chronicle of Edessa'' (to ''c''.540) and the '' Chronicle of Zuqnin''. Jacobite (Syriac) bishops These bishops belonged to the Syriac Orthodox Church. During the later period the ...

#Dioscorus, archbishop of

Emesa ar, حمصي, Himsi , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_t ...

#Joseph, bishop of

#Thomas, archbishop of Anazarbus #Dionysius, bishop of Claudia #Timothy, bishop of Aphrah #John, bishop of

#Gabriel, bishop of Aleppo #Theodosius, archbishop of Maipherqat #Iwannis, bishop of

#Philoxenus, archbishop of Mabbogh and Gisra #Jacob, bishop of Baalbek #Daniel, bishop of Armenia #Thomas, archbishop of

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...

#Peter, bishop of Arabissus #Abraham, bishop of Zeugma #John, bishop of Doliche #Elias, bishop of Simandu #Ignatius, bishop of

Arzen Arzen (in Syriac ''Arzŏn'' or ''Arzŭn'', Armenian ''Arzn'', ''Ałzn'', Arabic ''Arzan'') was an ancient and medieval city, located on the border zone between Upper Mesopotamia and the Armenian Highlands. The site of the ancient Armenian capital ...

#Iwannis, archbishop of Melitene

References

Notes Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Athanasius 04 of Salh 1000s deaths Syriac Patriarchs of Antioch from 512 to 1783 Year of birth unknown 10th-century births 10th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops 11th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops 10th-century Byzantine bishops 11th-century Byzantine bishops 11th-century Byzantine writers