John X bar Shushan ( syr, ܝܘܚܢܢ ܒܪ ܫܘܫܢ, ar, يوحنا ابن شوشان) 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 , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

, from 1063/1064 until his death in 1072/1073.

Biography

Yeshu was born in the early 11th century at Melitene, where he studied philology, philosophy, and religion, and later became a monk at a nearby monastery. He studied under Patriarch John IX bar ʿAbdun, and served as his ''

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). After the death of the patriarch John bar Abdun in 1057, Yeshu was elected and consecrated as patriarch of Antioch at Amid by eastern bishops under the jurisdiction of the

maphrian The Maphrian ( syr, ܡܦܪܝܢܐ, maphryānā or ''maphryono''), originally known as the Grand Metropolitan of the East and also known as the Catholicos, was the second-highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, ...

, upon which he assumed the name John. Western bishops, who outnumbered the eastern bishops, disputed John's election, and elected Athanasius V as patriarch instead, and brought the issue to the Muslim rulers. John subsequently abdicated, allowing Athanasius to serve as patriarch until his death in 1063/1064, after which John was restored to the position. For most of his tenure as patriarch, John made his residence at Amid, and also resided for a time at

Harran Harran (), historically known as Carrhae ( el, Kάρραι, Kárrhai), is a rural town and district of the Şanlıurfa Province in southeastern Turkey, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Urfa and 20 kilometers from the border cr ...

and Maypherqat, which were under Muslim control, as opposed to Melitene, so to avoid

eastern Roman The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

persecution. Relations with the other

non-Chalcedonian 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 D ...

religious leaders were strained during John's reign as the church came under criticism for its practices, and John sent a treatise to the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across 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 ...

Gregory II the Martyrophile Gregory II the Martyrophile ( hy, Գրիգոր Բ. Վկայասէր) was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1065 and 1105. Origin Gregory was born under the name Vahram as the son of the Gregorius Magistratus, a member of ...

in its defence. John also sent a letter to the

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

Pope Christodoulos of Alexandria Pope Christodoulos of Alexandria (also known as Abd-el-Messiah) (died 1077) was the 66th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. He joined the Paromeos Monastery in the Nitrian Desert before becoming a Pope. During his tenure ...

to refute criticism of the practice of mixing of salt and oil with the

sacramental bread Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host ( la, hostia, lit=sacrificial victim), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elemen ...

. He served as patriarch of Antioch until his death at Amid on 6 or 27 November 1072/1073.

Works

John wrote extensively on theological, canonical, and liturgical matters. He composed seven books of propitiatory prayers (pl. syr, ḥusoye), four books of poetry on the Turkish sack of Melitene in 1058, and an anaphora. As well as the aforementioned letter and treatise in defence of the church's practices, John wrote two treatises to refute Islam and the

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic Semitic root, ro ...

church of Antioch.

References

Notes Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:John 10 bar Shushan Syriac Patriarchs of Antioch from 512 to 1783 Syriac writers 11th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops 11th-century births Year of birth unknown 1072 deaths 11th-century writers People from Malatya