Sahdona of Halmon ( syc, ܣܗܕܘܢܐ, literally "little martyr") also known as Sahdona of Mahoze and Sahdona the Syrian, Hellenised as Martyrius, was a 7th-century
East Syriac
The East Syriac Rite or East Syrian Rite, also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy ...
monk, theologian and Bishop who later defected to the
West Syriac Church.
Biography
Sahdona was born around 600 AD in the village of
Halmon near
Beth Nuhadra north of
Nineveh. He joined the
Beth Abe Monastery at his youth and took part in a delegation headed by the Catholicos
Ishoyahb II Ishoʿyahb II of Gdala was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 628 to 645. He reigned during a period of great upheaval in the Sasanian Empire. He became patriarch at the end of a disastrous war between Rome and Persia, which weakened both p ...
to seek peace with the
Byzantine Empire
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 ...
after the
Sasanian
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
defeat in a
recent war.
Around 635/640 Sahdona was shortly consecrated as the bishop of
Mahoze d'Arewan.
Defection
It seems that Sahdona was part of a delegation to the west and was involved in a debate with the monks of a certain
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 ...
(i.e. West Syriac) monastery. The monks, defeated, suggested that their opponents see their abbot. Sahdona accepted and after the second debate declared his conversion to the West Syriac Church. He was shortly accused of heresy and deposed.
Sahdona first found refuge in
Nisibis
Nusaybin (; '; ar, نُصَيْبِيْن, translit=Nuṣaybīn; syr, ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, translit=Nṣībīn), historically known as Nisibis () or Nesbin, is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009 and is ...
and later in
Edessa. He later returned to the
Church of the East but was excommunicated by
Ishoyahb II Ishoʿyahb II of Gdala was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 628 to 645. He reigned during a period of great upheaval in the Sasanian Empire. He became patriarch at the end of a disastrous war between Rome and Persia, which weakened both p ...
so he stayed for the rest of his life in Edessa where he died around 649 AD.
[
]
Works
Sahdona authored the voluminous "Book of Perfection" while a monk in Beth Abe and is considered the most significant work of East Syriac
The East Syriac Rite or East Syrian Rite, also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy ...
monasticism.
He also left several letters to fellow monks concerning monastical rules.[
]
References
Further reading
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{{Authority control
7th-century bishops of the Church of the East
Syriac writers
Converts to Oriental Orthodoxy
People excommunicated by the Church of the East
Christians in the Sasanian Empire
7th-century writers