Saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
Baselios Yeldo was the
Maphrian of the East
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, ...
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 1678 until his resignation in 1684. He is venerated as a saint in 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 ...
,
Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church
The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC), or the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India also known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Jacobite Syrian Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, ...
and
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. The church serve ...
and his feast day is 3 October.
Yeldo was proclaimed a saint by
Geevarghese II
Moran Mor Baselios Geevarghese II of the Malankara Church (16 June 1874 – 3 January 1964). Third Catholicos of the East in Malankara and 16th Malankara Metropolitan, was born to Ulahannan and Naithi of the Kallaserri family in Kurichi, Ko ...
,
Catholicos of the East
Catholicos of the East is the title that has been held by the ecclesiastical heads of the Church of the East, the Grand Metropolitan of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, since AD. 280.
The term "Catholicos" is derived from the Greek word Katholikos (Καθολ ...
&
Malankara Metropolitan
Malankara Metropolitan is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of the Malankara Syrian Church, previously by the Government of Travancore and Cochin in South India. This title was awarded by a proclamation from the King of Travancore and ...
, on 2 November 1947, and later also by
Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
Ignatius Zakka I Iwas ( syr, ܐܝܓܢܐܛܝܘܣ ܙܟܝ ܩܕܡܝܐ ܥܝܘܐܨ; ar, إغناطيوس زكا الأول عيواص; ', born Sanharib Iwas, 21 April 1931 – 21 March 2014) was the 122nd reigning Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Anti ...
,
Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch
The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch ܦܛܪܝܪܟܐ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ is the bishop of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church ( Syriac: ܥܺܕܬܳܐ ܣܽܘ̣ܪܝܳܝܬܳܐ ܬܪܺܝܨܰܬ ܫܽܘ̣ܒ̣ܚܳܐ). He is the Head of the Hol ...
, on 20 October 1987.
Biography
Yeldo was born in 1593 in the village of
Bakhdida
Qaraqosh, also known as Al-Hamdaniya or Bakhdida, is an Assyrian city in Iraq within the Nineveh Governorate, located about 32 km (20 mi) southeast of the city of Mosul and 60 km (37 mi) west of Erbil amid agricultural lands, close ...
, near the city of
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
, and became a monk at the
Monastery of Saint Behnam at a young age. He was consecrated
Maphrian of the East
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, ...
in 1678 by Mor Ignatius Abdul Messiah I, the then
Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch
The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch ܦܛܪܝܪܟܐ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ is the bishop of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church ( Syriac: ܥܺܕܬܳܐ ܣܽܘ̣ܪܝܳܝܬܳܐ ܬܪܺܝܨܰܬ ܫܽܘ̣ܒ̣ܚܳܐ). He is the Head of the Hol ...
.
St. Baselios Yeldho
'. Malankara Syriac Christian Resources
In 1683,
Mor Ignatius Abdul Messiah I, the then Patriarch of Antioch, received a letter and later a delegation from
Mar Thoma II
Mar Thoma II was the second Metropolitan of the Malankara Church from 1670 to 1686.
Introduction
The Malayalam versions of the Canons of the Synod of Diamper use these titles throughout the report except in three places where they use the ...
, the then
Archbishop of Malankara, requesting clergymen to help against
Portuguese colonial
The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...
attempts to subdue the
Church of Malankara. The patriarch met with clergymen at the
Monastery of Saint Ananias in the following year to discuss the state of the Church of Malankara and decide whom to send, and Mor Yeldo volunteered to travel to Malankara and thus resign as Maphrian.
St. Baselios Yeldho
'. St. George Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, Cheppaud, Kerala, India The patriarch and others expressed concern at the health and age of the saint, however, the patriarch granted Mor Yeldo permission to undertake the journey. He returned to the
Monastery of Saint Matthew and made preparations for the journey to India. The monks Joea and Matthew, from the monasteries of Saint Matthew and Saint Behnam respectively, Bishop Mor Ivanios Hidyatullah, and Yeldo's brother Jamma joined him on the journey south to
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
.
The group travelled by sea from
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
to
Thalassery
Thalassery (), formerly Tellicherry, is a municipality, Commercial City on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahé (Pondicherry), Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kasaragod and Kodagu (Karna ...
via
Surat
Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...
, arriving in 1685, but due to the threat of the
Portuguese colonialists
The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...
and pirates, Yeldo and his entourage decided to continue their journey to Malakhachira (literally, "Place of the Angel", ie. present
Kothamangalam
Kothamangalam, , is a municipality in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. The town is in the foothills of the Western Ghats, and is a part of the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency.
The town serves as the headquarters of a taluk and a municipality ...
)
by land and in disguise. Whilst travelling, the group encountered a
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
, but was repelled when Mor Yeldo made the
sign of the cross
Making the sign of the cross ( la, signum crucis), or blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. This blessing is made by the tracing of an upright cross or + across the body with ...
in its direction, forcing it to flee. He later arrived at the village of
Pallivasal
Pallivasal is a village in Idukki district in the Indian state of Kerala.
The first hydro-electric project in Kerala was established at Pallivasal during the reign of Maharajah Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma.
Pallivasal project
The ...
and, with the knowledge a heavy flood would afflict the village in the night, advised the villagers to sleep in the hills. Those who followed the saint and his entourage into the hills survived whilst the animals and villagers who remained were drowned. Mor Ivanios and Mor Yeldo continued on to Kozhippilli, near
Kothamangalam
Kothamangalam, , is a municipality in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. The town is in the foothills of the Western Ghats, and is a part of the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency.
The town serves as the headquarters of a taluk and a municipality ...
, where Mor Ivanios agreed to hide in a tree until Mor Yeldo returned, as it was deemed unsafe to travel together.
He later reached the
River Periyar and asked a local man belonging to the
Nair community who was tending his cattle to show him to the local
St. Thomas Church, Kothamangalam
Marthoman Cheriyapally is a Jacobite Church located in Kothamangalam town of Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. The church is believed to have been established in 1455 by 18 families who separated from Marth Maryam Valiyapally. The church is fa ...
. The man stated he could not do so due to his inability to leave his cattle alone, and thus Mor Yeldo drew a circle in the dirt with his walking stick and instructed the man to direct the cattle into the circle. The cattle consequently did not leave the circle, and the man told the saint of his sister's labour pains, to which Mor Yeldo asked for water. The man went to climb a coconut tree, but it bent down by itself, and he gathered two coconuts. Mor Yeldo blessed one of the coconuts and told the man to make his sister drink from the coconut. The man later returned with the news that his sister had successfully given birth to a baby boy. As the cattle had remained within the circle, the man agreed to show Mor Yeldo to the local church. In remembrance of this event, his successors, belonging to the
Nair community, hold the traditional lamp of the church and lead the ''Rasa'' (Church procession) on the festival day of Mor Baselios Yeldo to date.
At the St. Thomas Church, members of the local congregation returned to Kozhippilli with Mor Yeldo's handkerchief to retrieve Mor Ivanios who, however, refused to come down from the tree as he believed that the crowd had murdered the saint. The local deacon, who spoke
Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
, showed the bishop the handkerchief and convinced him to come with them to Kothamangalam. At Kothamangalam, on the
Feast of the Holy Cross
In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. Unlike Good Friday, which is dedicated to the passion of Christ and the crucifixion, the ...
, Mor Yeldo consecrated Mor Ivanios Hidayatullah as archbishop to help consecrate clergy and thus combat Portuguese affronts against the Church of Malankara. Due to his age, however, the saint became ill three days later and died on 29 September 1685. The huge granite cross within the Church of Saint Thomas lit up at the time of his death.
References
{{authority control
Maphrians
Assyrians from the Ottoman Empire
Syriac Orthodox Church saints
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church saints
1593 births
1685 deaths
Syrian archbishops
17th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops
Miracle workers
People from Bakhdida