Theodoret was the

Melkite patriarch of Antioch The Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch is the only actual residential Patriarchate of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Eastern Catholic, Byzantine Rite). It was formed in 1724 when a portion of the Orthodox Church of Antioch went into c ...

in the late 8th century and possibly into the 9th, during the reign of the

Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came t ...

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

. The exact dates of his patriarchate are the subject of disagreement.John C. Lamoreaux and Cyril Cairala (eds.), ''The Life of Timothy of Kakhushta: Two Arabic Texts'' (Brepols, 2000), p. 457. Date ranges of –, 795–812 and –811 have been offered.

Robert G. Hoyland Robert G. Hoyland (born 1966) is a historian, specializing in the medieval history of the Middle East. He is a former student of historian Patricia Crone and was a Leverhulme Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford. He is currently Professor of Late ...

, '' Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey and Evaluation of Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian Writings on Early Islam'' (Darwin Press, 1997), p. 114. Theodoret plays a central role in the ''Life'' of the hermit

Timothy of Kakhushta Timothy of Kakhushta or Timothy the Stylite () was a Syrian Melkite hermit and holy man known from an Arabic biography written not long after his death, ''The Life of the Holy and Virtuous Ascetic Timothy''. Timothy was born in the village of Kakhu ...

, who admonishes him for his luxurious living.Philip Wood, ''The Imam of the Christians: The World of Dionysius of Tel-Mahre, c. 750–850'' (Princeton University Press, 2021), pp. 107–111. The ''Life'' is the only source to record that he was arrested by Harun. The saint's prayers reportedly saved him from execution and, when oil blessed by Timothy cured the caliph's son, the patriarch even received concessions for his flock. The 12th-century ''Chronicle'' of

Michael the Great Michael the Syrian ( ar, ميخائيل السرياني, Mīkhaʾēl el Sūryani:),( syc, ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܣܽܘܪܝܳܝܳܐ, Mīkhoʾēl Sūryoyo), died 1199 AD, also known as Michael the Great ( syr, ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܪܰܒ݁ܳܐ, ...

reports that Theodoret deposed

Theodore Abu Qurra Theodore Abū Qurrah ( gr, Θεόδωρος Ἀβουκάρας, Theodoros Aboukaras; ar, تواضروس أبو قرة, Tawadrūs Abū Qurrah; c. 750, – c. 825) was a 9th-century Melkite bishop and theologian who lived in the early Islamic period ...

bishop of Harran A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, but doubt has been cast on the accuracy of this report.Aaron M. Butts
"Theodoros Abū Qurra"
in

Sebastian P. Brock Sebastian Paul Brock, FBA (born 1938, London) is a British scholar, university professor, and expert in the field of academic studies of Classical Syriac language and Classical Syriac literature. His research also encompasses various aspects of c ...

, Aaron M. Butts,

George A. Kiraz George Anton Kiraz ( syr, ܓܘܪܓܝ ܒܪ ܐܢܛܘܢ ܕܒܝܬ ܟܝܪܐܙ; born 1965) is a Syriac engineer and entrepreneur, best known for his contribution to modern Syriac studies. Biography George Kiraz was born in Bethlehem to a Syriac Ortho ...

and Lucas Van Rompay (eds.), ''Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage'' (Gorgias Press, 2011; online ed. Beth Mardutho, 2018).

References

{{reflist Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch 8th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate Melkites in the Abbasid Caliphate 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate