Ignatius III David 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 1222 until 1252.

Biography

In 1215, David was ordained

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, ...

by John XII upon which he took the name Ignatius and was maphrian for seven years before being consecrated patriarch in 1222, which was also the year he ordained Mor Dionysius Sleeba as maphrian. A diplomatic mission carried out by David and the Armenian Catholicos

Constantine I of Cilicia Catholicos Constantine I, ( Armenian: Կոնստանդին Ա. Բարձրբերդցի), was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1221 and 1267. A native of Barzrberd, he was said to have come to office not by nobility or riches ...

in 1225 attempted to end hostilities between

Isabella, Queen of Armenia Isabella ( hy, Զապել; 27 January 1216/ 25 January 1217 – 23 January 1252), also Isabel or Zabel, was queen regnant of Armenian Cilicia from 1219 until her death in 1252. She was proclaimed queen under the regency of Adam of Baghras. Afte ...

and the usurper

Constantine of Baberon Constantine of Baberon (died c. 1263) was a powerful Armenian noble of the Het‛umid family. He was the son of Vassag and the father of King Het‛um I, who ruled the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1226 to 1270. Constantine played a pivotal rol ...

. In 1232, David ordained the future patriarch John V bar Maʿdani as maphrian. The former maphrian, Ignatius Sleeba III of Edessa, after having retired and became a physician, is known to have treated David, who suffered from gout. During David's tenure as patriarch, a dispute arose between the Syriac Orthodox Church and

Pope Cyril III of Alexandria Cyril III, known as Cyril ibn Laqlaq (كيرلس الثالث ابن لقلق), was the 75th Coptic Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria. His episcopate lasted seven years, eight months, and 23 days from Sunday 17 June 1235 AD (23 Paoni 951 A.M.) t ...

of the Coptic Orthodox Church, who, in 1237, had taken advantage of the military strength of the

Ayyubid Sultanate The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Salad ...

to appoint a Coptic bishop of Jerusalem. The new bishop was granted jurisdiction over Ayyubid and crusader territories in Syria and Palestine, an area traditionally within the jurisdiction of the Syriac Orthodox Church and thus created friction between the churches. Simultaneously, David was approached by an Ethiopian faction within the Coptic Orthodox Church and asked to ordain an Ethiopian as an abuna, the head of the church in Ethiopia. He discussed the issue with the newly arrived Dominicans who offered to mediate the dispute and forbade the appointment of an abuna, however, David spurned the Dominicans' offer and ordained a new abuna. Upon hearing of the appointment of a new abuna, the Dominicans incited the Templar and Hospitaller knights to meet with David and demand an explanation. This was a very rare incident between the two churches as in general their relationship is one of the strongest between any two churches. In the closing years of his tenure as patriarch, David entered a quarrel with the metropolitan bishop Dionysius Angur of Melitene.

References

{{authority control Syriac Patriarchs of Antioch from 512 to 1783 13th-century Syriac Orthodox Church bishops Syrian archbishops 1252 deaths 13th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops Maphrians

Biography

See also

References