Basil Matthew II was the
Syriac Orthodox Maphrian of the East from 1713 until his death in 1727.
Biography
Matthew was born at
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 ...
in the 17th century, and was the son of Maqdisi Lazarus. He had a brother named
Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
. Matthew became a monk at the nearby
monastery of Saint Matthew before 1672, and was later ordained as archbishop of the monastery of Saint Matthew by Patriarch
Ignatius George II
Ignatius George II ( syr, ܓܘܪܓܝܣ ܬܪܝܢܐ, ar, البطريرك جرجس الثاني ابن عبدالكريم الموصلي) was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1687 until his death in 1708.
Bio ...
in 1701, upon which he assumed the name Iyawannis. Matthew's brother Isaac, who had become Maphrian of the East, also participated in his ordination. In the same year as his ordination as archbishop, Matthew planted a garden (Junayna) at the monastery of Saint Matthew and paved the road to
Bar Hebraeus
Gregory Bar Hebraeus ( syc, ܓܪܝܓܘܪܝܘܣ ܒܪ ܥܒܪܝܐ, b. 1226 - d. 30 July 1286), known by his Syriac ancestral surname as Bar Ebraya or Bar Ebroyo, and also by a Latinized name Abulpharagius, was an Aramean Maphrian (regional prim ...
'
cell, for which an inscription in
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 ...
was added to the garden wall and also to the tomb of Saint Matthew to commemorate the work.
As archbishop, Matthew deputised for his brother Isaac in administering the diocese of Mosul. After the death of
Basil Lazarus III, Matthew was ordained as Maphrian of the East by his brother Patriarch
Ignatius Isaac II
Ignatius Isaac II ( syr, ܐܝܣܚܩ ܥܐܙܐܪ, ar, اسحق بطريارك انطاكية) was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1709 until his resignation in 1723.
Biography
Isaac ʿAzar was born at Mosul i ...
at the
Monastery of Saint Ananias before September 1713, upon which he assumed the name Basil. Matthew served as Maphrian of the East until his death in September 1727, and he was buried with Isaac in his tomb at the
Church of Saint Thomas at Mosul.
References
Bibliography
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Maphrians
1727 deaths
18th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops
People from Mosul
17th-century births
Assyrians from the Ottoman Empire
Oriental Orthodox bishops in the Ottoman Empire
18th-century people from the Ottoman Empire
17th-century people from the Ottoman Empire
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