Bar-Hebraeus: Encyclopedia II - Bar-Hebraeus - Life and work

Bar-Hebraeus - Life and work

Bar Ebroyo was born in the city of Melitene in 1226, and was christened as Youhanna. His father noticed his brilliancy and the intelligence he was endowed with, and henceforth he started to teach him early in his childhood the principles of languages and the different fields of knowledge. He then mastered the Syriac language and became well versed in exegesis and church liturgy. He learned Medicine from his father. He tells us about himself:

In 1244, he went with his father to Antioch where he isolated himself in a monastery near the city. In his seclusion that lasted one year, he received divine inspiration. During that period, he received a visit from Patriarch Ignatius Saba. He was not satisfied with the amount of knowledge he had already acquired, so he left his cell and went to Tripoli with his friend Saliba. There he completed his studies in Medicine, Rhetoric, and Logic under the instruction of a Nestorian rhetorician named Yacoub. He had already mastered Syriac, Arabic, Persian and Armenian languages. In all these language he wrote eloquently. He was described as the sea of wisdom, the light of the East and West, king of the learned, the greatest of the wise men, the holy father, the father versed in theology, the adornment of composers, the crown of Maphrians, the crown of chiefs, etc.

In 1246, Patriarch Ignatius III David ordained him to the Bishopric of Gubus. After one year, he was transferred to Laqbeen. There he served for 5 years. In 1252, he was transferred to the Archbishopric of Aleppo, where he made numerous achievements during his 12 years.

In 1258 Hulagu Khan, the King of Tatar, besieged the city of Aleppo. Its young Archbishop went out to solicit compassion for his city from the king, but his soldiers had already stormed the city and massacred many of its inhabitants. It is said that the number of people killed in Aleppo by the Mongol soldiers exceeded that at Baghdad.

Bar Ebroyo was greatly honored by the King of the Tartars because of his wide knowledge of Medicine. He enjoyed great respect in the royal court.

His reputation was so wide spread in the whole Christian and Syrian world that, Patriarch Bar Ma'dani chose him to become the Maphryono (Catholicos) of the East. His consecration ceremony was called one of the greatest in the history of the Syriac Church. It was attended by King Haytoum, his brothers and sons, Armenian high priests and dignitaries from all nations and faiths, in addition to a huge crowd of the Syriac Orthodox people and bishops. The ceremony took place on January 19, 1264 in the city of Sis in Cilicia. At the end of the ceremony, he gave a precious sermon on the position of the High Priest, launching it by the verse "You have created me and laid your hand on me" (Psalm 138:10). The first thing he did after his consecration was to consolidate the authority of his Patriarch by securing royal support. He accompanied his Patriarch in his visit to Holako (Patriarch Ignatius Yeshue), who received him well and honored him. Then he took a trip to the East and helped to strengthen the ties between the Syrian Nestorians and his church with his conciliatory and wise attitudes and policies. He then visited the Monastery of Mar Matay (Matthew) in Iraq to have the legitimacy his office as the Maphrian of the East confirmed. He, then, focused his attention on building churches and founding new dioceses. He took several trips visiting his large Maphrianate (10 large Archdioceses). His long trip included a visit to Baghdad where he was received with an unsurpassed welcome by all religious and civilian leaders of both Christians and Moslems. Another trip was made to the west part of Syria. This was followed by his trip to Maragha, the west part of Syria once again, Baghdad and Tikrit.

In 1286, his sixtieth birth year, he sensed that death was near. He had always thought of this year as bad luck. In one of his poems, he wrote: "O net of the world, in 1226 your trap caught me, and I think in 1286 I will not be in you". In that particular year misfortune occurred frequently in the East. Theft and highway robberies were widespread in cities and villages. His brother Barsaumo had fears that the Maphrian might be robbed and thus his prophecy about the year 1286 might be fulfilled. So, he urged him to travel to Adhorbijan. The Maphrian resisted first but then gave in to the pressure and set for Tabriz first. There he was approached by Muslim Scholars and was asked to translate his book entitled "The Political History of the World" from Syriac into Arabic language. He answered their request and completed the work in a mere 30 days showing his great knowledge of the Arabic language.

This trip was at the concluding part of his life. In the night of Saturday, July 28, 1286, he was stricken by fever that grew higher towards morning. In the morning, many physicians came to see him and asked him to take medicine, but he refused. "The disease has defied all medicine, the dreadful moment has arrived", he said. Before sun set, he asked for a pen to write his last will, but his holy fingers that wrote numerous books on philosophy, wisdom and spirituality were unable to write even a word. The people around him, including his brother Safi, felt that catastrophe was imminent. They all started weeping bitterly. The Maphrian was checking his own pulse intermittently and saying "My strength has diminished. You have been unfair to me, my dear brother, for you did not let me sleep in peace among my bishops, monks, priests and deacons whom I lead for twenty two years. I have fled death, but that has not helped. Come on, do not lose courage my dear brother, do not cry or grieve too much, for death is nothing new in this world". But, his last will had to be written. "Come my dear deacon, the good Sateed, and write," he ordered, and the grief stricken student started writing, "As for man his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field" (Psalm 103:15).

He then completed confession of his faith and looked at his disciples and said to them "I command that you love one another, for love, my children, is the bond of peace. I am departing to the House of Eternity, and I shall be honored to see the Lord and I shall ask on your behalf". He gave up his spirit the night of Tuesday July 30, 1286.

In Maragha, people from all races, religions and nationalities wept bitterly. Huge crowds from all sects and religions, particularly the Syriac Orthodox, Nestorians, and Armenians came to see him and take blessing from his body. Among them was the Nestorian Catholicos Yaballaha III. His funeral service was one of the greatest in the history of the Syrian Orthodox Church. He was buried under the altar of the church in Maragha where he prayed and said the Holy Mass every time he visited that city. His holy remains were transferred to the Monastery of Mar Matay (St. Matthew) in Iraq on the Mountain of "Ulouf" to the East of Mosul.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Life and work", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki