Michael II the Younger (Syriac:ܡܝܟܐܝܠ ܙܥܘܪܐ,romanized: Mīkhāʾēl Zaʿurā;r. 1199–1215), also calledMichael the Less,[1] was a 13th-century claimant to the office ofSyriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, serving as an antipatriarch during a period of schism within theSyriac Orthodox Church.^[2]

He was called "Zaʿura" byBar Hebraeus, which means "the younger", "junior", "the little", or "the less", to distinguish him from his uncle,Michael the Great.^[3][4]

Born Joshua Sephtono (Syriac:ܝܫܘܥ ܣܦܬܢܐ,romanized: Yeshuʿ Sephtono)^[a], he hailed from a prominent ecclesiastical family inMelitene, that ofMichael the Syrian. His father was Abraham and his uncle was Michael the Syrian (calledRabo or "the Elder" to distinguish the two). Another uncle, Saliba, served as Archbishop ofMardin (1177) and later ofJerusalem (1184), ordained by Michael the Syrian. Joshua had a brother, Jacob (Syriac:ܝܥܩܘܒ,romanized: Yaʿqōb), who changed his name upon being elevated to his position, adopting the name Gregory (Syriac:ܓܪܝܓܘܪܝܘܣ,romanized: Grīgoryos) upon his ordination asmaphrian.^[6]

Joshua became a monk atMonastery of Mar Barsauma. Following the death of Patriarch Michael the Syrian in 1199, he attempted to become thePatriarch of Antioch, prompting him to leave the monastery. Thus he left the monastery, but the abbot pursued him in an effort to bring him backk. Joshua, in response, had him arrested by the governor ofGargar, only released on the condition that he would not hinder Michael's pursuit of the office.^[6][7]

Joshua was ordained by his brother, Maphrian Jacob, atMor Hananyo Monastery in 1200, adopting the name Michael in honor of his uncle.^[5] As it was commonly done at the time, he appointed three bishops loyal to him in order to consolidate his support immediataely after his ordination,^[8] but the people of Mardin bribed the governor to have both him and his brother expelled, to which he relocated to Melitene.^[3][6]

Thus, Michael became the antipatriarch, rival to Athanasius VIII bar Salibi, the patriarch ofAntioch officially recognized by theSyriac Orthodox Church throughout the latter's entire pontificate.^[5] The anonymous author of theChronicle of 1234 regarded him as the legitimate patriarch and labeled Athanasius as the antipatriarch. Athanasius was recognized in the western and northern provinces of the ecclesiastical territory of Antioch (Syria,Sultanate of Rum, andTur Abdin) while Michael was recognized in the eastern and southern provinces (Tagrit,Mosul,Nisibis, and Mardin).^[6] Both patriarchs wielded their financial and influential resources to assert their legitimacy; Athanasius accused Michael of bribingSultan Rukn al-Din of Melitene with six thousanddinars, despite the prohibition against monks owning any money.^[9]

Athanasius died in 1207, andJohn XII of Antioch was ordained as his successor; Michael, however continued to contest John, and the schism persisted. According toBar Hebraeus, Michael never gained significant popular support even within his own family, with the notable exception of his brother, Maphrian Jacob, who remained loyal to him.^[6]

Michael died 40 days after his brother in 1215, leading to the eventual resolution of the schism.^[6][4]

Despite the trouble he caused, Michael was a learned and chaste man who composed several books:^[10]

• On theAnnunciation in 21 chapters
• OnChristmas in 125 chapters; fragments of this exist in Tur Abdin at the Sharfeh Monastery
• OnChrist's Entry into Jerusalem in 25 chapters
• OnLent andMaundy Thursday in 16 chapters
• OnGood Friday in 15 chapters, which includes a homily on theWashing of Feet; a copy is inParis, France

He also composed a long liturgy that starts with the phrase, "O Lord, Who art the master of all and the first righteous who has no equal."

• Isaac I of Antioch
• Athanasius Sandalaya
• Ignatius Aphrem II
• Mor Gabriel Monastery
• Church of the East
• Schism of 1552

• Witakowski, Witold (2011).Brock, Sebastian P.; Butts, Aaron Michael;Kiraz, George A.; Rompay, Lucas Van (eds.).Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage.Gorgias Press, LLC.ISBN 9781593337148.
• Barsoum, Ignatius Aphram (2003).The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences. Translated by Moosa, Matti (Second rev. ed.). Piscataway (N. J.):Gorgias Press, LLC.ISBN 1-931956-04-9.
• Matarasso, Omri (2024)."The Syriac Orthodox Church in the Time of the Syriac Renaissance".Church History.93 (1).doi:10.1017/S0009640724000295.ISSN 0009-6407 – viaCambridge University Press.
• Witakowski, Witold (2007-11-01). "Syriac Historiographical Sources". In Whitby, Mary (ed.).Byzantines and Crusaders in Non-Greek Sources, 1025-1204. British Academy.doi:10.5871/bacad/9780197263785.003.0011.ISBN 978-0-19-726378-5.
• Kawerau, Peter (1955).Die jakobitische Kirche im Zeitalter der syrischen Renaissance (in German). De Gruyter.doi:10.1515/9783112470602.ISBN 978-3-11-247060-2.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Wright, William (1894).A Short History of Syriac Literature. Adam and Charles Black.ISBN 978-0-8370-7679-9.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Wilmshurst, David (2019). "West Syrian Patriarchs and Maphrians, 806–813". In King, Daniel (ed.).The Syriac World.Routledge.ISBN 9780367732363.

• 12th-century Oriental Orthodox clergy
• Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch
• 1215 deaths
• People from Malatya
• Schisms in Christianity
• Oriental Orthodoxy

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