Mor Ahudemmeh^{[nb 1]} (Syriac:ܐܚܘܕܐܡܗ,Arabic:مار احودامه)^[2] was theGrand Metropolitan of the East in theSyriac Orthodox Church from 559 until his execution in 575. He was known as the Apostle of the Arabs,^[3] and is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church.^[4]

Ahudemmeh was born at Balad, northwest ofMosul and then part of theSasanian Empire, to adyophysite family, but became anon-Chalcedonianmiaphysite upon reaching maturity and later became a monk.^[4][5] It was previously asserted that he was the bishop ofNineveh of the same name that had attended the synod of the dyophysite PatriarchJoseph of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in 554, but this has since been refuted.^[4][6] At some point, according to theEcclesiastical History ofJohn of Ephesus, Ahudemmeh and a number of bishops and priests were engaged in a dispute with Joseph and eventually a formal disputation was arranged byShahanshahKhosrow I, who was to act as arbiter.^[7] The dispute may have resulted either from theological or personal differences.^[7] Ahudemmeh led his faction in the debate and argued in favour of miaphysitism, for which Khosrow deemed him to be the victor and granted freedom of worship and permission to build churches.^[7]

In 559 (AG 870), he was ordained as bishop ofBeth Arbaye andGrand Metropolitan of the East by a fellow miaphysite,Jacob Baradaeus, bishop ofEdessa.^[7][8]CatholicosChristopher I of Armenia is attested to have ordained Ahudemmeh as bishop of Beth Arbaye byBar Hebraeus in hisEcclesiastical History, however, this has since been disregarded due to the argument ofFrançois Nau.^[9] It is suggested that he may have already established himself atTikrit by this time.^[4] Ahudemmeh's ordination as Grand Metropolitan of the East thereby cemented the schism within theChurch of the East and established a separate miaphysite ecclesiastical organisation, later known as the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East, in opposition to the dyophysites, who remained the majority amongst Christians in the Sasanian Empire.^[10][11]

He then set about preaching miaphysite Christianity in the region of Beth Arbaye, which stretched from Tikrit in the south toNisibis in the north, bound in the west by theKhabur and theTigris in the east,^[9] and was inhabited by Arab tribes, theTanukh,Banu Uqayl, andTayy.^[5] Ahudemmeh travelled amongst the Arabs, during which time he is credited with a number of miracles, including theexorcism of asheikh's daughter, expulsion of demons from places of worship, purification of lepers, and curing the sick.^[12] At the encampments of the nomadic Arabs, Ahudemmeh preached Christianity, performed baptisms, consecrated a priest and deacon for each community, and established churches named after clan leaders, thus encouraging their participation and leadership.^[12]

Ahudemmeh also constructed a monastery of SaintSergius at ‘Ain Qena, in which he deposited some relics, and another monastery at Ga‘tani, near Qronta, a village opposite Tikrit.^[13][14] The monastery of Saint Sergius was built in imitation of the church of Saint Sergius atResafa inRoman Syria with the intention of attracting Arab pilgrims away from the latter and offered support for travellers and the poor.^[13] It was identified as the ruins of Qasr Sarij, near Balad, byJean Maurice Fiey in 1956, and its construction placed in 565 by David Oates.^[13]Ignatius Jacob III alternatively gives 570 as the year of the monastery's construction.^[15] Dyophysites set the monastery of Saint Sergius aflame, but it was rebuilt and restored by Khosrow.^[7]

He continued his missionary work amongst theMagi at Tikrit and converted a son of Khosrow, who adopted the name George upon his baptism by Ahudemmeh.^[3][5] For this, Ahudemmeh was imprisoned and eventually beheaded on Khosrow's orders on 2 August 575 (AG 886).^[5][14] His body was retrieved and moved to the monastery near Qronta by one of its monks and some of his relics were also later taken to achurch dedicated to him at Tikrit.^[4][10] He was commemorated in ahagiography by an unknown author.^[10]

Ahudemmeh is identified as the author of the same name of several philosophical works, including treatises on the definitions of logic, fate and predestination, the soul, man as a microcosm, and the composition of man’sbody and soul.^[16][17] He is also credited with aSyriac grammatical text, which was based on Greek grammar, attested by the monkJohn bar Zoʿbi at the end of the twelfth century and beginning of the thirteenth.^[18] However, the British scholarSebastian Brock argues against this identification and suggests the authors of the philosophical and grammatical works to be separate individuals of merely the same name.^[6]

Notes

Citations

• Syrian Christian saints
• 6th-century executions
• 6th-century writers
• 6th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops
• People executed by the Sasanian Empire
• Christians in the Sasanian Empire
• 575 deaths
• 6th-century births
• Maphrians
• 6th-century Iranian people
• Christian miracle workers
• Syriac Orthodox Church saints
• 6th-century Syriac Orthodox Church bishops
• Oriental Orthodox missionaries
• People executed by Iran by decapitation
• 6th-century Christian martyrs
• Christian martyrs executed by decapitation
• Executed Iranian people
• Syriac writers

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