The Patriarchal Province of Seleucia-Ctesiphon was an ecclesiastical province of the patriarch of the Church of the East. Its metropolitan see was in Seleucia-Ctesiphon, near Al-Mada’in in modern Iraq. It existed from the fifth to the thirteenth centuries. The province consisted of a number of dioceses in the region of Asoristan between Basra and Kirkuk which were placed under the patriarch's direct supervision at the synod of Yahballaha I in 420.
Background According to Eliya of Damascus, there were thirteen dioceses in the province of the patriarch in 893:Assemani, BO, ii. 458–9
Kashkar, al-Tirhan (Tirhan) Dair Hazql (an alternative name for al-Nuʿmaniya, the chief town in the diocese of Zabe) Al-Hira (Hirta) Al-Anbar (Piroz Shabur) Al-Sin (Shenna d'Beth Ramman) ʿUkbara A-Radhan Nifr Al-Qasra 'Ba Daraya Ba Kusaya' (Beth Daraye) ʿAbdasi (Nahargur) Al-Buwazikh (Konishabur or Beth Waziq)
Eight of these dioceses already existed in the Sasanian period, but the diocese of Beth Waziq is first mentioned in the second half of the seventh century, and the dioceses of ʿUkbara, Radhan, Nifr and Qasr were probably founded in the ninth century. The diocese of Nahargur was in the province of Maishan during the Sassanian period, and it is not known when or why it was transferred to the diocese of the patriarch. The first bishop of ʿUkbara whose name has been recorded, Hakima, was consecrated by the patriarch Sargis around 870, and bishops of Qasr, Radhan and Nifr are first mentioned in the tenth century. A bishop of 'Qasr and Nahrawan' became patriarch in 963, and then consecrated bishops for Radhan and for 'Nifr and Nil'. Eliya's list helps to confirm the impression given by the literary sources, that the East Syrian communities in Beth Aramaye were at their most prosperous in the tenth century.
A partial list of bishops present at the consecration of the patriarch Yohannan IV in 900 included several bishops from the province of the patriarch, including the bishops of Zabe and Beth Daraye and also the bishops Ishoʿzkha of 'the Gubeans', Hnanishoʿ of Delasar, Quriaqos of Meskene and Yohannan 'of the Jews'. The last four dioceses are not mentioned elsewhere and cannot be satisfactorily localised.MS Paris BN Syr 354, folio 147
In the eleventh century decline began to set in. The diocese of Hirta (al-Hira) came to an end, and four other dioceses were combined into two: Nifr and al-Nil with Zabe (al-Zawabi and al-Nuʿmaniya), and Beth Waziq (al-Buwazikh) with Shenna d'Beth Ramman (al-Sin).
Three more dioceses ceased to exist in the twelfth century. The dioceses of Piroz Shabur (al-Anbar) and Qasr and Nahrawan are last mentioned in 1111, and the senior diocese of Kashkar in 1176. In 1139, at the consecration ceremony of the patriarch ʿAbdishoʿ III, a bishop from the province of Nisibis was required to proclaim the new patriarch's name, 'because all the bishops of the grand eparchy [Beth Aramaye] had died and their thrones were vacant; something which had never happened before'.Mari, 157 (Arabic), 133 (Latin)
The trend of decline continued in the thirteenth century. The diocese of Zabe and Nil is last mentioned during the reign of Yahballaha II (1190–1222), and the diocese of ʿUkbara in 1222. Only three dioceses are known to have been still in existence at the end of the thirteenth century: Beth Waziq and Shenna, Beth Daron and (perhaps due to its sheltered position between the Tigris and the Jabal Hamrin) Tirhan. However, East Syrian communities may also have persisted in districts which no longer had bishops: a manuscript of 1276 was copied by a monk named Giwargis at the monastery of Mar Yonan 'on the Euphrates, near Piroz Shabur which is Anbar', nearly a century and a half after the last mention of a bishop of Anbar.MS Harvard Syr 27
Dioceses
Seleucia-Ctesiphon The first bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon whose historical existence is not in doubt was Papa bar Aggai, who was consecrated around 280. At a turbulent synod convened at Seleucia-Ctesiphon in 315, Papa secured grudging recognition from the other Persian bishops of the primacy of the diocese of Seleucia-Ctesiphon.Wigram, 47–55
Kashkar
According to legend, the diocese of Kashkar was the oldest diocese in Persia. It was said to have been founded by the apostle Mari in the first century, several decades before the establishment of a diocese in the Persian capital Seleucia-Ctesiphon.Mari, 5 (Arabic) (ed. Gismondi) Although a first-century foundation date is highly unlikely, the diocese of Kashkar was certainly one of the oldest dioceses of the Church of the East. The antiquity of the diocese and its claim to an apostolic foundation were recognised at the synod of Isaac in 410, when it was ranked second after the patriarchal diocese of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and its bishop was appointed guardian of the patriarchal throne ().Chabot, 272
The earliest-known bishop of Kashkar was ʿAbdishoʿ, who was one of several Persian bishops who opposed the claim to precedence put forward by the bishop Papa of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in 315.Chronicle of Seert, i. 26 The last-known bishop of Kashkar was Sabrishoʿ, who was transferred from the diocese of Qaimar to Kashkar by the patriarch Eliya III (1176–90).Sliba, 111 (Arabic) By 1222 the guardianship of the vacant patriarchal throne, for centuries a privilege of the bishops of Kashkar, was in the hands of the metropolitans of Beth Huzaye.Wilmshurst, The Martyred Church, 34–5, 116–17, 159–60 and 214
Hirta The East Syrian diocese of Hirta (, ) is first attested in 410, but may have been a fourth-century foundation. Its last-known bishop, Yohannan Bar Nazuk, became patriarch in 1012.
The bishop Hosea of Hirta was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Isaac in 410.Chabot, 275
The bishop Shemʿon of 'Hirta d'Tayyaye' ('Hirta of the Arabs') was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Dadishoʿ in 424.Chabot, 285
The bishop Shemʿon of Hirta was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Acacius in 486.Chabot, 306
The bishop Eliya of Hirta was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Babaï in 497.Chabot, 315
The bishop Joseph of Hirta was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Ishoʿyahb I in 585.Chabot, 423
The bishop Sabrishoʿ of Hirta flourished in the reign of the patriarch Gregory (605–9). He was a contemporary of the East Syrian monk Rabban Khudahwi, and helped him build the monastery of Beth Hale.Chronicle of Seert, ii. 272
The bishop Sargis of Hirta was among the bishops present at the deathbed of the patriarch Ishoʿyahb III in 659.Sliba, 56–7 (Arabic)
The bishop Yohannan Zaroqa ('the Blue') of Hirta flourished during the last decade of the seventh century and the first four decades of the eighth century. In the patriarchal election of 731 he refused to stand himself, and transferred his support to the bishop Aba of Kashkar (the future patriarch Aba II).Mari, 66 (Arabic), 58 (Latin) In 741 he arranged a welcome for the newly elected patriarch Aba II in Hirta.Mari, 66–7 (Arabic), 58–9 (Latin)
The bishop Joel of Hirta was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Timothy I in 790.Chabot, 607
The bishop Hnanishoʿ Bar Saroshwai of Hirta flourished at the beginning of the ninth century. He was the author of a lost lexicon, whose contents were incorporated almost entire into the more famous tenth-century lexicon of Abu'l Hassan Bar Bahlul.Wright, A Short History of Syriac Literature, 228
The bishop Joseph of al-Hira (Hirta) was appointed metropolitan of Maishan during the reign of the patriarch Mari (987–99).Sliba, 94 (Arabic)
The patriarch Yohannan VI Bar Nazuk was bishop of Hirta before his consecration as patriarch on 19 November 1012.Elijah of Nisibis, Chronography, i. 35.
Zabe (al-Nuʿmaniya) The bishop Miles of Zabe was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Isaac in 410.
The bishop Zebida of Zabe was one of eleven named bishops listed in the acts of the synod of Dadishoʿ in 424 as having been reproved at the synods of Isaac in 410 and Yahballaha I in 420.Chabot, 287
The secretary Shila was among the signatories of the acts of the synods of Acacius in 486 (as a deacon) and Babai in 497 (as a priest), on behalf of the bishop Mihrnarsai of Zabe.Chabot, 306 and 316
The bishop Mirhnarse of Zabe was among the bishops who rallied to the patriarch Mar Aba I in 540 and signed his Pragmatic.Chabot, 330–1 He was also among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Mar Aba I in 544.Chabot, 350–1
The bishop Ezekiel of Zabe (al-Zawabi) was appointed by the patriarch Joseph (552–67) and succeeded him as patriarch in 570.Chronicle of Seert, ii. 86–7 and 89
The bishop Babai of Zabe was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Ezekiel in 576.Chabot, 368
The bishop Abraham of Zabe was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Ishoʿyahb I in 585.
The bishop Gregory of Zabe was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Timothy I in 790.Chabot, 608
The bishop Shlemun of Zabe (al-Zawabi) was appointed metropolitan of Fars during the reign of the patriarch Mari (987–99).
The patriarch Yohannan IV was bishop of Zabe before his election and consecration as patriarch on 11 September 900, and on the day of his consecration he consecrated his disciple Abraham bishop of Zabe in his place.Elijah of Nisibis, Chronography, i. 93 and MS Paris BN Syr 354, folio 147.
Beth Daraye The bishop 'Sasar' of Beth Daraye was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of in 424.
The bishop Qisa of 'Qoni' (identified by Fiey with the monastery of Qunni in Beth Daraye) was one of eleven named bishops listed in the acts of the synod of Dadishoʿ in 424 as having been reproved at the synods of Isaac in 410 and Yahballaha I in 420.
The bishop Yazdegerd of 'Darai' was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Acacius in 486.
The secretary Marqos was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Babai in 497, on behalf of the bishop Brikhishoʿ of Beth Daraye.
The bishop Marqos of Beth Daraye was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Mar Aba I in 544.
The bishop Yohannan of Beth Daraye was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Joseph in 554.Chabot, 366
The bishop ʿAbda of Beth Daraye was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Gregory in 605.Chabot, 479
The bishop Daniel of Beth Daraye was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Timothy I in 790.
The bishop Mikha'il of Beth Daraye was present at the consecration of the patriarch Yohannan IV in 900.
The bishop Shemʿon, metropolitan of Beth Garmaï when Elijah of Nisibis completed his Chronography in 1018/19, was originally bishop of Beth Daraye and later bishop of Kashkar.
An unnamed bishop of 'Ba Daraya and Ba Kusaya' was present at the consecration of the patriarch Eliya I in 1028.Mari, 118 (Arabic), 104 (Latin)
Dasqarta d'Malka The bishop Sharbil of Dasqarta d'Malka was one of eleven named bishops listed in the acts of the synod of Dadishoʿ in 424 as having been reproved at the synods of Isaac in 410 and Yahballaha I in 420.
Piroz Shabur (Anbar) The bishop Mushe of Piroz Shabur was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Acacius in 486.Chabot, 307
The priest Yohannan was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Babai in 497, on behalf of the bishop Shamaʿ of Piroz Shabur.
The bishop Shemʿon of Piroz Shabur was among the bishops who rallied to the patriarch Mar Aba I in 540 and signed his Pragmatic.Chabot, 330-1 He was also among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Joseph in 554. He was later arrested and imprisoned by Joseph, and eventually died in prison.Chronicle of Seert, ii. 85–6
The bishop Marai of Piroz Shabur was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Ezekiel in 576.
The bishop Shemʿon of Piroz Shabur was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Gregory in 605.