ARAM, 9-10 (1997-1998), 577-587C.M. WALBINER 577 BISHOPS AND METROPOLITANS OF THE ANTIOCHIAN PATRIARCHATE IN THE 17th CENTURY (THEIR RELATIONS TO THE MUSLIM AUTHORITIES, THEIR CULTURAL ACTIVITIES AND THEIR ETHNIC BACKGROUND) CARSTEN-MICHAEL WALBINER 1. INTRODUCTION There are two good reasons for limiting this study to the 17th century. On one hand several sources of mainly Arab origin allow a nearly complete recon- struction of the notitiae, the lists of the espicopal sees, for this century;1 on the other hand these sources provide interesting biographical material about the in- cumbents which is not available in this abundance for earlier periods. In addition, one should not forget that the 17th century is of special impor- tance for the history of the Melkites. It became the starting point for a process of cultural revival amongst the Arab Christians. Greek Orthodox metropolitans and patriarchs like Meletius Za¨im, Meletius Karmah and Athanasius ad- Dabbas were the early protagonists of this movement.2 In the field of Church policy the 17th century has to be recognised as the eve of the splitting of the Antiochian patriarchate into an Orthodox and a Catholic branch, which finally became reality in 1724.3 In both spheres – that of culture and that of Church policy – the development was influenced by intensified relations with Euro- pean powers and institutions as well as with the Orthodox East. I shall mention 1 On these sources see my article, “Die Bischofs- und Metropolitensitze des griechisch- orthodoxen Patriarchats von Antiochia von 1594 bis 1664 nach einigen zeitgenössischen Quellen”, in Oriens Christianus, 82 (1998), pp. 99-152. 2 On the literary activities of the Melkites in the 17th century, cf. Joseph Nasrallah, Histoire du mouvement littéraire dans l’Eglise Melchite du Ve au XXe siècle, Vol. IV/1, (Louvain, 1979); Georg Graf, Geschichte der christlichen arabischen Literatur, Dritter Band: Die Schriftsteller von der Mitte des 15. bis zum Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts (Melchiten, Maroniten), (Studi e Testi, 146, Città del Vaticano,1949). On the culture of the Arab Christians in general, cf. Bernard Heyberger, Les Chrétiens du Proche-Orient au temps de la réforme catholique (Syrie, Liban, Palestine, XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles), (Rome, 1994), pp. 139ff. 3 On the history of the Antiochian patriarchate in the 17th century, cf. Joseph Nasrallah, Chronologie des Patriarches Melchites d’Antioche de 1500 à 1634, (Jerusalem, 1959 = Extrait de Proche-Orient Chrétien, 1956-1957); Asad Rustum, Kanisat madinat Allah An†akiyah al- ¨u†ma, al-guzˆ a†-†ali† (1453-1928), (Beirut, 1988); Îrisustumus Babadubulus, TariÌ kanisat An†akiyah, (Beirut, 1984). For the schism, cf. especially Heyberger, Les Chrétiens, pp. 225ff. and Abdallah Raheb, Conception de l'Union dans le patriarcat orthodoxe d'Antioche, 1622-1672, (Beirut, 1981). 578 BISHOPS AND METROPOLITANS OF THE ANTIOCHIAN PATRIARCHATE only the similarly increasing numbers of European diplomats and missionaries in the Levant, the probable increase in the number of visits of Oriental clerics to Europe for reasons of study, work, teaching and politics,4 and not least the journeys of some high ranking representatives of the Antiochian patriarchate to the bilad al-masiÌiyin, the Orthodox principalities and kingdoms in the Bal- kans, the Caucasus and Russia.5 Shortness of time obliges me to limit myself to just a few aspects. So after a brief description of the geographical extent of the Antiochian patriarchate in the 17th century, three main issues will be discussed. The first of these is the relations of the bishops with the local Muslim authorities. I will make no distinction between bishops and metropolitans, as the latter's rank was only one of honour and did not imply any real power over suffragans. The second is the contribution of the bishops to the cultural life and production of the Melkite community. The third is the ethnic origin of the different incumbents, which leads to the question of to what degree the patriarchate of Antioch was “Hellenized” or “Graecized” in the 17th cen- tury. 2. THE GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT OF THE ANTIOCHIAN PATRIARCHATE IN THE 17th CENTURy In a work on the saints of his patriarchate, patriarch Macarius ibn az-Za¨i¨m names as parts of the Antiochian diocese: “Antioch, Syria, Arabia, I mean Îauran and its regions, Phoenicia which is Tripolis as-Sam, at-™agr which is Cilicia, I mean Adana and what belongs to it till the river Euphrates and [the city of] Edessa and all that is between the rivers and within that (region), I mean Amid [Diyarbakir], NuÒaibin and Babel and what be- longs to them with the Smaller and Greater Armenia and their dependencies with the Georgians and up to the extremities of the East…”6 By the days of Macarius (1647-1672) the time when the patriarch of Antioch was really the ecclesiastical master of “the whole east”, as his official 4 On the these relations between East and West, cf. Heyberger, Les Chrétiens, p. 183ff. 5 For the travels of Macarius Ibn az-Za¨im, cf. Basile Radu, (ed.), Voyage du Patriarche Macaire d’Antioche, (Patrologia Orientalis, XXII, fasc. 1; XXIV, fasc. 4; XXVI, fasc. 5, Paris, 1930; 1933; 1949); F. C. Belfour, (ed.), The Travels of Macarius, Patriarch of Antioch: Written by his Attendant Archdeacon, Paul of Aleppo, in Arabic, Part the Third, The Cossack Country and Muscovy, (London, 1832); Qus†an†in al-Basa, (ed.), “NuÌbah min safrat al-ba†riyark Makariyus al-Îalabi bi-qalam waladihi as-sammas Bulus”, al-Masarrah, 3 (1912/13), pp. 81-88, 162-168, 212-222, 260-264, 418-464, 457-461, 500-506, 657-661, 739-747 and 4 (1913/14), pp. 168-178, 223-228, 253-261, 332-340, 369-373; Carsten-Michael Walbiner, Die Mitteilungen des griechisch-orthodoxen Patriarchen Makarius Ibn az-Za¨im von Antiochia (1647-1672) über Georgien nach dem arabischen Autograph von St. Petersburg, (Ph.D. thesis, Leipzig, 1994). 6 Ms. Rome, Apostolic Library, vat. ar. 622, fol. 1v. Cf. also Michel Abras, “Vie des saints d'Antioche de Makariyus Ibn al-Za¨im, Patriarche d'Antioche (1647-1672)”, Parole de l'Orient, 21 (1996), p. 288. C.M. WALBINER 579 title still suggests, was long past. With the exception of Payas, Erzerum and Diyarbakir, all episcopal sees of the patriarchate were then situated in the terri- tories of modern Lebanon and Syria. The number of bishoprics varied. In the 17th century we know of twenty, and in 1635 seventeen of them were occu- pied. Nearly every larger city of bilad as-Sam had its Melkite bishop, which is a clear indication of the urban concentration of the Melkites. The most impor- tant rural settlement areas were the Kurah of Tripoli and the Qalamun moun- tain north of Damascus. In the Qalamun region, the 17th century witnessed a decrease in the number of believers which led to the giving up of Qara as an episcopal see and to the irregular appointment of bishops to Ma¨lula and Yabrud.7 As far as the numbers of Melkites are concerned, we do not have reliable information. It seems, however, that 700 families were enough to justify and sustain a bishop, as was the case in the diocese of Erzerum.8 3. THE BISHOPS AND THEIR RELATIONS TO THE LOCAL MUSLIM AUTHORITIES Bishops were elected by the patriarch, who very often followed the propos- als of the clergymen and the laity of the dioceses concerned. Approval of the Muslim authorities was – in contrast to the election of a patriarch – not needed. Nevertheless, the sources give evidence of occasional interference on the part of local rulers in the election of bishops. The semi-autonomous poten- tates of Lebanon, the banu Saifa in Tripolis and emir FaÌr ad-Din, exercised an influence on the ecclesiastical affairs of their Melkite subjects in the first decades of the 17th century. The story of Joachim may serve as an example. He was elected some time after 1619 as metropolitan of Tripoli, the centre of the rule of the banu Saifa. Macarius Ibn az-Za¨im reports that it was Jacob, the brother of the mentioned Joachim, who prompted Ibn Saifa to make his brother metropolitan of the city. Jacob was – it seems – the personal physician to the ruler and enjoyed his con- fidence. The Pasha ordered the bishops of Hama, Homs and al-ÎiÒn to come to Tripoli and consecrate Joachim, which they did. This deed was, in the eyes of Macarius, “a violation of the law and not allowed, because it happened with- out a certificate of the patriarch.”9 As long as interests of the local powers were involved, however, the Christians could not do much against it. Calami- ties came for Joachim from another direction. When the troops of FaÌr ad-Din conquered Tripolis in 1624 and put an end to the rule of the banu Saifa, 7 Cf. Walbiner, “Die Bischofs- und Metropolitensitze”, pp. 134, 130f., 144f. 8 Cf. Walbiner, “Die Bischofs- und Metropolitensitze”, p. 121. 9 Cf. Walbiner, “Die Bischofs- und Metropolitensitze”, p. 142f. 580 BISHOPS AND METROPOLITANS OF THE ANTIOCHIAN PATRIARCHATE Joachim had to flee. He took refuge in the monastery of Îama†urah, where he had been monk before his election as bishop. His opponents captured both him and the bishop of al-ÎiÒn, who had evidently also fled to that monastery. They handed them over to the soldiers of FaÌr ad-Din. Both prelates were then sent to Beirut, where they were imprisoned for 49 days. Finally they paid 200 and 100 piasters respectively, and were set free.10 How large the influence of FaÌr ad-Din was is illustrated by the fact that in 1628 he could order all bishops of the Antiochian patriarchate to assemble in Raas Baalbek for a synod.