Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo
Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1445 until his death in 1454.Biography
Behnam was born at Ḥadl in the Tur Abdin in the 14th century, and was the son of John of the Habbo Kanni family of Bartella. He became a monk at the Monastery of Saint Gabriel, and was later ordained a priest. Behnam was consecrated as maphrian in 1404, and assumed the name Baselios. As maphrian, he may have resided at the Monastery of Saint Matthew near Mosul for the entirety of the duration of his term or only for intervals. He was elected as the successor of Ignatius Abraham bar Garib as patriarch of Mardin at a synod at the Monastery of Saint Ananias, and was consecrated on 24 July 1412 by Dioscorus Behnam Shatti, Archbishop of the Monastery of Saint Malke, upon which he assumed the name Ignatius.
In 1444, union with the Roman Catholic Church was negotiated and signed at Rome by 'Abd-Allah of Edessa on behalf of Behnam. After the death of the Patriarch Baselius IV Simon in 1445, Behnam travelled to Jerusalem to prevent the election of a successor so to heal the schism between the rival patriarchates of Antioch and Mardin that had endured since 1293. He successfully convinced the bishops formerly under Baselius IV to acclaim him as Patriarch of Antioch, thus restoring unity to the church under his authority. In the aftermath of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, relations with the Catholic Church became untenable, and consequently Behnam's union as signed in 1444 was renounced. He served as patriarch of Antioch until his death on 10 December 1454, and was buried at the Monastery of Saint Ananias.Works
Behnam wrote ten books of propitiatory prayers, eleven poems, an anaphora, and a compilation of selections from the commentary of Daniel of Salah.
