List of maphrians

The Maphrian, originally known as the Grand Metropolitan of the East or the Catholicos, was the head of the Maphrianate of the East and was the second highest-ranking prelate within the Syriac Orthodox Church, after the Patriarch of Antioch.^[1] The maphrianate originated as a distinct miaphysite ecclesiastical institution in the Sasanian Empire after the ordination of Ahudemmeh as Grand Metropolitan of the East by Jacob Baradaeus in 559.^[2] However, it claimed to be the legitimate continuation of the Church of the East and counted its leaders prior to the church's adoption of dyophysitism as its own.^[3]^[4]^[5] Sources disagree on the first to use the title of maphrian as Michael the Syrian's Chronicle gives John IV Saliba,^[6] who is believed to have adopted it in c. 1100,^[1] whereas Bar Hebraeus' Ecclesiastical History names Marutha of Tikrit as the first.^[7] Eventually, the Maphrianate of the East was abolished in 1860.^[1]

A separate maphrianate of Tur Abdin under the authority of the Patriarch of Tur Abdin was established in c. 1479 and endured until 1844.^[8] A maphrianate in India was established in 1912, thereby creating the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, but was not recognised by the Syriac Orthodox Church until 1958.^[7] In 1975, Patriarch Ignatius Jacob III withdrew recognition of the maphrian Baselios Augen I, and appointed Baselios Paulose II in his stead.^[7] The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church thus split from the Syriac Orthodox Church which continues to appoint its own maphrians in India.^[7] On March 25, 2025, Baselios Joseph was enthroned as the 81st Maphrian of the Syriac Orthodox Church.^[9]

Grand Metropolitans of the East from 559 to 1075

Unless otherwise stated, all information is from the list provided in The Syriac World, as noted in the bibliography below.^[10] According to church tradition, numeration includes incumbents deemed legitimate by the Syriac Orthodox Church prior to 559.^[11]

Ahudemmeh (559–575)
vacant (575–578)
Qamishoʿ (578–609)
vacant (609–614)
Samuel (614–624)
vacant (624–628/629)
Marutha of Tikrit (628/629–649)^[a]
Denha I (649–659)^[b]
vacant (659–669)
Barishoʿ (669–683)
Abraham I (c. 684)^[c]
David (c. 684–c. 686)
John I Saba (686–688)
Denha II (688–727)
Paul I (728–757)
John II Kionoyo (759–785)
Joseph I (785–c. 790)
vacant (c. 790–793)
Sharbil (793–ca. 800)
Simon (c. 800–c. 815)^[d]
Basil I (c. 815–829)
Daniel (829–834)
Thomas (834–847)
Basil II Lazarus I (848–858)^[16]
Melchisedec (858–868)
vacant (869–872)
Sergius (872–883)
vacant (883–887)
Athanasius I (887–903)
vacant (904–c. 910)
Thomas (910–911)
Denha III (913–933)
vacant (933–937)
Basil III (937–961)
Cyriacus (962–980)
John III (981–988)
vacant (988–991)
Ignatius I bar Qiqi (991–1016)
vacant (1016–1027)
Athanasius II (1027–1041)
vacant (1041–1046)
Basil IV (1046–1069)
vacant (1069–1075)

Maphrians of the East from 1075 to 1859

John IV Saliba (1075–1106)
vacant (1106–1112)
Dionysius I Moses (1112–1142)
Ignatius II Lazarus II (1142–1164)
John V Sarugoyo (1164–1188)
Gregory I Jacob (1189–1214)
Dionysius bar Masih (1189–1190)^[e]
Ignatius III David (1215–1222)
Dionysius II Saliba I (1222–1231)^[18]
John VI bar Maʿdani (1232–1252)
Ignatius IV Saliba (1253–1258)
vacant (1258–1263)
Gregory II bar Hebraeus (1264–1286)
vacant (1286–1288)
Gregory III Barsawmo (1288–1308)^[f]
vacant (1308–1317)
Gregory IV Matthew (1317–1345)^[g]
vacant (1345–1360)

Gregory V Dioscorus (1360–1361)^[h]

vacant (1361–1364)
Athanasius III Abraham (1364–1379)^[i]
vacant (1379–1404)
Basil Behnam I (1404–1412)
vacant (1412–1415)
Dioscorus Behnam Shatti (1415–1417)^[j]
vacant (1417–1422)
Basil Barsawmo II (1422–1455)^[24]
vacant (1455–1458)

Cyril Joseph II (1458–c. 1470)
Basil ʿAziz (1471–1487)
vacant (1487–1490)
Basil Noah (1490–1494)
vacant (1494–1496)
Basil Abraham III (1496–1507)^[25]
vacant (1507–1509)
Basil Solomon (1509–1518)
Basil Athanasius Habib (1518–1533)
Basil Elias I (1533–c. 1554)
Basil Ni'matallah (1555–1557)
Basil ʿAbd al-Ghani I al-Mansuri (1557–1575)^[26]
Basil Pilate (1575–1591)
Elias II (c. 1590)
Basil ʿAbd al-Ghani II (1591–1597)
Basil Peter Hadaya (1597–1598)
vacant (c. 1598–c. 1624)
Basil Isaiah (c. 1624–1635/c. 1646)^[k]
Basil Simon (1635–1639)
Basil Shukrallah (1639–1652)
Basil Behnam III (1653–1655)^[29]
Basil Abdulmasih (1655–c. 1658)
Basil Habib (c. 1658–c. 1671)
Basil Yeldo (c. 1671–1683)
Basil George (1683–1686)
Basil Isaac (1687–1709)
Basil Lazarus III (1709–1713)
Basil Matthew II (1713–1727)
Basil Simon (c. 1727–c. 1729)
Basil Lazarus IV (1730–1759)^[30]
Basil Shukrallah (1748–1764)^[l]
Basil George (1760–1768)
vacant (1768–1783)
Basil Sliba (1783–1790)
Basil Bishara (1790–1817)
Basil Yunan (c. 1803–c. 1809)
Basil Cyril (c. 1803–c. 1811)
Basil ʿAbd al-ʿAziz (c. 1803)
Basil Matthew (1820–c. 1825)
Basil Elias III Karmeh (1825–1827)^[32]
Basil Elias IV ʿAnkaz (1827–1839)^[33]
Basil Behnam IV (1839–1859)

Maphrians of Tur Abdin from c. 1479 to 1844

Basil (c. 1479)
vacant (c. 1479–1495)
Basil Malke (1495–1510)
vacant (1510–1537)
Basil Abraham (1537–1543)
vacant (1543–1555)
Basil Simon I (1549–1555)
vacant (1555–1561)
Basil Behnam (1561–1562)
vacant (1562–1650)
Basil Habib Haddad (1650–1674)
vacant (1674–c. 1688)
Basil Lazarus (c. 1688–c. 1701)
vacant (c. 1701–1710)
Basil Simon II (1710–1740)
Basil Denha Baltaji (1740–1779)
Basil ʿAbdallah Yahya (1779–1784)
Simon (1786)
Sliba al-ʿAttar (1779–1815)
Basil Barsawmo (1815–1830)
Basil ʿAbd al-Ahad Kindo (1821–1844)

Maphrians of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church from 1912 to 1964

Baselios Paulose I (1912–1913)^[m]
vacant (1913–1925)
Baselios Geevarghese I (1925–1928)
Baselios Geevarghese II (1929–1964)

Maphrians of the East since 1964

Baselios Augen I (1964–1975)^[n]
Baselios Paulose II (1975–1996)^[o]
vacant (1996–2002)
Baselios Thomas I (2002–2024)^[35]
Baselios Joseph I (2025–present)

List of maphrians