The city of Melitene (modern Malatya) was an archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church, attested between the ninth and thirteenth centuries but probably founded as early as the seventh century. More than thirty Syriac Orthodox bishops or metropolitans of Melitene are mentioned either by Michael the Syrian or in other Syriac Orthodox narrative sources. The archdiocese is last mentioned towards the end of the twelfth century, and seems to have lapsed in the early decades of the thirteenth century.
The names of four early Jacobite bishops of Melitene are known. Michael the Syrian provided a cursory list of 28 undated bishops and metropolitans of Melitene, most of whom were Jacobite bishops consecrated between the ninth and twelfth centuries who featured in his regular lists. The first five names (Leontius, Otreius, Acacius, Mama and Domitian) were of bishops who flourished before the seventh century. According to Michael, these men were followed 'long afterwards' by the Jacobite bishops Thomas, Ezekiel, Gregory and Ahron, presumably to be dated to the seventh and eighth centuries.[1]
Twenty dated Jacobite metropolitans of Melitene between the ninth and the twelfth centuries are mentioned in the lists of Michael the Syrian.[2]
| Name | From | Consecrated in the reign of | Place of consecration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel | Monastery of Mar Bar Sawma | not known | ||
| Thomas | Monastery of Mar Bar Sawma | not known | ||
| Thomas | Unspecified | John III (846–73) | not known | |
| Ezekiel | Monastery of Mar Atonos | Ignatius II (878–83) | not known | |
| Eliya | Monastery of Beth Botin | Dionysius II (896–909) | not known | |
| Yohannan | Monastery of Mar Bar Sawma, Melitene | John IV Qurzahli (910–22) | not known | |
| Gregory | Unspecified | Basil I (923–35) | not known | |
| Iwanis | Unspecified | John V (936–53) | not known | |
| Eliya | Monastery of Zuqnin | Iwanis II (954–7) | not known | |
| Ezekiel | Unspecified | Dionysius III (958–61) | not known | |
| Ignatius | Unspecified | John VI Sarigta (965–86) | not known | |
| Iwanis | Monastery of Barid | Athanasius IV Laʿzar (987–1003) | Not known | |
| Ignatius | Monastery of Qainan of Hadeth | John VII bar ʿAbdon (1004–30) | not known | |
| Yohannan | Monastery of Mar Shayna | Dionysius IV Heheh (1032–42) | Not known | |
| Ignatius | Not specified | Athanasius V Haya (1058–64) | not known | |
| Yohannan Saʿid bar Sabuni | Unspecified | Athanasius VI bar Khamara (1091–1129) | Not known | |
| Iwanis Elishaʿ | Unspecified | Athanasius VI bar Khamara (1091–1129) | Marʿash | |
| Ignatius | Unspecified | Athanasius VII bar Qutreh (1139–66) | not known | |
| Dionysius Gripas bar Samka | Patriarchal residence | Michael I (1166–99) | not known | |
| Iwanis bar Qanun | Unspecified | Michael I (1166–99) | not known |
The main primary source for the Syriac Orthodox metropolitans of Melitene is the record of episcopal consecrations appended to Volume III of the Chronicle of the Syriac Orthodox patriarch Michael the Syrian (1166–99). In this Appendix Michael listed most of the bishops consecrated by the Syriac Orthodox patriarchs of Antioch between the ninth and twelfth centuries. Twenty-eight Syriac Orthodox patriarchs sat during this period, and in many cases Michael was able to list the names of the bishops consecrated during their reigns, their monasteries of origin, and the place where they were consecrated. For the thirteenth century, Michael's lists are supplemented by several references in other Syriac Orthodox narrative sources.