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Athanasius I Gamlo
He was one of the best Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch because of his zeal, piety, and good judgment. Natives of Samosata, Athanasius and his brother Severus, were brought up after the death of their father by their pious and virtuous mother. Later, the two brothers became monks at the Monastery of Qenneshrin. At the monastery, Athanasius was known as the “Gamolo” (camel driver in Syriac), because of his assignment to carry salt for one year on camels from the salt mine at Gabbul to his monastery, in compliance with its regulations. He was chosen a Patriarch for the See of St. Peter, which he administered from 595 to 631, or according to another account, from 604 to 631. He died in the year 631.
Athanasius wrote three noble general letters: one addressed to Quryaqos, metropolitan of Amid, describing the unity which he held with the See of Alexandria, the second letter was to the abbot and monks of St. Matthew's monastery and the third letter to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, in which he refuted the heresy of John Grammaticus. He also wrote a discourse containing the biography of Severus of Antioch in which he elaborated on his struggle. This biography, which the original Syriac of which has been lost, survives in the Ethiopic translation, which was rendered into English and published by Goodspeed. It was also mentioned by the historians of the Patriarchs of Alexandria.
Sources:
Patriarch Ignatius Aphram I Barsoum (2003), The Scattered Pearls, A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, Translated and Edited by Matti Moosa, New Jersey
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