Youhana Sa’id Bar Sabuni 

Youhana Sa’id Bar Sabuni 

Youhana Sa’id was one of the few eminent men of rhetoric, well versed in theology and philosophy. He was born and raised in Melitene and became a monk of the Monastery of 'Arnish where acquired a great deal of Syriac, Greek, and other philosophical sciences. He was ordained a metropolitan of Melitene by the name of Youhana in the year 1095. He had not been in his new position for forty days when he was murdered, unjustly and arbitrarily, by Gabriel the Greek governor on the fourth day of July. He died in the prime of his youth but divine justice took revenge on the tyrant, who was ignobly murdered six or seven years later.

Bar Hebraeus said; "Sa’id and his brother Abu Ghalib were the most distinguished of the people in their time." He also nicknamed Sa’id as "The Writer of Sedros " and "The saint and doctor who is most astonishing." 

Following is a list of his writings:

• Fifteen most eloquent husoyos in one hundred twenty pages of medium size. Two of the husoyos for the feast of Mar Barsoum, one for the evening, alphabetically written backward and forward. It also includes a supplication, each verse of which begins with a letter of the author's name; a husoyo for each one of the mornings of the Sunday of the Dead, the Wednesday of King Abgar, the Thursday of the fourth week of Lent; two husoyos for the forty martyrs; four dialectical husoyos, one for the evening of the feast of St. George, beginning thus: "Unceasing praises," one for the Dispensation of our Lord, one for the mornings of the eighth Sunday after the Resurrection, as well as the Transfiguration, beginning thus: "Praise Him who does exist" and one for the festival of the Cross, in which he achieved a great degree of excellence. The introductory phrases of the first three husoyos show their philosophical style. In the last two husoyos, he incorporated Greek words. The remaining husoyos are: one for the morning of the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, one for the evening of Tuesday of the fifth week of Lent and one for Pentecost.

• Hymns known as the Canons, for the assumption of the monastic habit, composed on the second melody of the canons of the festival of Epiphany beginning thus: "Good Lord, Thou has strengthened our weak nature." In this one, he mentioned his own name. 

• The order of blessing of the branches on Palm Sunday. Also he vocalized and corrected the order of the Prostration for Pentecost. 

• Revision of the annual calendar of the festival of saints by Jacob of Edessa, to which he added feasts such as those of John Bar 'Abdun the Confessor, Patriarch of Antioch, in the year 1030. 

• A resounding ode which he composed on the twelfth meter, in which he mentioned the virtues of the saint and malphono, Jacob of Sarug and elaborated on his praise, in an answer to a request of 'Abda, bishop of Kharshana, who was a virtuous old man and who had resigned from his diocese. This ode, comprising two hundred twenty-nine lines and filling forty-two pages, is excellently composed and since the composer followed the same style of preceding excellent poets, turned out to be one of the finest odes. The lines of this ode are alphabetically arranged with repetition in the beginning. In the copy of the Jerusalem MS. it begins thus, "O storehouse of treasures from which all those in need shall be enriched," while in the copy of Basibrina it begins thus, "O munificent God from whom all the needy shall be enriched." In this copy, this ode has no rhyme except in some places where rhyme has been perfunctorily and seldom used. This copy comprises eight pages, the rest of which is imperfect. The first copy is complete and was written in the twelfth century. In it the name of the composer is mentioned as "a stranger poet." On its margin is the following statement in the handwriting of Metropolitan Sergius of Hah, "This stranger is Bar Sabuni, the author of magnificent husoyos, as I have read in an ancient manuscript." The copyist, however, erroneously mentioned that the author composed this ode in November of the year of the Greeks 1405, corresponding to 1143, to which he undoubtedly added fifty years. The correct date is 1405 of the Greeks, corresponding to A.D. 1093. The evidence can be deduced from the forty-second line of the ode, which states that 570 years have passed since the death of the Malphono (Jacob of Sarug). And if you add this number to 522—because the Malphono passed away on the twenty-ninth day of November, the total will be A.D. 1092. That John composed this ode while in the prime of youth is attested by his statement in the 132nd line, "How could I equate myself with the rank and knowledge of this great doctor, since I am insignificant, weak, young and of little knowledge." Therefore, we are of the opinion that when he was murdered he was not exactly forty years of age but he was in the fourth decade of age. He also denied that one of his disciples eulogized Jacob of Sarug, as is stated by him in the forty-second line, "570 years have passed since the time of the Malphono (Jacob of Sarug); how many erudite masters have shone and how many wise men have achieved fame but they dared not eulogize him because they found him far above their praise. Following is a part of the content of this excellent ode. 

The Malphono (Jacob of Sarug) was the one who invented the dodecasyllabic meter, which is the longest meter in Greek as well as Sytiac poetry (line 80); he received the gift of the Holy Spirit in his youth (line 94); Severus the Patriarch of Antioch examined his learning ability (line 140); he informed him about Simon the Potter and the Patriarch encouraged both of them to compose poetry (line 145) 

In line 158 and the lines following it, he said: God caused the springs of wisdom to erupt through the tongue of Mar Jacob and he poured forth his memre. From these memre you would learn the profound secrets of the language, the miraculous classes of beings and their governor- man, the mysteries of the doctrines of monotheism, the Trinity and the Incarnation. You would also know about the description of prophets, apostles and martyrs.

And if you were someone who is stricken by sins you will find in his songs thousands of remedies and consolation. Those who read his poems will be awed, yet they are so excellent that people cannot emulate them. You will also discover that in his poems he admonishes worshipping men not to leave the church before the end of the divine liturgy and from beautifying themselves. He also admonishes noble women to carry with their own hands the flour for making the eucharistic bread to church and not send it with their maids. He also taught people to say grace before meals and composed poems about the most important events in both Testaments, the annunciation of the apostles, the councils of Nicaea and Constantinople, the Queen Helen and seven poems of refutation of the Jews.

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