Makkikha I

Makkikha's patriarchate

The patriarch Mar Makkikha. This blessed and most pious father was from Baghdad, where he was brought up and educated in the school, and thereafter he began to cultivate continence, chastity and justice, and he also studied the arts of medicine for a while. He was ordained a priest in the church of our lady Mart Maryam in ʿAqaba, and went there every day without wages or emolument. Then, as he progressed in sanctity, the patriarch Mar Sabrishoʿ appointed him bishop of Tirhan, and he governed this diocese for nearly twenty years, administering his flock excellently. He used to expound to them in Arabic the readings from the Old and the New Testament during the services. The Holy Spirit elevated him from grade to grade, and he was summoned by the patriarch Mar ʿAbdishoʿ and appointed metropolitan of Mosul and Hazza. He ruled his flock like the best of shepherds, and although he was a poor man he accepted no gifts from those whom he consecrated bishops. At length, when the patriarchal throne was deprived of its ruler and shepherd, this blessed father was appointed patriarch by the unanimous vote of the electors.