Butrus (Peter) Saba was the son of the priest Abu al-Hasan, son of Saliba, son of the priest Behnam of the village of Salah.[3] He was the nephew of the bishops Basil Barsoum and Aziz, archbishop of Salah.[4] Saba was consecrated as archbishop of Salah by the Patriarch Ignatius Ismail of Mardin in 1354, upon which he assumed the name Basil.[5]
In 1364, Ismail heard criticism of Saba from a monk named George, and promptly excommunicated Saba without investigation.[4] Saba attempted to speak with Ismail at the patriarchal residence at the monastery of Saint Ananias, but was rebuked and refused entry.[6] After having waited at the gate of the monastery for three days, he left and rallied support for his cause by writing letters to the bishops of Tur Abdin.[4] Saba returned to the patriarchal residence, accompanied by a number of notables and clergymen, including the bishops Yuhanna Yeshu of Qartmin and Philoxenus of Hah,[4] but he was again refused entry and waited outside the monastery for four days.[6]
Saba's supporters resented Ismail's inaction and proclaimed him as patriarch at his residence at the monastery of Saint Jacob at Salah, in opposition to Ismail's patriarchate of Mardin.[6] He received a decree from al-Malik al-Adil Fakhr al-Din Sulayman I al-Ayyubi, Melik of Hasankeyf, thereby confirming his patriarchate within his domain, and Saba was consecrated as Patriarch of Tur Abdin and Hasankeyf on the Feast of the Transfiguration on 6 August in the same year, upon which he assumed the name Ignatius.[4] Saba's ascension as patriarch of Tur Abdin has been noted to reflect the political division between the Artuqid emirate of Mardin and Ayyubid emirate of Hasankeyf.[7] He served as patriarch of Tur Abdin until his death in 1389, and he was buried at the monastery of Saint Jacob at Salah.[8]
Episcopal succession
As patriarch, Saba ordained the following bishops:[8][9]
Malke, archbishop of Midyat, he was killed in 1393 amidst Timur's invasion.
Yuhanna Tuma of Basibrina, bishop of Qartmin before 1371–1394.
Carlson, Thomas A. (2019). "Syriac in a Diverse Middle East: From the Mongol Ilkhanate to Ottoman dominance, 1286–1517". In Daniel King (ed.). The Syriac World. Routledge. pp. 718–730.
Kiraz, George A. (2011). "Sobo, Ignatius". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts; George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
