Saka, Yaʿqub (1864–1931) [Syr. Orth.]
Minor writer, scribe, and educator. He was born in Barṭelle to Buṭros b. Saka in 1864/5 and studied Syr. under the Chaldean priest Buṭros al-Karmalīsi. He was ordained a deacon in 1906, and a priest in 1929. He taught at the school of Dayro d-Mor Matay from 1926 to 1928. His students include Patr. Ignatius Yaʿqub III and Bp. Boulos Behnam. Saka died of cancer in 1931. He was a master scribe and produced over 70 mss., found now mostly in churches and monasteries in Iraq.
His Syriac writings consist of poems (ms. Syr. Orth. Patr. Libr.). He presented a 200-page ms. of his poems to Afram Barsoum; a second copy was preserved in Barṭelle. Selections of Saka’s poems were published by Isḥaq Saka in mimre mgabayo (1945) and in Qaṣāʾid mukhtāra (1958).
Sources
- Abūna, Adab, 609–10.
- Barsoum, Scattered pearls, 523–4.
- Macuch, Geschichte, 433–4.
- Munūfar Barṣūm, Aḍwāʾ, 35–6.
- I. Saka, History of the Syrian Orthodox Church (1983–86), vol. 4, 162–6. (in Arabic)
How to Cite This Entry
Footnote Style Citation with Date:
George A. Kiraz , “Saka, Yaʿqub,” in Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition, edited by Sebastian P. Brock, Aaron M. Butts, George A. Kiraz and Lucas Van Rompay (Gorgias Press, 2011; online ed. Beth Mardutho, 2018), https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Saka-Yaqub.
Bibliography Entry Citation:
Kiraz, George A. “Saka, Yaʿqub.” In Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Edited by Sebastian P. Brock, Aaron M. Butts, George A. Kiraz and Lucas Van Rompay. Digital edition prepared by David Michelson, Ute Possekel, and Daniel L. Schwartz. Gorgias Press, 2011; online ed. Beth Mardutho, 2018. https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Saka-Yaqub.
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