Ahudemmeh was the Grand Metropolitan of the East in the Syriac Orthodox Church from 559 until his execution in 575.
12 Facts About Ahudemmeh
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Ahudemmeh was known as the Apostle of the Arabs, and is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church.
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Ahudemmeh was born at Balad, northwest of Mosul and then part of the Sasanian Empire, to a dyophysite family, but became a non-Chalcedonian miaphysite upon reaching maturity and later became a monk.
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Ahudemmeh led his faction in the debate and argued in favour of miaphysitism, for which Khosrow deemed him to be the victor and granted freedom of worship and permission to build churches.
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Ahudemmeh then set about preaching miaphysite Christianity in the region of Beth Arbaye, which stretched from Tikrit in the south to Nisibis in the north, bound in the west by the Khabur and the Tigris in the east, and was inhabited by Arab tribes, the Tanukh, Banu Uqayl, and Tayy.
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Ahudemmeh travelled amongst the Arabs, during which time he is credited with a number of miracles, including the exorcism of a sheikh's daughter, expulsion of demons from places of worship, purification of lepers, and curing the sick.
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At the encampments of the nomadic Arabs, Ahudemmeh preached Christianity, performed baptisms, consecrated a priest and deacon for each community, and established churches named after clan leaders, thus encouraging their participation and leadership.
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Ahudemmeh constructed a monastery of Saint Sergius at 'Ain Qena, in which he deposited some relics, and another monastery at Ga'tani, near Qronta, a village opposite Tikrit.
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Ahudemmeh continued his missionary work amongst the Magi at Tikrit and converted a son of Khosrow, who adopted the name George upon his baptism by Ahudemmeh.
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Ahudemmeh's body was retrieved and moved to the monastery near Qronta by one of its monks and some of his relics were later taken to a church dedicated to him at Tikrit.
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Ahudemmeh was commemorated in a hagiography by an unknown author.
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Ahudemmeh is identified as the author of the same name of several philosophical works, including treatises on the definitions of logic, fate and predestination, the soul, man as a microcosm, and the composition of man's body and soul.