BAR-SALIBI, JACOB

died Nov. 2, 1171 also called Dionysius Bar-salibi the great spokesman of the Jacobite (monophysite) church in the 12th century. A native of Melitene (now Malatya, Turkey), Bar-Salibi was made bishop of Marash in 1154 and, a year later, of Mabbog as well. In 1166 he was transferred to the metropolitan see of Amid (Diyarbakir), where he remained until his death. His works include poems, prayers, homilies, liturgies, a commentary on the six Centuries of Evagrius with the text translated into Syriac, a treatise against heresies, expositions of the Syrian Eucharistic service and doctrine, and commentaries on the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament commentary, a compilation rather than an original composition, gives a material or literal exposition and a spiritual or mystical exposition. The New Testament commentary, less developed except on the Gospels, also deals with the text on two levels.