Personalities

Mor Gabriel (594-668), abbot and metropolitan:

"Gabriel, the good men's head,
was blessed, who raised the dead
and exorcied all those possessed."

The holy archbishop Gabriel is the most famous son of the village Beth Kustan and the foremost saint of Tur Abdin. His life was important as a milestone in the history of the monastery of Kartmin; to him the monastery owes its present name. From this monastery he was managing two dioceses, that of Tur Abdin and that of Dara. By the time of the Arab Conquest, he negotiated with the Arab conqueror Kalif Umar, protecting the rights of the Christians in this region.

Mor Gabriel was remembered as a holy man, like the prophet Elia. In the Qartmin chronicle we read, that he resurrected three dead people: His friend and abbot of the monastery "Dayro da Slibo", the son of a widow from Sigun and a boy from Olin.

When he was 70 years old, he sent men with oxen to Beth Debe (Badebe), to transport a large slab of stone to the monastery. The stone was so massive, that the oxen were not able to move it any further and abandoned it four miles from the monastery. When holy Gabriel saw the massive slab, he ordered all the people in the monastery to aid in the transport of the slab. By this order of the holy Gabriel even the dead rose to help. Astonishingly he looked at them, because he had never seen these men in the monastery before. When they told him, that they were dead man and risen by his order, the holy Gabriel threw himself to the ground and asked them for forgiveness. A possessed man, who was chained in the monastery, was also coming. The dead had taken away his chains. With their prayers and with God's help, the large slab was finally transported into the monastery and put down in the big dome of Theodora.

In a dream he saw his time to die was coming. He gathered his students and prayed and asked God's assistance for all who live and shall live in His name. On December 23 in 668, the holy Gabriel peacefully passed away at 9 o'clock at the age of 74. All of Tur Abdin participated at his funeral, among them 10 bishops, 2700 priests and alter boys. A 10-year old boy was trampled to death at the saint's funeral. But he was resurrected on his bier. The legend identifies Mor Shemun d-Zayte with this boy.

Mor Gabriel's most memorable deeds seem to be those which were effected after his death and through the medium of his mortal remains, or relics. Supernatural energies seemed to well up out of his bones, especially from his right arm and the fingers of his right hand. When the plague raged in Tur Abdin, the corpse of Gabriel was exhumed and fixed upright in the church to pray for an end to the plague. After this, the right arm was detached and taken to Hah to bring an end to the plague there also. This miracle happened 126 years after his death. He has three holidays: 23. December, the New Sunday and the 31. August.

Honor to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, who chose you, holy Gabriel.

For more informations about the life of this great man, read these books (in Syriac):
>>TASCHiTHO D-Mor Schmuyel, Mor Schemun, Mor Gabriel, Dr. A. Palmer
>>DAYRO D-MOR GABRIEL, F.Y. Dolabani

He was the son of Gabriel Beth Saliba and Sayde Beth Chamri and studied in the monasteries of Mor Malke and Mor Augin. In 1860 he was consecrated as metropolitan for the diocese in Nsibin. Qurilus Esha'yo was remembered as a sad man who always fasted. In the monastery of Mor Augin he was buried.

Sources: Berule Bdhire and Makthbonutho d'al athro d-Tur Abdin, Patriarch Aphrem Barsaum

In 1879 archbishop Athanasios Aphrem from Inwardo wrote his book "Ausar Roze" in the monastery of Mor Gabriel, which contained the names of 13 monks, among them monk Isa from Beth Qustan.

This monk was the brother of Kashme belonging to the tribe Odom. Until the genocide he lived in this church near the village. Then he escape to Inwardo and there he wrote a "Penkiyoto", a book of prayer, which is preserved till today.

In the 70s, after he had studied theology in America, he returned to the monastery. In 1973 he was appointed as abbot and in 1985 consecrated as bishop.

He and Malfono Isa Garis brought in new blood indeed. Young people began coming in groups to complete their religious education. Bishop Samuel Aktas went beyond this priority to also provide for their general education at the middle school and lise levels by transporting the students daily to and from the public schools in Midyat.

He has accomplished the renewal and enlargement of the monastery buildings, as well as the addition of several new buildings, through extraordinary zeal and courage.

In 1986 he left Sweden for the monastery Mor Aphrem in Holland. In 1988 he was consecrated as monk and one year later as priest. Like bishop Samuel Aktas he studied three years theology in USA. In 1996 he was consecrated as archbishop for Sweden. He is the cousin of Monk Yeshu' Atas of the monastery Mor Malke.