Ḥenanishoʿ II (d. 779/80) [Ch. of E.]

Bp. of Lashom and subsequently cath.

Bp. of Lashom and subsequently cath. Our main source for the life and work of Ḥenanishoʿ is the report of the synod that he convened in 775/6, which is included, as the last synod, in the Synodicon Orientale. From this report it appears that after the death of Cath. Yaʿqob II (772/3), Isḥaq bp. of Kashkar, who was supported by Caliph al-Mahdī, had been designated to become the next cath. , a procedure that was rejected by several other bishops who proposed instead Ḥenanishoʿ, until then bp. of Lashom. Ḥenanishoʿ was subsequently consecrated without the knowledge and approval of the bp. of Kashkar, even though the latter, since the first synod of the Ch. of E. (410), was regarded as the right hand of the cath. and played a crucial role in the process of election and consecration of a new cath. It was only after Isḥaq’s death, shortly after, that reconciliation could be brought about between the opposing parties and that Ḥenanishoʿ’s situation could be regularized. According to the preserved report, the synod of 775/6 entirely focused on the conflict, validating Ḥenanishoʿ’s election and reaffirming the traditional rights of the see of Kashkar. Henceforth Ḥenanishoʿ was able to serve as cath., but only 4 years later he was killed through poisoning. No other events of Ḥenanishoʿ’s life are known, nor have any of his writings, among which ʿAbdishoʿ bar Brikha mentions letters and memre, been preserved. Ḥenanishoʿ’s name is mentioned on the Chinese-Syriac monument of Xi’an (Sian-fu), even though the monument is dated to February 781, which is several months after his death.