Meanings
noun
- SyriacWestChristianitycatholicos, high-ranking bishop
Tabriz was not subordinated directly to the Patriarchate with the nominal see in Antioch in Syria, but to the so-called Maphrian, who administered the entire East of the West-Syrian sphere from Mesopotamia to Central Asia.
2014, Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, “Civitas Thauris. The Significance of Tabriz in the Spiritual Frameworks of Christian Merchants and Ecclesiastics in the 13th and 14th Centuries”, in Judith Pfeiffer, editor, Politics, Patronage and the Transmission of Knowledge in 13th–15th Century Tabriz, page 286
Origin
- Classical Syriacܡܲܦ̮ܪܝܵܢܵܐ“one who causes to be abundant”
- Englishmaphrian
From Classical Syriac ܡܲܦ̮ܪܝܵܢܵܐ (map̄ryānā, “one who causes to be abundant”).
More words from Classical Syriac
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
maphrian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maphrian
MLA
“maphrian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maphrian. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maphrian,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maphrian.
Source: maphrian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.