[nb 1] Lazarus studied and became a monk at the monastery of Saint Aaron, in the vicinity of Callisura, a town near Melitene.
[4] Lazarus' sobriquet "Salhoyo" is interpreted by Aphrem Barsoum to reflect his origins in the town of Ṣalāḥiyya, east of Yarpuz, as opposed to the village of Ṣalaḥ in Tur Abdin.
[5] He was chosen to succeed John VII Sarigta as patriarch of Antioch and was consecrated on 21 October 986/987 (AG 1298) by Lazarus, archbishop of Anazarbus, at the village of Qattina in the province of Homs, upon which he assumed the name Athanasius.
[9] According to the histories of Michael the Syrian and Bar Hebraeus, Athanasius was praised for his piety by Agapius II, the Chalcedonian (later termed Greek Orthodox) Patriarch of Antioch, in spite of their religious differences, who subsequently put an end to the persecution of non-Chalcedonians.
[11] He served as patriarch of Antioch until his death in 1002/1003 (AG 1314) at the monastery of Saint Barsoum, where he was buried in the sacristy.