Severus II bar Masqeh (Syriac: ܦܛܪܝܪܟܐ ܣܘܝܪܐ ܕܬܪܝܢ, Arabic: البطريرك ساويرا الثاني)[1] was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 667/668 until his death in 684.
[3] He succeeded Theodore as patriarch of Antioch in 667/668 (AG 979),[3] and was consecrated by John Bar ‘Ebrayta, archbishop of Tarsus.
[5][6] In Severus' tenure as patriarch, he attempted to centralise authority in the church by removing the right of the archbishops to ordain suffragan bishops.
[7] A number of bishops opposed Severus' challenge to the archbishops' rights, and united under the leadership of Sergius Zkhunoyo, bishop of Germanicia, Ananias of Qartmin, archbishop of Damascus, and Gabriel, bishop of Reshʿayna,[8][9] and asserted that this right had been established by the fourth canon of the Council of Nicaea in 325, whereas Severus argued this right had been abolished by the Council of Chalcedon in 451.
[3][4] The schism endured for four years until Severus, on his deathbed, wrote to John, archbishop of the monastery of Saint Matthew, to authorise him and the bishops Joseph and Sergius to restore communion to his opponents on the condition that they repented and renounced their actions against him.