Bar Sauma, the Protestant

Bar Sauma of Nisibin worked within the dark age. Philip Wood in his overview of Nineveh-Siʿrt has some words about him, taken second-hand of course.

The west-Syrians recalled Bar Ṣawmé, "Son of Lent" or - to his enemies - "Swimmer among the Nests", as among those in the "Persian" school in Edessa led by bishop Ibas; although, maybe that was more-directly Mara of Qardu, his master. Three decades after bishop Ibas' death AD 457, the Empire had Zeno the big pussy, who was having a devil of a time keeping the Miaphysites on board. On AD 489 Edessene bishop Cyrus II forced his liege to expel the "Nestorians". Barsauma had left for Nisibin I think in between, because he's agreed to be a big force in Iraqi Christian politics over the early 480s.

Wood's main source Barhebraeus disliked Barsauma and considered him the great satan introducing error into Dadishoʿ's Ephesian Church. Barsauma had allowed priests to marry, and rehabilitated Nestorius as the continuator of Nicene Christendom against Cyril and Theodosius II. At least the former was properly Acacius' work. As for "Nestorianism", that could be as late as Aba.

More to the point Barsauma had floated that the Church might not need a strong pope - at all. Barsauma did have a pope: one Babawayh. I wonder to what degree this dismissal was on principle, and to what degree he was keeping himself aloft from some schism under Dadishoʿ now lost with what was lost in Siʿrt. This was the doctrine Acacius didn't keep.

Mari and ʿAmr, who unlike Barhebraeus belonged to the Eastern tradition, I expect had their own opinion of Barsauma, although Wood doesn't tell us what. Wood does tell us that Nisibin's "university" was pro-Barsauma, the catholicate anti-. Inasmuch as ʿAmr was a papal chronicler, I expect that ʿAmr didn't approve.

Barsauma would, I gather from Wood, have got along fine with later Melkites such as are had in Putin's Russia, or maybe Ludwig of Bavaria. He'd have gotten along even better with the Lutheran monarchs. Best of all with Jean Hus. (I personally prefer unmarried clerics - and nuns - but will allow an "honourable discharge" option should they find this vow impossible.)