Barsauma

Barsauma (Syriac: ܒܪܨܘܡܐ, Barṣaumâ) was Metropolitan of Nisibis in the 5th century, and a major figure in the history of the Church of the East. A capable politician, he was on good terms with Peroz I, King of the Sassanid Empire of Persia, and wielded great influence in the Church of the East. As such he was frequently in conflict with the Catholicos, or Patriarch, of the Church, first Babowai and then Acacius. Under his leadership the church moved away from Roman loyalties and became increasingly aligned with the Nestorian movement, declared heretical in the Roman Empire.