Background
Marutha was born in 565 in the village of Shawarzaq, near Beth Nuhadra in the Sassanian province of Arbayistan, and was educated at the local Monastery of Mor Samuel.
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Marutha Tikrit
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Education
At the Monastery of Mor Zacchaeus, near Raqqa, Marutha studied theological sciences, Syriac and Greek for ten years. He later completed his studies in calligraphy at the Mountain of Edessa, under the monk Thomas.
Career
From here he moved to the Monastery of Nardas near Balad where he became the assistant of the Bishop of Beth Arbaye, Mor Zacchaeus. In 605, after finishing his studies, Marutha began teaching theology at the Monastery of Mor Mattai. At the end of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, John of the Sedre, Athanasius I Gammolo"s secretary, was sent to the court of Khosrau"s successor, Kavadh World War II Whilst returning from Ctesiphon, John invited several bishops and monks, including Marutha, to join him on his return to the patriarch.
Marutha was chosen by the synod to become the new Metropolitan of the East or Maphrian and was consecrated by Athanasius I Gammolo in late 628.
Afterwards, he held a synod at the Monastery of Mor Mattai where he issued twenty-four canons and began organising thirteen existing dioceses into the Maphrianate, based at the Jacobite majority city of Tagrit. He also later created four more dioceses after the fall of the Sassanian Empire, as the new Rashidun Caliphate allowed the Syriac Orthodox faith greater freedom in Persia.
As maphrian, Marutha founded the monasteries of Saint Sergius near Tagrit and the nunnery of Beth Ébhré as well as a new cathedral in Tagrit. He administered the maphrianate until his death on 2 May 649.
