Paul II the Black (, ), also known as Paul of Bēth Ukkāme, was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from c. 551 or 564 to his deposition in 578. He succeeded Sergius of Tella as the spiritual leader of the Syrian non-Chalcedonians, in opposition to the Chalcedonian Imperial Church, and led the nascent Syriac Orthodox Church as it endured division and persecution. In Paul's tenure as patriarch, the Church suffered schisms, first with the tritheists, then with the Egyptian non-Chalcedonians after a failed attempt to consecrate a new pope of Alexandria, and finally with the eminent bishop Jacob Baradaeus, who in his effort to reunite the Egyptian and Syrian non-Chalcedonians agreed to Paul's deposition, dividing the Church in the process. Amidst the troubles he faced, Paul was imprisoned, excommunicated twice, forced into exile in Arabia twice, and ultimately forced into hiding at Constantinople, where he died, and received an ignominious burial. Biography Early life Paul was born at Alexandria in Egypt in c. 500 to the family of Ukkame. He became a monk at the Monastery of Gubo Baroyo in Syria, where he studied Greek and Syriac literature. Paul was appointed archimandrite of a monastery at Alexandria, and later became the syncellus (secretary) of the non-Chalcedonian Pope Theodosius I of Alexandria at Constantinople. The Syrian non-Chalcedonians had lacked a patriarch of Antioch for several years since the death of Sergius of Tella, and thus Theodosius sent Paul to Syria to discuss the situation with the non-Chalcedonian bishops there. Unbeknownst to Paul, Theodosius also sent two letters to the Syrian non-Chalcedonian bishops to request that they ordain Paul as Sergius' successor as patriarch. Paul was consecrated as the patriarch of Antioch by the bishops Jacob Baradaeus of Edessa, Eugenius of Seleucia, and Eunomius of Amida, and was witnessed by the bishops Conon of Tarsus, John of Chalcis, and John of Seleucia in Syria. According to the Zuqnin Chronicle, Paul was consecrated as patriarch in c. 551, whereas John of Ephesus in his Ecclesiastical History places the consecration in 564. Paul received acknowledgement of his consecration from the bishops Sergius of Harran, John of Sura, and Theodore of Arabia. After Jacob Baradaeus had canvassed the non-Chalcedonian monasteries to recognise Paul as patriarch, he was accepted by the monastery of Beth Aphthonia, and the archimandrites Eusebius of Mar Bassus, Zenobius of Mar Bizi, Andreas of Mar Manassis,