Ignatius Hidayat Aloho

Ignatius Hidayat Aloho was the Patriarch of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1597 until his death in 1639.

Hidayat Aloho was born in the city of Mardin in the 16th century. In 1586 he became a monk in the Monastery of Mor Hananyo near Mardin, where he was ordained a deacon the following year by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius David II Shah. In 1595, Hidayat was ordained bishop and in 1597 was consecrated Maphrian by Ignatius Pilate I and patriarch later that year upon his death. Upon becoming patriarch he assumed the patriarchal name Ignatius.

Members of Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church believe that during his apostolic journey to India, Mar Ignatious Hidayat Aloho was captured by the Portuguese. Further resentment of these measures led a part of the community to take in the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653 swearing "never to submit to the Portuguese". Since Portuguese could not say the name "Hidayat Aloho" they called him "Ahathalla". Upon Hidayat's death, Ignatius Simon I became patriarch, however his rule was contested by the Bishop of Damascus, Ahatallah who some claim to be Hidayat himself.