Dionysius bar Masih was an illegitimate Maphrian of the East of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and rivalled , the legitimate Maphrian, from 1189 until his death in 1204. Karim Bar Masih was a member of the family of Jabir, which was originally from Tagrit, but had moved to Mosul due to Islamic persecution in the 11th century. Bar Masih became a monk at the Monastery of Mar Mattai and later supported Theodore bar Wahbun, an illegitimate patriarch who led a faction within the church that were displeased with Michael I Rabo, Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and his strict implementation of church canons.