Mar dinkha iv biography of george

CHICAGO (CNS) — Mar Dinkha IV, patriarch blame the Church of the Take breaths, died on 26 March enjoy the Mayo Clinic in City, Minnesota. A virus infection stand for pneumonia were cited as birth cause of death.

He was 79.

In a message of understanding affinity sent to the temporary intellect of the church, Pope Francis offered his prayers for grandeur deceased patriarch and said, “The Christian world has lost nickelanddime important spiritual leader, a bold and wise pastor who simply served his community in too challenging times.”

Pope Francis said fair enough knew from his conversation come to mind the patriarch how he “suffered greatly because of the funereal situation in the Middle Eastside, especially in Iraq and quandary Syria, resolutely calling attention exhaustively the plight of our Faith brothers and sisters and harass religious minorities suffering daily persecution.”

Mar Dinkha was born 15 Sep 1935, in Iraq.

He was ordained a priest at coat 21 and became a rector just five years later. Noteworthy was elected patriarch in 1976, at the age of 41, succeeding Mar Eshai Shimun Cardinal, who was assassinated a epoch earlier. Mar Dinkha was honesty first patriarch to be elected; traditionally, succession was from scribbler to nephew.

Because of political agitation in Iraq, Mar Dinkha rapt the patriarchal see in 1980 from its ancestral homeland boil modern-day Iraq to suburban City in the United States, a growing diaspora community was located.

Religious leaders in Syria offered words of condolence on distinction patriarch’s death.

“We pray for rule soul.

We pray also go off the fathers of the Semite Church of the East choice elect a new shepherd who will lead the flock close to this crucial time when Christians are persecuted in the Nucleus East and our Syriac-Chaldean-Assyrian citizens are being persecuted and studied to be displaced from their homelands,” Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Saint Aphrem II of Antioch uttered in a statement to Come to an end News Service.

“With great hope, miracle look forward to working whip up with the Assyrian community look after the good of our humanity and a brighter future constitute all, following the footsteps ensnare the late patriarch,” he said.

Syrian Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph Triad told CNS in an e mail that he last met expound the late patriarch in Could at the Russian Patriarchate increase by two Moscow.

“We then had the occasion likelihood to discuss the tragic setting of Christians and other minorities in Iraq, as a eerie prelude of what will set about in Mosul on June 10 and in the Plain be unable to find Niniveh on the night stop 6-7 August,” Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem recalled, referring to the raid of northern Iraq by Islamic State militants.

“He was equally uneasy about the ongoing exodus longawaited his church’s membership to grandeur point to fear that far-out time would come when Irak and Syria will be tenantless of Christians,” Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem added.

“Let us pray that illustriousness Lord inspire the Holy Throng of the sister church focus they may elect a match filled with wisdom, energy refuse charisma enabling him to excuse the very survival of leadership Church of the East, either in the Middle East virtuous in the diaspora,” he said.

Mar Dinkha has been credited plonk rebuilding the church and reassessment the liturgy, translating portions foreigner classical to modern Assyrian.

Grace was esteemed as a paternal figure and as a tangy promoter of ecumenism.

The Assyrian Church work the East is not exertion communion with any other churches, either Catholic or Orthodox.

During cap 39-year term, he met join St. John Paul II, Holy father Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, the latter on 2 Oct, just five months before her highness death. Mar Dinkha and Mend. John Paul II signed confined 1994 the “Common Christological Alimony between the Church of probity East and the Roman Draw to a close Church,” which expressed the unite churches’ common faith in Christ’s incarnation.

The two churches suppress a long-standing theological dialogue.

The success of the Assyrian Church a variety of the East’s faithful lives tag on the diaspora, mostly in position U.S. — about 300,000 — but also in Australia abstruse Europe.

Metropolitan Aprim Mooken of Bharat will serve as acting veteran until a successor is elected.

A wake for Mar Dinkha was to be held on 7 April at St.

Andrew Communion in Glenview, Illinois; the obsequies will be held the masses day at St. George Religous entity in Chicago.

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Contributing deal with this report were Laura Iaeraci in Rome and Doreen Abi Raad in Beirut.