Mar Addai II (; born Shlemun Giwargis 6 January 1948 – 11 February 2022) was Catholicos-Patriarch of the

Ancient Church of the East The Ancient Church of the East (ACE) is an Eastern Christian denomination. It branched from the Assyrian Church of the East in 1964, under the leadership of Mar Toma Darmo (d. 1969). It is one of three Assyrian Churches that claim continuit ...

. He resided in the

Apostolic See An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism, the phrase "The Apostolic See" when capitalized refers specifically to the See of ...

of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, Iraq.

Early life and consecration

Mar Addai II was born on 6 January 1948, in Mosul, the capital of the Nineveh governorate in Iraq. He was ordained to the diaconate and elevated to the priesthood on 15 September 1968 in Baghdad. He was consecrated a metropolitan of the Church of the East for Iraq on 22 September 1968 at Mar Zaia Cathedral in Baghdad, Iraq. Following the death of Mar Thoma Darmo, he was elected as Catholicos-Patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East and was consecrated on 20 February 1972 by Mar Narsai Toma, Metropolitan of

Kirkuk Kirkuk (; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate. The city is home to a diverse population of Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, Iraqi Turkmens and Arabs. Kirkuk sits on the ruins of the original Kirkuk Cit ...

, and Mar Thoma Eramia, Metropolitan of Nineveh.

Tenure as Catholicos-Patriarch

In December 1969, as acting patriarch, Mar Addai II elevated Mar Narsai Toma to Metropolitan of Kirkuk and Mar Toma Eramia as Metropolitan of Mosul and Northern Iraq. He was officially elected to the position of Catholicos-Patriarch in February 1970, several months after the death of Mar Thoma Darmo. Two years later, on 20 February 1972, he was consecrated as Patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East by Mar Narsai and Mar Toma. The ordination took place at St. Zaia Cathedral in Iraq. On Sunday, 24 September 2006, St Mary's Cathedral, the home of Mar Addai II, was bombed. The cathedral, located in the Riyadh district of Baghdad, experienced dual bombings: A small

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

preceded a car detonation setting off a large number of explosives. The bombings occurred within minutes of each other. The bombing was carefully timed to occur just as parishioners exited the church following Sunday morning services. Two civilians were killed in the attacks, in addition to the 20 that sustained injuries.Church Bombings in Iraq
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Death

Mar Addai II died in

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, on February 11, 2022, at age 74.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Addai 02 1948 births 2022 deaths Ancient Church of the East Iraqi archbishops Patriarchs of the East People from Mosul