Antoun (Khouri) of Miami and the Southeast was a

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA), often referred to in North America as simply the Antiochian Archdiocese, is the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch in the United States and Canada. Origina ...

Life

Early years

Antoun (Khouri), born Antoun issa Khouri (, in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

) was the fourth of six children born to the late Wedad Elias Abraxia and Yssa Khouri. After completing his elementary education at the Orthodox School in Meedan, Syria, he entered the

Minor Seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...

Balamand Monastery The Balamand Monastery (historically called Belmont, Bellimontis ultra Mare, or Bellus-Mons), is a monastery for the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch founded in 1157 in Balamand (Belmont), the Crusader County of Tripoli, now in the Koura Distric ...

, near Tripoli, Lebanon, at the age of fourteen, where he met his lifelong friend, the future Metropolitan

Philip (Saliba) Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) ( ar, ) (born Abdullah Saliba; Abou Mizan, Lebanon Fort Lauderdale, Florida) was the Archbishop of New York, Metropolitan of All North America, and primate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North ...

. At the Balamand Seminary he completed his junior and senior high school studies and then went on to receive his diploma in theology from the Balamand Theological Academy of Saint John of Damascus. On October 28, 1951, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

by Alexander III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Damascus. While a deacon at the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, he was instructor, then Dean of the Saint John of Damascus School. While in Damascus, he undertook undergraduate studies at the Assiyat Orthodox College from which he was graduated in 1957. In the same year he was assigned to the

Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Brazil Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, where he served at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul and as secretary to Metropolitan Ignatius (Forzley) of São Paulo.

Graduate education and priesthood

In 1959 Antoun arrived in United States for graduate theological studies at

St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It is a pan-Eastern Ort ...

near New York City, from which he graduated in 1962, having been ordained to the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

hood on May 29, 1960, by Metropolitan Antony (Bashir), the Archbishop of New York and all North America. On August 3, 1969, he was elevated to the dignity of

Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

by Metropolitan

. As a priest he served the following pastorates: St. George Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; St. George Church in Toronto, Ontario; St. George Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania and St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn, New York. From 1969 to 1977, he worked from the Archdiocesan chancery in Englewood, New Jersey, as personal aide to Metropolitan Philip.

Episcopacy

The General Assembly of the Archdiocese of North America, consisting of

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

delegates from

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es throughout the United States and Canada, nominated Archimandrite Antoun for the office of auxiliary bishop to the Metropolitan on August 1, 1981, and the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...

of the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East elected him to that office at a session in Damascus, Syria, on November 4, 1982, as

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Selefkia. He was consecrated to the episcopacy on January 9, 1983, at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn, New York, by Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of North America; Archbishop

Michael (Shaheen) of Toledo Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, the Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of North America; Archbishop Elias (Saliba), the superior of the Patriarchal Monastery of St. George (Tel-Kalakh, Syria); Bishop Paul (Bandaly), the Patriarchal Vicar (now Metropolitan of Akkar, Lebanon); and Bishop Antonio (Chedraoui), the Patriarchal Legate for the Diocese of Mexico and Central America. By a decision of the

of the Patriarchate dated October 9, 2003, he became a diocesan bishop bearing the title of Bishop of Miami and the Southeast. Antoun maintains his office and residence at the Archdiocesan Chancery in Englewood, New Jersey, although he has a secondary residence in Florida

Death

Bishop Antoun died on October 2, 2017. Funeral services were held on Tuesday evening, October 10 and Wednesday morning, October 11 at Saint George Cathedral in Coral Gables, Florida. The Burial took place on Thursday, October 12 at the Antiochian Village in Bolivar, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

Bishop Antoun (Khouri)
(official biography) * 1931 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 20th-century Syrian people 21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 21st-century Syrian people Antiochian Orthodox Church in the United States Bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Christianity in Miami Greek Orthodox Christians from Syria People from Damascus Syrian emigrants to the United States {{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub