Mar Addai II ( syr, ܡܪܝ ܐܕܝ ܬܪܝܢܐ; born Shlemun Giwargis syr, ܫܠܝܡܘܢ ܓܝܘܪܓܝܣ 6 January 1948 – 11 February 2022) was Iraqi Catholicos-Patriarch of the

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

. 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, preceded by the definite article and usually capitalized, refers to the ...

of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

, 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, 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 military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...

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

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, 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 Baghdad