Mor Ignatius Behnam II Benni (1831–1897) was

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

of the

Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Catholic Church ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, ʿĪṯo Suryayṯo Qaṯolīqayṯo, ar, الكنيسة السريانية الكاثوليكية) is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Christianity ...

from 1893 to 1897.

Life

Behnam Benni was born on 14 August 1831 (

Julian Calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

) near

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

. In 1847 he was admitted in the

College of the Propaganda A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a University system, constituent part of one. A college may be a academic degree, degree-awarding Tertiary education, tertiary educational institution, a part of a coll ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

where he remained till 1856 when he received the

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He was ordained

deacon 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 ...

on 8 March 1856 and

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 ...

on 16 March 1856. Behnam Benni served as priest for some years until his appointment as bishop of

by Patriarch Ignatius Antony I Samheri who consecrated him bishop on 9 March 1862. His first years at Mosul were saddened by the fight with

Syriac Orthodox , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascu ...

for the ownership of the churches in the town. In 1870 Benni was in Rome to participate to the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

where he, in opposition to the

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic Semitic root, ro ...

patriarch

Gregory II Youssef Patriarch Gregory II Youssef, also known as Gregory II Hanna Youssef-Sayour (October 17, 1823 – July 13, 1897), was Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1864 to 1897. Gregory expanded and modernized the church and its institu ...

, spoke to make uniform the ecclesiastical discipline in the East and in the West and in favor of the papal infallibility. He was one of the main redactors of the text approved by the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

of Charfet in 1888 that made mandatory the clergy's

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...

in the Syriac Catholic Church. After the death of patriarch

Ignatius George V Shelhot Mar Ignatius George V Shelhot (or ''Giwargis Chelhot'', or ''Georgius Schelhot'', or ''Jirjis'' ''Chalhat'' 1818–1891) was Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church from 1874 to 1891. Life George Chelhot was born in Aleppo on 15 October 1818 ...

on 8 December 1891, Behnam Benni, who was the older prelate by consecration, was appointed Locum tenens of the Patriarchate. On 12 October 1893 he was unanimously elected Patriarch, confirmed the same day by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

by means of a

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

message and enthroned Sunday 15 October 1893. He was formally confirmed by the pope in the consistory of 18 May 1894. In 1894 Behnam Benni and the Mekite Patriarch Gregory Youssef went to Rome on invitation of Pope Leo XIII for a conference on the

Eastern Catholic Church The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...

es that led to the approbation of the papal

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...

Orientalium dignitas ''Orientalium dignitas'' is a papal encyclical concerning the Eastern Catholic churches issued by Pope Leo XIII on November 30, 1894. The encyclical further established the rights of the Eastern Catholic churches. This includes a prohibition agai ...

'' on 30 November 1894, thus confirming the role and autonomy of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Behnam Benni died in Mosul on 13 September 1897.

Works

Behnam Benni, with Joseph David, was the author of the book ''The Tradition of the Syriac Church of Antioch: Concerning the Primacy and the Prerogatives of St. Peter and of His Successors the Roman Pontiffs'' translated in English by Joseph Gagliardi and published in London in 1871 free text of ''The Tradition of the Syriac Church of Antioch: Concerning the Primacy...''
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benni, Ignatius Behnam Syriac Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch 1897 deaths 1831 births 19th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops Assyrians from the Ottoman Empire Bishops in the Ottoman Empire People from Mosul 19th-century people of Ottoman Iraq