Farid Elias Nazha ( syr, ܦܪܝܕ ܐܠܝܐܣ ܢܙܗܝ, ; 10 January 1894 in

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

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 ...

– 19 October 1970)Farid Nazha tog vid där Naum Faiq slutade
Hujada.com was an Assyrian Nationalist and a journalist. He was known for his criticism to

Syriac Christian Syriac Christianity ( syr, ܡܫܝܚܝܘܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ / ''Mšiḥoyuṯo Suryoyto'' or ''Mšiḥāyūṯā Suryāytā'') is a distinctive branch of Eastern Christianity, whose formative theological writings and traditional liturgies are expr ...

Clergy which led to his

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

by the

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 ...

Patriarch

Ignatius Afram I Barsoum Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum ( syc, ܡܪܢ ܡܪܝ ܐܝܓܢܐܛܝܘܣ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܒܪܨܘܡ, ar, إغناطيوس أفرام الأول برصوم, June 15, 1887–June 23, 1957) was the 120th Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syri ...

. He is considered one of founders of modern

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

nationalism.Farid Nazha
Bethnahrin.nl

Early life

Farid was born on 10 January 1894 to a family which traces its roots back to Kharput in modern-day

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. In 1911 a number of

members of his family converted to Syriac Catholicism which initiated a bitter conflict between the Assyrians of

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

. Farid's father decided to send his son to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

to prevent him from getting involved in the conflict. In August 1911 he arrived in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, where he studied Mathematics and Economy. He got married and moved to

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surf ...

in March 1920 where he worked there, and after 11 years he went back to

Journalism and activism

Influenced by

Naum Faiq Naum Elias Yaqub Palakh (February 1868 – February 5, 1930), better known as Naum Faiq (, Naˁum Fayëq), was one of the founding fathers of modern Assyrian nationalism during the early 20th century. He was a teacher and writer throughout his life ...

's writing, Nazha established a Syriac cultural club, the "Ephremic Society", in 1934. It included Assyrian/Syriac immigrants in Argentina. A newspaper, "Syriac University" ( syr, ܚܕܥܝܘܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ , es, Asociacion Asiria), was published by the society in September of the same year. The newspaper was initially aimed at the Assyrian/Syriac immigrants in Argentina, but its popularity grew as Assyrian journalists from other parts of the world started contributing to it. Nazha himself had a permanent column in the newspaper and he often attacked the clergy in what he saw as "consecration of separation" of different

Syriac Churches Syriac Christianity ( syr, ܡܫܝܚܝܘܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ / ''Mšiḥoyuṯo Suryoyto'' or ''Mšiḥāyūṯā Suryāytā'') is a distinctive branch of Eastern Christianity, whose formative theological writings and traditional liturgies are expr ...

. For him nationality was above religion, and archbishops should not have a leading role in the Assyrian/Syriac society. His views about the church worsened as the latter started adopting Arabic in its liturgies. The clash with the clergy reached its peak when the Syriac Orthodox patriarch

formally excommunicated him, although his successor

Ignatius Ya`qub III Moran Mor Ignatius Jacob (Yaʿqub) III (October 12, 1913 – June 26, 1980) was the 121st Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church 1957-1980. He was skilled in and knowledgeable in Syriac sacral music or Beth ...

retracted this decision in the late 1950s. Farid Nazha continued publishing his newspaper until his death in Spain on 19 October 1970.

References

* 1894 births 1971 deaths Argentine people of Syrian-Assyrian descent Syrian emigrants to Argentina Assyrian nationalists Assyrian Syrian writers Syriac Orthodox Christians Turkish Oriental Orthodox Christians Assyrians from the Ottoman Empire Spanish people of Syrian-Assyrian descent People from Hama {{MEast-journalist-stub