George II Rizqallah Beseb'ely (or Jirjis al-Basba'li, ''Beseb'ely'', , , born in 1595 in Beseb'el,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

– died on April 12, 1670,

Keserwan District Keserwan District (, transliteration: ''Qaḍā' Kisrawān'') is a district (''qadaa'') in Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon, to the northeast of Lebanon's capital Beirut. The capital, Jounieh, is overwhelmingly Maronite Christian. The area ...

, Lebanon), was the 56th

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

Patriarch of Antioch The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

from 1657 to his death in 1670.

Life

George Beseb'ely was born in the village of Beseb'el (from which his surname came), near

Tripoli, Lebanon Tripoli ( ; , , ; , ; see #Names, below) is the largest and most important city in North Lebanon, northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the country. Situated north of the capital Beirut, it is the capital of the North Governorate ...

, in about 1595, son of Hadj Rizqallah. He was chosen as auxiliary bishop and consecrated by Patriarch John Bawab Safrawy on July 25, 1656. After the death of Patriarch John Bawab Safrawy happened on December 23, 1656, the bishops elected as patriarch the monk George Habquq, who anyway for humility refused and escaped in a cave of the

Kadisha Valley Kadisha Valley (), also romanized as the Qadisha Valley and also known as the Kadisha Gorge or Wadi Kadisha (), is a gorge that lies within the Bsharri and Zgharta Districts of the North Governorate of Lebanon. The valley was carved by the Kad ...

to live as an hermit. So a second election was held and on January 1, 1657, the Archbishop George Beseb'ely was elected patriarch. The new patriarch sent to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

his credentials to obtain confirmation of the pope; but, for unknown reasons, the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

took the deal for long, to the point that the patriarch had to renew his instances. His election was confirmed by

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...

on May 26, 1659, and he received the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

on August 30, 1660.Pierre Dib: According to Eubel, the pallium was granted on August 30, 1660 George Beseb'ely used, as his predecessor, to live in a monastery subject to the strict discipline of the monks. During his patriarchate he kept good relations with the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

, which in 1662 appointed for the first time as French

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

a Maronite noble, Abu Nawfal of the

Khazen Khazen (also El-Khazen, Al-Khazen, Khazin or De Khazen; ) is a prominent Arab Levantine family and clan based in Keserwan District, Lebanon, Damascus, Syria, Nablus, Palestine (region), Palestine, as well as other districts around the Levant, predo ...

family. This act strengthened the friendship and protection of the

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

towards the Maronite nation. George Beseb'ely died on April 12, 1670, because of a pestilence in the monastery of Mar Challita in

Notes

Sources

* Pierre Dib, v. Maronite (Eglise), https://archive.org/stream/dictionnairedet10pt1vaca#page/n41/mode/2up, Tome Dixième, première partie, Paris 1928, coll. 68–70. * Joseph Simon Assemani, https://archive.org/stream/serieschronologi00asseuoft#page/40/mode/2up, Rome 1881, p. 39. * Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, http://sul-derivatives.stanford.edu/derivative?CSNID=00002719&mediaType=application/pdf , p. 87.

External links

* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbesbael.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Beseb'ely, George Rizqallah 17th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 1670 deaths Bishops in the Ottoman Empire Maronites from the Ottoman Empire Maronite Patriarchs of Antioch 1590s births 17th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops 17th-century Maronite Catholic bishops

Life

See also

Notes

Sources

External links