Gregory III Laham, B.S. (; ; born Lutfy Laham, December 15, 1933, in

Darayya Darayya () is a suburb of Damascus in Syria, the centre of Darayya lying south-west of the centre of Damascus. Administratively it belongs to Rif Dimashq. History and population Darayya is one of the oldest cities in Syria, reportedly the pl ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

), Emeritus Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem, is the former spiritual leader of the

Melkite Greek Catholic Church The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (, ''Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk''; ; ), also known as the Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catho ...

. He was elected on November 29, 2000, succeeding Patriarch

Maximos V Hakim Maximos V Hakim (; May 18, 1908 – June 29, 2001) was elected Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Alexandria and Jerusalem of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in 1967 and served until 2000. He guided the church through turbulent changes ...

. He retired on May 6, 2017. He took the name Gregory in honor of Patriarch Gregory II Youssef, who was the last member of his religious order, the

Basilian Salvatorian Order The Basilian Order of the Most Holy Saviour () abbreviated BS, also known as the Basilian Salvatorian Order, is an Eastern Catholic monastic order of Pontifical Right for men of the Greek-Melkite Catholic Church. The name derives from its mothe ...

, to be elected Patriarch. Gregory III, who studied in

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, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and is multilingual, is also the author of several books on

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

spirituality and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. In addition, he served as the Spiritual Protector of the United Obediences (formerly the Paris and Malta Obediences until 2008) of the

Order of Saint Lazarus The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by Crusaders during the 1130s at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose car ...

Early years and education

Gregory III Laham was born Lutfy Laham in

, on December 15, 1933. He entered the Seminary of the Holy Savior of the

near Saida,

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 ...

, in 1943. He took his simple

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...

in 1949 and his solemn religious vows in 1954. He received his religious and philosophical education at the Holy Savior Seminary, Joun, Lebanon. He continued his theological studies in

, where he was ordained priest on February 15, 1959 in the Church of the Abbey of Grottaferrata.

Church

Priesthood

The future patriarch received a doctoral degree in Oriental Theology from the

Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had bee ...

in Rome following his ordination . He then served as superior of the Holy Savior Major Seminary from 1961 until 1964. In 1962 he founded the magazine ''Al-Wahdah - Unity in Faith'', the first ecumenical magazine to be published in the Arabic language. He also founded several orphanages and trade schools in Lebanon. He was appointed administrator of the Patriarchal Vicariate of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

in 1975, in the wake of the Israeli arrest of the Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem, Archbishop Hilarion Capucci of the Aleppin Salvatorian order. Laham founded the Student Fund in Jerusalem to help needy students and in 1978 the Family Assistance Fund to help needy families in the troubled areas of his diocese. In 1967 he founded at the Patriarchate the Oriental Library to promulgate the knowledge of Eastern traditions. He initiated a variety of social projects such as repairing churches, opening clinics and building public housing, including a guest house for pilgrims at the Patriarchal Center in Jerusalem.

Episcopate

On September 9, 1981 he was named Archeparch by Patriarch

and continued his work as Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem as successor to Archeparch Hilarion Capucci. On November 27, 1981 he was enthroned as the titular archbishop of Tarsus and consecrated Archeparch by patriarch

. His co-consecrators were

Saba Youakim Saba Youakim, BS (born on 2 June 1914 in El Wardieh in Baalbek, Lebanon – died on 6 March 2003) was Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Petra and Philadelphia in Amman. Life Saba Youakim was ordained to the priesthood on Nov ...

, Archeparch of Petra and Philadelphia and

François Abou Mokh François Abou Mokh, BS (born on 1 July 1921 in Ma'loula, Syria - died on 11 August 2006) was a Curial Bishop in the Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch in Syria. Ecclesiastical biography François Abou Mokh was ordained to the priesthood on 12 July ...

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 Palmyra dei Greco-Melchiti. In 1992 Laham was named Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem and in 1998 became

Protosyncellus A protosyncellus, protosynkellos or protosyngel () is the principal deputy of the bishop of an eparchy for the exercise of administrative authority in an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic church. The equivalent position in the Western Chris ...

of the same city. Appointed by Patriarch Maximos V as president of the Patriarchal Liturgical Commission, he edited the '' Anthologion'', the prayer book or breviary of the

and ''The Book of the Liturgies'', an updated compendium of the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

. As secretary of the Ecumenical Commission of the Melkite Patriarchate, he led the dialogue between the Melkite Greek Catholic and the

Antiochian Orthodox Church The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch (), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Rūm Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (), is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church within the wider communion of E ...

es.

Patriarchate

Patriarch Maximos resigned in 2000 at age 92 due to failing health. The episcopal synod of the Melkite Church, met at the patriarchal residence in Raboueh on November 22, 2000 to select a new leader. On November 29 the synod elected Laham patriarch. He chose the name Gregory after the Patriarch Gregory II Youssef, the last member of the Basilian Salvatorian Order to serve as head of the Melkite Church. On December 5, 2000,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

accepted Patriarch Laham's request for ecclesiastical communion. On May 8, 2008, along with other Melkite bishops and archimandrites, Patriarch Laham was received at the Vatican by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. He repeated this visit on March 15, 2012. The patriarch is an advocate of the Christian communities of the Near and Middle East. speaking at a 2010

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

, he asserted that "among the most dangerous effects of the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict Israelis (; ) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Jews and Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percent and 20 percent of the national figure, followed by other ethnic and ...

” is the phenomenon of Christian emigration, "which will make Arab society a society with only one color, a society purely Muslim."Synod members alarmed by declining Christian populations
by Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service Online, 13-October 2010 Viewing the Near East as Muslim and the West as Christian could mean that "any occasion would be propitious for a new clash of cultures, of civilizations and even of religions -- a destructive clash between the Muslim Arab East and the Christian West," he said. The patriarch called for Christian-Islam dialogue which describes to Muslims "what our fears are," including concern about a lack of separation between religion and government, lack of equality and about a legal system that is based on Islamic law. In December 2010, Laham was quoted by '' The Lebanon Daily Star'' as claiming that attacks against Levantine Christians, were part of a "Zionist conspiracy against Islam." Lahham reportedly stated that "All this behavior has nothing to do with Islam... But it is actually a conspiracy planned by Zionism and some Christians with Zionist orientations and it aims at undermining and giving a bad image of Islam." He further added that media portrayal of the attack the Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad was "a conspiracy against Arabs and the pre-dominantly Muslim Arab world that aims at depicting Arabs and Muslims in Arab countries as terrorist and fundamentalist murderers in order to deny them their rights and especially those of the Palestinians.” In March 2011 Patriarch Gregory said “we Christians risk demographic extinction and face huge challenges,” calling on league members to “formulate ideas” on how to address the phenomenon. The Palestine-Israel conflict, Lahham said, was the “sole” reason for emigration. In August 2013 Patriarch Gregory gave an appeal to Asia News "We must listen to the Pope's appeal for peace in Syria. If western countries want to create true democracy then they must build it on reconciliation, through dialogue between Christians and Muslims, not with weapons. This attack being planned by the United States is a criminal act, which will only reap more victims, in addition to the tens of thousands of these two years of war. This will destroy the Arab world's trust in the West" In September 2015, he urged Syrian Christians not to leave the country, despite the ongoing Syrian Civil War, and implored European countries not to encourage their emigration from their homeland. Patriarch Gregory III retired on 6 May 2017. Gregory III Laham speaks Arabic, English, Spanish, French, German, Greek, Italian and Latin. He travels a lot in the world, to draw attention to the difficult situation in Syria to the Christians. He also calls for a dialogue between all parties in Syria to end the civil war.

Books and other works

Patriarch Gregory III is author of several books, including: *''Introduction to the Liturgical Services and their Symbols in the Eastern Church''. *''The Voice of the Shepherd - Eastern Liturgical Spirituality''. *''Life of Archbishop

Germanos Adam Germanos Adam (born in 1725 in Aleppo, Syria – died on 10 November 1809 in Zouk Mikael, Lebanon) was the Melkite Catholic bishop of the Archeparchy of Aleppo during the late 18th century and a Christian theologian. Life Germanos Adam was ...

''. *''Translations of ''History of the Melkite Church'' (English and German). *''The Melkite Greek Catholic Church at the Second Vatican Council''. *''Initiation into the spiritual journey of the Chrysostom liturgy; 1999, . *''The Chrysostom liturgy: an introduction and explanation''; 2002 . *''Al-Wahada Quarterly'' (1962–1981); (Unity of the faith, the first ecumenical magazine in Arabic). *''Four volumes of liturgical prayers in Arabic''. *''Introduction to the spiritual life of the Byzantine rite''; 1990, in Arabic. * ''Ne nous laissez pas disparaître : un cri au service de la paix''; 2016, in French

Distinctions

Orders

* Grand Master of the Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem * Protector of the Ordo Militiae Christi Templi Hierosolymitani since 1990 (as are all Melkite Catholic Patriarchs since 2000) * "Spiritual Protector" of the Malta obedience of the

* Grand Cross of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre may refer to: * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), chivalric order belonging to the Holy See (the Roman Catholic Church) * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Orthodox), chivalric ...

* Grand Cross of the Order of the Umayyads of

Awards

* Muhammad-Nafi-Tschelebi Prize (2012)Domradio.de, accessed on 22nd May 2012.
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Notes

External links

Official biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laham, Gregory Iii 1933 births Living people Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch People from Rif Dimashq Governorate Syrian Melkite Greek Catholics Syrian Christian clergy Members of the Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem Recipients of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) Eastern Catholic bishops in Syria