Ignatius Ghattas (25 December 1920 — 11 October 1992) was a bishop of the

Melkite Greek Catholic Church el, Μελχιτική Ελληνική Καθολική Εκκλησία , image = Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Damascus, Syria.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = , abbreviatio ...

. He served as

Eparch of Newton Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton (in Latin: Eparchia Neotoniensis Graecorum Melkitarum) is an ecclesiastical territory of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, a Byzantine rite Eastern Church within the Catholic Church. The eparchy is named f ...

from 1990 until his death.Catholic Hierarchy website
retrieved 5 November 2007 Bishop Ghattas was born in

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

in 1920 and raised in Maaloul. He entered Holy Saviour monastery in

Saida Saida may refer to: Places * Saïda, Algeria, a city in Algeria * Saïda Province, a province of Algeria * Saida, Lebanon, the Arabic name for Sidon, a city in Lebanon * Saida, a village in Helan, Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab province, Pakistan * Sai ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

following his primary education and professed his religious vows in 1939. He was ordained a priest of the

Basilian Salvatorian Order , abbreviation = BS , nickname = Salvatorian Fathers , formation = , founder = Archbishop Euthymios Michael Saifi , founding_location = Saida, Lebanon , type = Monastic order of pontifical rig ...

in 1946. Following his ordination he taught

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French and

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. In 1952, he went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to serve as assistant pastor of St. Elias parish in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and was appointed pastor in 1955. Later he was elected bishop by the Holy Synod of the Melkite Church in July 1989 and approved by the Holy See on December 11. He was consecrated bishop on February 23, 1990, succeeding Archbishop

Joseph Tawil Archbishop Joseph Tawil (December 25, 1913 – February 17, 1999) was the Melkite Greek Catholic eparch for the United States, teacher and theologian. He is remembered for his participation in the Second Vatican Council, expanding the Melkite Ch ...

as eparch.Catholic Near East Welfare Association news item, "New Melkite Eparch", 1 April 1990
Note that the Eparch of Newton normally holds the title of Bishop; Abp. Tawil had had the personal title of Archbishop due to his prior service in another position. Bishop Ignatius Ghattas founded the Order of Saint Nicholas in 1991, a regional lay order attached to the

Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton (in Latin: Eparchia Neotoniensis Graecorum Melkitarum) is an ecclesiastical territory of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, a Byzantine rite Eastern Church within the Catholic Church. The eparchy is named ...

. He died in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

in 1992, aged 71.

References

1920 births 1992 deaths People from Nazareth American people of Palestinian descent American Melkite Greek Catholic bishops Mandatory Palestine emigrants to Lebanon Lebanese emigrants to the United States Religious leaders from Cleveland Melkite Greek Catholic bishops Founders of Eastern Catholic religious communities People from Bethlehem 20th-century American clergy {{US-EC-bishop-stub

See also

References