Mar Ignatius Gregory Peter VI Shahbaddin (1641–1702) was the

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 from 1678 to 1702. His death in tragic circumstances marked the end of the first attempt of union between the Syriac Church and the Catholic Church.

Life

Gregory Peter Shahbaddin, possibly born about 1641, was the nephew of Ignatius Abdul Masih I (later Patriarch) and he became the Syrian Archbishop of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in 1662. Abdul Masih was the leader of the Orthodox faction and since 1662 opposed the pro-Catholic Patriarch

Ignatius Andrew Akijan Mar Ignatius Andrew 'Abdul-Ghal Akijan (or ''Akhidjan'', ''Akidjian'', 1622–1677) was the Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church from 1662 to 1677. His election as Patriarch marked the first separation of the hierarchy between the Syriac ...

. At the death of Andrew Akijan, in July 1677, Abdul Masih misled the pro-Catholic faction professing himself in communion with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in order to be elected as Patriarch, but as soon as he obtained the firman of appointment by the Ottoman Sultan, he did a complete about-face. Thus the pro-Catholic faction in Aleppo elected in his place his nephew, Shahbaddin, who had become a supporter of Andrew Akijan.

Patriarch

After election, Shahbaddin obtained, also thanks to the 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 throu ...

, the confirmation as Patriarch from the Sultan, and he was enthroned on 2 April 1678. He was later confirmed also by Pope Innocent XI who granted him 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 metropol ...

, the sign of patriarchal authority, on 12 June 1679. The next years were deeply marked by the clashes between the opposite factions, the pro-Catholic and the pro-Orthodox, who both tried to win over to their side the Ottoman authorities. This resulted in five depositions and re-instalment of Shahbaddin. Year after year, the Ottoman authorities took a stand in favour of the pro-Orthodox faction, and the clashes soon degraded in a true persecution from the Orthodox Syrians towards the pro-Catholic party. In 1696 Shahbaddin, with Archbishop Gregory Isho (Josue) of Jerusalem, traveled to

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 ...

to raise funds. In Rome they met

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...

and they remained there till 1700 when, through the support of Leopold I, Emperor of Austria and of

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

, they could reach

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. Shahbaddin was thus re-installed on 1 March 1701 for the fifth time as Syrian Patriarch in Aleppo.

Tragic end

This last re-instalment ended in tragedy after a few months due to the persecutions from the pro-Orthodox faction and the Ottoman authorities. On 27 August 1701 Shahbaddin, the Archbishop Dionysius Amin Kahn Risqallah of Aleppo,consecrated Archbishop of Aleppo on 4 April 1678 and most of the clergy were arrested, beaten and imprisoned. On 10 November 1701 they were transferred with a forced march from Aleppo to the castle of

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...

. Bishop Amin Kahn Risqallah died the same day he arrived in the castle, on 18 November, because of the wounds suffered during the march, and the others captives were kept imprisoned for some months. Notwithstanding the fierce complaints of the Western rules, Shahbaddin was not released, and on 4 March 1702 he was offered a coffee by the commanding officer of the castle, and in the same night he died, quite surely poisoned.

Successive events

After Shahbaddin's death on 4 March 1702, the clergy remained in prison in Adana till early 1704. During their captivity, on 23 November 1703, they elected as new Patriarch the

maphrian The Maphrian ( syr, ܡܦܪܝܢܐ, maphryānā or ''maphryono''), originally known as the Grand Metropolitan of the East and also known as the Catholicos, was the second-highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, ...

and Archbishop of Nineveh Isaac Basilios Joubeir (or Basil Ishaq ibn Jubair, c. 1645–1721), who at the time was in Istanbul in the French consulate. He was later confirmed as Patriarch on 17 November 1704 by

. But he refused to accept the patriarchal title anyway and continued to consider himself only as a

Maphrian The Maphrian ( syr, ܡܦܪܝܢܐ, maphryānā or ''maphryono''), originally known as the Grand Metropolitan of the East and also known as the Catholicos, was the second-highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, ...

, waiting for a better time. In 1706 he moved to Rome where he died on 18 May 1721. The Syrian Catholic Church had a new Patriarch only in 1783 with Ignatius Michael III Jarweh.

Notes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shahbaddin, Ignatius Gregory Peter 06 Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Oriental Orthodoxy Syriac Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch 1641 births 1702 deaths Assassinated religious leaders Year of birth unknown 17th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 18th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Bishops in the Ottoman Empire Assyrians from the Ottoman Empire Prisoners and detainees of the Ottoman Empire