John XII Peter El Hajj (1 November 1817 in Dlebta,

Keserwan District Keserwan District ( ar, قضاء كسروان, 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 Maroni ...

– 24 December 1898 in

Bkerké Bkerké (Arabic: بْكِرْكِي, also Bkerke or Bkirki) is the episcopal see of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, located 650 m above the bay of Jounieh, northeast of Beirut, in Lebanon. Though ...

), (or Youhanna Boutros El Hajj, ''El-Hage'', ''El-Haj'', ''El-Hadj'', ar, يوحنا الثاني عشر بطرس الحاج), was an Eparch of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Baalbek and 71st

Maronite Patriarch of Antioch This is a list of the Maronite patriarchs of Antioch and all the East, the primate of the Maronite Church, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Starting with Paul Peter Massad in 1854, after becoming patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchat ...

from 1890 until his death in 1898.

Life

John Peter El Hajj was born in the village of Dlebta, in the

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 ...

on November 1, 1817, son of the priest of the village. He studied in the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

of 'Ain-Warka and was ordinated

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on December 26, 1839. After having studied

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

, on May 10, 1844, he was appointed judge in

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

, a position he held till 1855 when he became secretary of Archbishop

Paolo Brunoni Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art *Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter *Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American s ...

, a

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

who was the

Apostolic Legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

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 ...

. During the

1860 Lebanon conflict The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus (also called the 1860 Syrian Civil War) was a civil conflict in Mount Lebanon during Ottoman rule in 1860–1861 fought mainly between the local Druze and Christians. Following decisive Druze ...

he took refuge in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. He was appointed eparch of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Baalbek and consecrated

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on August 15, 1861, by

Paul Peter Massad Paul I Peter Massad (born 16 February 1806 in Ashqout, Lebanon – died on 18 April 1890 in Bkerké, Lebanon) (or Boulos Boutros Massaad, ''Mas'ad'', ar, بولس الأول بطرس مسعد) was the 70th Maronite Patriarch of Antioch from 1854 ...

. In 1867 he followed Patriarch Massad in his travels to Rome, Paris and Istanbul. After Massad's death, John Peter El Hajj was unanimously elected patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites on April 28, 1890. El Hajj took the name Boutros Youhanna XII, being enthroned on May 4, 1890. He was confirmed by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

of 23 June of the same year. During his patriarchate, in 1893 he built a new palace around the earlier monastery in the winter residence of the Patriarch at

. Also El Hajj instructed the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Arca di Fenicia dei Maroniti and the future Patriarch

Elias Peter Hoayek Elias Peter Hoayek ( ar, الياس بطرس الحويّك; 4 December 1843 – 24 December 1931; also spelled Hoyek, Hwayek, Huayek, Juayek, Hawayek, Houwayek) was the 72nd Patriarch of Antioch for the Maronites, the largest Christian Catholic ...

to raise the necessary funds for the construction of a residence to Maronites in Jerusalem and for the construction of the new Maronite seminary in Rome, which will be inaugurated in 1893. He also supported without any hesitation the work of Latin missionaries. He died on December 24, 1898, in Bkerké.

Sources

* J. Hajjar, "El-Hage Youhanna," in Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, 23 (1990), pp. 25–27.

Notes

External links

* http://www.kobayat.org/data/maronites/patriarchs.htm#y-hajj * https://archive.org/stream/dictionnairedet10pt1vaca#page/n61/mode/2up, Pierre Dib, v. Maronite (Eglise), in the Dictionnaire de Theologie Catholique, Tome Dixième, première partie, Paris 1928, coll. 107-110. * http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/baal1.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Hajj, John Peter El 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 1817 births 1898 deaths Lebanese religious leaders Lebanese Maronites Maronite Patriarchs of Antioch

Life

See also

Sources

Notes

External links