Joseph Hajjar (1923–2015) was a Syrian-born priest in the
Melkite Greek Catholic Church who was particularly known for historical works covering the fortunes of Christians in the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...
, concentrating on the nineteenth century. Hajjar's interests, however, covered wider spheres, including the permanent
synod in the
patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
down to the eleventh century, church history in modern times also involving the European territories of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
and the question of Christian
ecclesiastical tribunals in the
Muslim world including their suppression in Egypt.
Biography
Hajjar was born in
Damascus,
Syria in 1923, and became an ordained priest in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
in 1946. He was the director of the journal ''
Concilium'', which referenced the preoccupations of the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
, something that governed many of his publications. He also contributed to ''ISTINA''.
A member of the Belgian Académie Internationale des Sciences Religieuses, Hajjar proved active in international associations in Germany and France, where he had earlier studied. He died in 2015.
Selected works
*Un lutteur infatigable, le patriarche Maximos III Mazloum, Harissa (Lebanon) 1957.
*Le synode permanent (
Synodos endemousa) de l'Eglise byzantine des origines jusqu'au XIè siècle, Rome 1962 (Orientalia christiana Analecta, no.164).
*Les chrétiens uniates du Proche Orient, Seuil 1962.
*L'Europe et les destinées du Proche-Orient (1815–1848),
Bloud & Gay
Francisque Gay (2 May 1885 – 22 October 1963) was a French editor, politician and diplomat. He was committed to the Catholic Church and to Christian democracy.
He ran the Bloud et Gay publishing house for many years, and edited the influential ...
, 1970 (Bibliothèque de l'histoire de l'Eglise, collection publiée sous la direction d'Eugène Jarry).
*Le christianisme en Orient - Etudes d'histoire contemporaine (1684–1968), Librairie du Liban 1971.
*Le Vatican, la France et le Catholicisme Oriental, Beauchesne 1997.
In collaboration
*Ludovicus Jacobus Rogier, Guillaume de Bertier de Sauvigny, Joseph Hajjar: Nouvelle histoire de l'Eglise. 4 Siècle des Lumières, Révolutions, Restaurations, Seuil 1966.
*Roger Aubert, Jean Bruls, Paul E. Crunican, John Tracy Ellis, Joseph Hajjar, Frederick B. Pike: Nouvelle Histoire de l'Eglise. 5 L'Eglise dans le Monde Moderne, Seuil 1975.
References
Sources
*Antoine Guillaumont, review of Joseph Hajjar, Les chrétiens uniates du Proche-Orient, in Revue de l'histoire des religions, vol.168 (1965), p. 211.
*Étienne Fouilloux, review of Joseph Hajjar, Le Christianisme en Orient-Etudes d'histoire contemporaine (1684–1968), in Archives des Sciences sociales des religions, vol. 31 (1971), p. 206-207.
*Étienne Fouilloux, review of Joseph Hajjar, Religion et Politique en Méditerrannée orientale (1878–1914), in Archives des Sciences sociales des religions, vol.50/2 (1980), p. 167-175.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hajjar, Joseph
1923 births
2015 deaths
Syrian Melkite Greek Catholics