Louis Cheikho, ar, لويس شيخو, born Rizqallâh Cheikho (1859–1927) was a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Chaldean Catholic , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

priest, Orientalist and

Theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He pioneered

Eastern Christian Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

and Assyrian Chaldean literary research and made major contributions to the publication of manuscript texts.

Biography

Louis Cheikho was born in Mardin,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

on February 5th, 1859. His father was an ethnic

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

, and a member of the

Chaldean Catholic Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

, whose Assyrian family had been based at Mardin for at least three centuries. His mother was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

named Elizabeth Schamsé, who took him on

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

when he was 9-years old.

Early life

In 1868, Cheikhô joined his brother at the

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...

Jesuit Seminary in Ghazîr,

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 ...

. At this date, 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, ...

was not merely preparing young men for the priesthood, but also acted as a secondary college for young Christian and especially Assyrian Chaldean men. Both groups followed a similar syllabus. There, he learned both ancient and modern European and Semitic languages. In 1874, he entered the

Jesuit Order , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

and started his

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

training at

Lons-le-Saunier Lons-le-Saunier () is a Communes of France, commune and capital of the Jura (department), Jura Department, eastern France. Geography The town is in the heart of the Revermont region, at the foot of the first plateau of the Jura massif. The Jur ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He adopted at that time the name of 'Louis' out of devotion for the young Jesuit saint Louis Gonzaga. In 1878, he returned to

and taught

Arabic Literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...

at the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Saint Joseph College 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 ...

for 10 years. During this period, Cheikho continued his studies of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

Université Saint-Joseph Saint Joseph University of Beirut ( French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', abbreviated to and commonly known as "USJ") is a private Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jes ...

. In 1888, Cheikho travelled to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

for

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

studies in preparation for the priesthood. He was ordained priest by the Chaldean Church of the East on 8 September 1891. He then spent one year in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and another year in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Those extended European stays allowed him to acquire the academic methodologies that helped him in his later works. Finally in 1894, he settled in Beirut, Lebanon, where he continued his academic career at Université Saint-Joseph. Cheikho died in Beirut, Lebanon in 1927. Cheikho is perhaps the founder of modern publications of unpublished

texts, especially Christian

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

texts. He also founded, in 1898, the journal ''

Al-Machriq ''Al-Machriq'' (Arabic: ''The East'') was a journal founded in 1898 by Jesuit and Chaldean priest Louis Cheikhô, published by Jesuit fathers of Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon. The subtitle was ''Revue Catholique Orientale. Scienc ...

'', and contributed many articles and publications to its pages. In addition to ''Al Machriq'' Cheikho also edited another Jesuit publication, '' Al Bashir''. His work was an inspiration for CEDRAC. Famous Turkish poet

Mehmet Akif Ersoy Mehmet Akif Ersoy (20 December 1873 – 27 December 1936) was a Turkish people, Turkish pan-Islamist poet, writer, academic, politician, and the author of the İstiklâl Marşı, Turkish National Anthem. Widely regarded as one of the premiere l ...

said that his work "Majani al-Adab" can be used in teaching Arabic.

Works

*''Les poètes arabes chrétiens. Poètes antéislamiques. Qouss, évêque de Najran'', dans ''Études religieuses...'', 1888, pp. 592–611. *''Le Christianisme et la littérature chrétienne en Arabie avant l'Islam'', (3 vol.), Beirut, 1913, 1919, 1923. *''La Nation maronite et la Compagnie de Jésus aux XVI et XVII siècles'', Beirut, 1923. (Translated into French by Y. Moubarac, Beirut, 1984). *(in Arabic) ''Les vizirs et secrétaires arabes chrétiens en Islam (622-1517)'', (text established and annotated by Camille Hechaïmé), Beirut, 1987. *''Les Saints particulièrement honorés des Libanais'', Beirut, 1914 (translated into French by Y. Moubarac) *(in Arabic) ''Les savants arabes chrétiens en Islam (622-1300)'', (ed. by C. Héchaïmé), Jounieh, 1983. * ''Anciens traités arabes contenant La politique de Themistius, l'économie domestique de Probus (?), les récits amusants de Barhebraeus et l'exclusion de la tristesse, attribué à Platon'' (publiés par Louis Cheikho), Impr. catholique, Beirut, 1920–23, 68p. *(in Arabic) ''Vingt traités théologiques d'auteurs arabes chrétiens, IXe-XIIIe siècle'', (publiés par le P. Louis Cheikho avec le concours des P.P. Louis Malouf et Constantin Bacha), deuxième édition augmentée, Imprimerie Catholique, Beirut, 1920, 148p. * (in Arabic) La littérature arabe au XIX siècle. 1ère partie: de 1800 à 1870. Beirut: Imprimérie Catholique, 1908. 134p; 2ième partie: de 1870 a 1900. Beirut: Imprimérie Catholique, 1910. 206p.

Bibliography

Henri Lammens Henri Lammens (1 Jul 1862 – 23 Apr 1937) was a Belgian Orientalist historian and Jesuit, who wrote (in French) on the early history of Islam. Education and career as a Jesuit Born in Ghent, Belgium of Catholic Flemish stock, Henri Lammens joi ...

: ''Le P. Louis Cheikho'', Lyon, 1929. *Camille Hechaïmé: ''Louis Cheikho et son livre ‘le christianisme et la littérature chrétienne en Arabie avant l’Islam, Dar el-Machreq, Beyrouth, 1967. *R.B. Campbell: ''The Arabic Journal `al-Machriq'... under the editorship of Père L. Cheikho'', University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1972.

Notes

External links

CEDRAC article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheikho, Louis 1859 births 1927 deaths Chaldean Catholics Saint Joseph University faculty Lebanese Jesuits Lebanese people of Armenian descent Lebanese orientalists Lebanese writers People from the Ottoman Empire of Armenian descent People from Mardin Magazine founders