Mar George Garmo (8 December 1921 – 9 September 1999) was the Archbishop of the Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul (''Mausiliensis Chaldaeorum'') in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

from 14 September 1980 until his death on 9 September 1999.

Biography

He was born Georges Francis Garmo in 1921 in

Tel Keppe Tel Keppe ( syr, ܬܸܠ ܟܹܐܦܹܐ ', ar, تل كيف ', alternatively spelled Tel Kaif or Telkef) is an Assyrian town in northern Iraq. It is located in the Nineveh Governorate, less than 8 mi (13 km) northeast of Mosul.Welcome to Te ...

near

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...

, Iraq to a Chaldean Catholic Assyrian family. He entered the Chaldean Patriarchal

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 ...

in 1934. In 1939, he went 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 further his studies. He was ordained a

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 partic ...

there on his 24th birthday, 8 December 1945. He received a PhD in

Divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Philosophy from the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

in Rome.

Mission in Patriarchate Seminary In Iraq

During this time there was a scarcity of educated

Catholic 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 ...

priests in Iraq. As Rev. Garmo was studying to receive a Ph.D in philosophy, he was requested by the Patriarchate to return to Iraq to minister to the growing Chaldean Patriarchal

, which at the time lacked an extensive

Theology 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 ...

and Philosophy department and staff. Rev. Garmo returned to

in the summer of 1947, where he would spearhead the new and improved Philosophy and Theological studies at Chaldean Patriarchal Seminary the following year. Following his first year as a teacher, in 1949 he was elevated to rector of the Seminary, in which capacity he served until September 1960. During his tenure as Seminary Rector, Garmo was assisted by

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 ...

Mar Raphael Bidawid before his elevation to the Patriarchate.

Mission In USA

Patriarch

Mar Mar, mar or MAR may refer to: Culture * Mar or Mor, an honorific in Syriac * Earl of Mar, an earldom in Scotland * MAA (singer) (born 1986), Japanese * Marathi language, by ISO 639-2 language code * March, as an abbreviation for the third mon ...

Paul II Cheikho Mar Paul II Cheikho † ( syr, ܦܘܠܘܣ ܬܪܝܢܐ ܫܝܟܘ, Arabic: بولس الثاني شيخو) (November 19, 1906–April 13, 1989) was the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1958 until his death in 1989. Life An ethni ...

appointed Garmo as pastor of

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations ar ...

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was original ...

. In 1964, while serving as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Mother of God

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

, Garmo began fundraising drives, with the help of the Parishioners and Parish council he was able to purchase a plot of land in Southfield on Telegraph Road. After the completion of the church, he continued fundraising with the members of the Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan (CIAAM) to raise funds to transfer ownership of of the church's property to the CIAAM to build a Chaldean social club, which would become Southfield Manor. Mother of God Cathedral still stands on this property today. In 1964, Garmo was transferred back to

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

to serve for two years before he returned to Southfield. On 27 September 1966, Garmo was again appointed Pastor of Mother of God Church and Jacob Yasso Associate Pastor. Under Garmo's supervision as Pastor of Mother of God Church there were many significant milestones for the Parish and the Chaldean community. In July 1972, the community celebrated the groundbreaking of a newly built Mother of God Parish, as well as a social hall that was dedicated by Patriarch March

on 15 May 1973. In September 1976, a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

for the Chaldean Sisters was opened on the church's property. Also, while serving as Pastor for Mother of God Church on September 1977, Garmo received Sarhad Yawsip Jammo as an Associate Pastor, who later be named the first bishop of the St. Peter the Apostle Diocese in the U.S. On 25 April 1979, he began building a new and larger Mother of God Church adjacent to the still standing church which would be converted to the present church's rectory. The new church was completed and dedicated on 13 September 1980 by Patriarch March Paul II Cheiko.

Archbishop of Mosul

On 14 September 1980, Garmo was consecrated Archbishop of Mosul by the Chaldean Patriarch. He served as Archbishop of Mosul until 9 September 1999, when he died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, aged 78.Archbishop Georges F. Garmou profile
catholic-hierarchy.org; accessed 13 October 2016.

Episcopal lineage

Archbishop George Garmo was co-consecrated by Mar Raphaël I Bidawid and Bishop Abdul-Ahad Sana.
Catholic Hierarchy.org; accessed 13 October 2016. Archbishop George Garmo was the Principal Co-Consecrator of: Archbishop Stéphane Katchou, Bishop

Ibrahim Namo Ibrahim Ibrahim Namo Ibrahim (born October 1, 1937) is a bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as the Apostolic Exarch of United States of America from 1982 to 1985, and then, following its elevation, as the first eparch (bishop ...

, Bishop Youssef Ibrahim Sarraf, and Archbishop Jibrail Kassab.

References

External links

Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garmo, George Chaldean archbishops Iraqi archbishops 1921 births 1999 deaths People from Tel Keppe Iraqi Eastern Catholics Iraqi Assyrian people Deaths from cancer in Iraq