Nicholas I Zaya
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Mar Nicholas I Zaya (or ''Zaya'' or ''Eshaya'') was the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1839 to 1847. He succeeded
Yohannan VIII Hormizd Yohannan VIII Hormizd (often referred to by European missionaries as ''John Hormez'' or ''Hanna Hormizd'') (1760–1838) was the last hereditary patriarch of the Eliya line of the Church of the East and the first patriarch of a united Chalde ...
, the last of the
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 ...
patriarchs who traced their descent from
Eliya VI Eliya VI ( syr, ܐܠܝܐ / ''Elīyā'', d. 26 May 1591) was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 1558 to 1591, with residence in Rabban Hormizd Monastery, near Alqosh, in modern Iraq. In older historiography, he was designated as Eliya VI, bu ...
(1558–1591), and his elevation ended four centuries of hereditary succession in the Eliya line. After Zaya's accession the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
attempted to reform abuses within the Chaldean Church, but its interference was strenuously resisted by several Chaldean bishops. As a result, Zaya's short reign was plagued by one crisis after another. In 1846, after the Vatican conspicuously failed to support him against his recalcitrant bishops, he resigned the patriarchate and retired to his native town of Khosrowa, where he died in 1855. He was succeeded by Joseph VI Audo, one of his most determined opponents.


Early years

Zaya was born in Khosrowa ( syr, ܟܘܣܪܒܐܕ), a village near
Salmas Salmas ( fa, سلماس; ; ; ; syr, ܣܵܠܵܡܵܣ, Salamas) is the capital of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. It is located northwest of Lake Urmia, near Turkey. According to the 2019 census, the city's population is 127,86 ...
in the
Urmia Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an al ...
region of
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. In his youth he studied for several years at the College of the Propaganda in
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 ...
. According to the missionary Sheil, who met him in Dilman in 1836, Zaya studied at the Propaganda for fifteen years and was an outstanding scholar. He was ordained a priest ''c.''1830, and was consecrated coadjutor bishop of
Salmas Salmas ( fa, سلماس; ; ; ; syr, ܣܵܠܵܡܵܣ, Salamas) is the capital of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. It is located northwest of Lake Urmia, near Turkey. According to the 2019 census, the city's population is 127,86 ...
in 1836 by the Chaldean patriarch
Yohannan Hormizd Yohannan VIII Hormizd (often referred to by European missionaries as ''John Hormez'' or ''Hanna Hormizd'') (1760–1838) was the last hereditary patriarch of the Eliya line of the Church of the East and the first patriarch of a united Chalde ...
.


Succession to the patriarchate

On 13 October 1837, conscious that he had not long to live, Yohannan Hormizd designated as coadjutor and 'guardian of the throne' Gregory Peter di Natale, metropolitan of
Gazarta Cizre (; ar, جَزِيْرَة ٱبْن عُمَر, Jazīrat Ibn ʿUmar, or ''Madinat al-Jazira'', he, גזירא, Gzira, ku, Cizîr, ''Cizîra Botan'', or ''Cizîre'', syr, ܓܙܪܬܐ ܕܒܪ ܥܘܡܪ, Gāzartā,) is a city in the Cizre Dis ...
, presumably with the intention of excluding his nephew Eliya from the patriarchal dignity. However, he did not promise the succession to his coadjutor, and in a bull of 25 September 1838 the Vatican appointed Nicholas Zaya Yohannan's coadjutor, with the right of succession. The main reason for the Vatican's intervention was to ensure that the hereditary principle, first introduced into the Church of the East in the fifteenth century, would play no part in the selection of the next patriarch. The bull mentioned Yohannan Hormizd's growing infirmity and the desirability of avoiding inconvenience and harm should the patriarchate suddenly become vacant. As a
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
by birth, Zaya could lay claim to the protection of the foreign consuls in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. He had also been educated at the Propaganda, and it was hoped that after Yohannan's death he would loyally implement Vatican policy. The
bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...
of appointment arrived in Mosul after the death of Yohannan Hormizd, thus Nicholas Zaya became patriarch in 1839 and was confirmed by the
pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
on April 27, 1840. The Chaldean metropolitans Lawrent Shoa of Kirkuk, Basil Asmar of Amid,
Joseph Audo Joseph VI Audo (or ''Audu'' or ''Oddo'') (1790–1878) was the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1847 to 1878. Early life Joseph VI Audo was born in Alqosh in 1790 and in 1814 he became a monk of the monastery of Rabban Hormizd. He w ...
of
Amadiya Amedi or Amadiya ( ku, ئامێدی, Amêdî, ; Syriac: , Amədya), is a town in the Duhok Governorate of Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is built on a mesa in the broader Great Zab river valley. Etymology According to Ali ibn al-Athir, the name ...
and Mikha'il Kattula of
Seert Siirt ( ar, سِعِرْد, Siʿird; hy, Սղերդ, S'gherd; syr, ܣܥܪܬ, Siirt; ku, Sêrt) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the seat of Siirt Province. The population of the city according to the 2009 census was 129,188. History Pr ...
, angered that they had not been consulted in the choice of Yohannan Hormizd's successor, met in the spring of 1839 in an attempt to elect one of their number patriarch, but were unable to agree. Meanwhile, Zaya retained the support of the Vatican's apostolic vicar, Laurent Trioche, and the metropolitan Gregory Peter di Natale, who wrote to the Vatican denouncing the conduct of the other bishops and requesting an unequivocal show of support for the new patriarch. The Vatican confirmed Zaya's succession on 27 April 1840, and directed the Chaldean bishops to obey him.


Patriarchate

Because the manner of his succession was resented by most of the Chaldean hierarchy, Nicholas I Zaya had throughout his short reign limited control over his bishops. He began by directing
Joseph Audo Joseph VI Audo (or ''Audu'' or ''Oddo'') (1790–1878) was the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1847 to 1878. Early life Joseph VI Audo was born in Alqosh in 1790 and in 1814 he became a monk of the monastery of Rabban Hormizd. He w ...
to leave Amid for Amadiya, so that he could properly administer his metropolitan province, but eventually agreed to let him reside at
Alqosh Alqosh ( syr, ܐܲܠܩܘܿܫ, Judeo-Aramaic: אלקוש, ar, ألقوش, alternatively spelled Alkosh or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District and is situated 45 km north of the ...
. He also, like his predecessor, had to reckon with the intransigence of the monks of the monastery of
Rabban Hormizd Rabban Mar Hormizd ( syc, ܕܪܒܢ ܗܘܪܡܙܕ ) was a monk who lived in the seventh century in modern northern Iraq. ''Rabban'' is the Syriac term for ''monk''. "Rabban" is also the Aramaic word for "teacher". He founded the Rabban Hormizd Mo ...
, and friends of the patriarch said later that he would have closed down the monastery if he had dared. Instead he permitted 45 elderly monks, including the priest Mikha'il, to retire to lay life. This indirect approach so reduced the number of monks that the monastery thereafter lost much of its former influence. In 1843, after the Nestorian patriarch Shemon XVII Abraham (1820–61) declined to join a
Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...
expedition against Amadiya, the Kurdish emirs Nurallah Khan and Bedr Khan Beg attacked the mountain Nestorians of the Hakkari region of eastern Turkey, with the connivance of the Ottoman authorities. The Kurds invaded the Tiyari, Walto and Dez districts, sacking the Nestorian town of Ashitha and burning most of the villages. About 10,000 men out of a total population of about 50,000 in these three districts were killed, and many women and children were carried off by the Kurds as captives. Mar Shemon's elderly mother was raped and then beheaded, and her murderers threw the corpse into the Zab. Those who survived the massacre, including the patriarch himself, took refuge in Mosul. The Kurdish attack on the mountain Nestorians had indirect consequences for the Chaldean Church. Early in 1843 an attempt by Zaya to reform the church calendar by adopting the Western date for
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
aroused strong resentment among the Mosul Chaldeans, and provoked a movement, in which the Anglican
missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
George Percy Badger George Percy Badger (April 6 1815–February 21 1888) was an English Anglican missionary, and a scholar of oriental studies. He is mainly known for his doctrinal and historical studies about the Church of the East. Life ''George Percy Bad ...
was implicated, to depose him and replace him with Yohannan Hormizd's nephew Eliya. Eliya was unwilling to challenge the patriarch's authority, and Zaya's opponents turned instead to the Nestorian patriarch Shemon XVII Abraham, then a refugee in Mosul, urging him to lay claim to the patriarchate himself. Zaya and the French missionaries who supported him complained vigorously to the Turkish authorities, and wrote to the
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embassy in
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to protest at Badger's interference. The Turkish government was initially reluctant to intervene, because of Zaya's ambiguous status as a Persian national, and Zaya finally took his cause to Constantinople, where through the influence of the French embassy he obtained a ''firman'' recognising the Chaldean church as a separate millet and acknowledging him as patriarch. The Anglican mission was withdrawn from Mosul, and Badger returned to England in disgrace. After his return from Constantinople in 1845, Zaya did what he could to undermine the influence of the old patriarchal family. Mar Eliya was not allowed to exercise his episcopal functions, and the monks of the monastery of
Rabban Hormizd Rabban Mar Hormizd ( syc, ܕܪܒܢ ܗܘܪܡܙܕ ) was a monk who lived in the seventh century in modern northern Iraq. ''Rabban'' is the Syriac term for ''monk''. "Rabban" is also the Aramaic word for "teacher". He founded the Rabban Hormizd Mo ...
were encouraged to claim a number of strips of property around Alqosh which may once have belonged to the monastery but had for years been considered as possessions of the patriarchal family. The French consul supported these claims, and the disputed lands were awarded to the monastery. According to Badger, 'two hundred and fifty persons were deprived of their patrimony and reduced to beggary through this joint agency.' Badger persuaded the British consul to intervene, and part of the property was eventually restored to its previous owners.Badger, ''Nestorians'', i. 171–2


Resignation and death

The intrigues against Zaya continued into 1846. His opponents accused him of embezzling church funds, which he had in fact used to restore the monastery of Mar Giwargis near Mosul, and spread rumours, 'generally believed to be without foundation', according to Badger, of immoral conduct. As a result, he was summoned to Rome by the Vatican authorities for these allegations to be investigated. He refused to obey the summons, and left Mosul for his native village of Khosrowa, where he resigned the patriarchate in May 1847. He remained in Khosrowa until his death in 1855.Fiey, ''POCN'', 39; Wilmshurst, ''EOCE'', 740


Notes


References

* * * * * Hornus, J.-M., 'Mémoire sur l'état actuel et l'avenir de la religion catholique et des missions lazaristes et protestantes en Perse par le Comte de Challaye, consul de France à Erzéroun' (''Cahiers d'Études Chrétiennes Orientales 8-9 für 1970/73''), Action Chrétienne en Orient, Strasbourg o. J., 79f. 85f. 102-109. 148. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaya, Nicholas 1 Syrian archbishops Iranian Eastern Catholics People from Salmas Iranian Assyrian people Chaldean Catholic Patriarchs of Babylon 1855 deaths Year of birth unknown Eastern Catholic bishops in the Ottoman Empire