Nicholas James Samra (born August 15, 1944) is the eparch emeritus of the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton in the United States. He is also Apostolic Administrator of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Nuestra Señora del Paraíso in Mexico City since 2015. Bishop Samra has written extensively on the subject of

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

and the

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

Biography

Early life and priesthood

Bishop Samra was born on August 15, 1944 in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

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 ...

. He was ordained a priest for the Eparchy of Newton on May 10, 1970 and served as a pastor in Melkite parishes in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. Bishop Samra earned the B.A. at Saint Anselm College,

Goffstown, New Hampshire Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 18,577 at the 2020 census. The compact center of town, where 3,366 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goff ...

, and a B.D. from St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts.

Episcopate

On April 21, 1989,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Bishop Samra to Auxiliary Bishop of the Eparchy of Newton and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

Gerasa Jerash ( ar, جرش ''Ǧaraš''; grc, Γέρασα ''Gérasa'') is a city in northern Jordan. The city is the administrative center of the Jerash Governorate, and has a population of 50,745 as of 2015. It is located north of the capital cit ...

. Archbishop

Joseph Tawil Archbishop Joseph Tawil (December 25, 1913 – February 17, 1999) was the Melkite Greek Catholic eparch for the United States, teacher and theologian. He is remembered for his participation in the Second Vatican Council, expanding the Melkite Ch ...

consecrated and installed him on July 6 of that year. Bishop-Nicholas-Samra-2012-01-05

Bishop Samra served as Auxiliary Bishop and Protosyncellus until he retired on January 11, 2005 to devote himself to scholarly work. In June 2011, the Synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church nominated him as Eparch of Newton to succeed Archbishop

Cyril Salim Bustros Cyril Salim Bustros (born January 26, 1939) is the archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos and a former Professor at Saint Joseph University in Beirut. A native of Lebanon, he formerly served as archbishop of B ...

, and

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

appointed him to the position on June 15, 2011. It was announced on August 20, 2022 that Bishop Samra will be suceeded by Bishop-elect Francois Beyrouti, elected on June 23, 2022, by the Melkite Synod. On Friday, January 16, 2015, he was appointed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

to serve also as Apostolic Administrator of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Nuestra Señora del Paraíso in Mexico City, following the death of the former eparch until Joseph Khawam was appointed as successor on December 20, 2019.

Scholarly work

In October 2014, Bishop Samra presented "Eastern Catholicism in the Middle East Fifty Years after Orientalium ecclesiarum" at the conference "The Vatican II Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches, Orientalium ecclesiarum - Fifty Years Later" organized by the

Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies The Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies (MASI) is an autonomous unit of the Faculty of Theology at the University of St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto, Canada. It specializes in Eastern Christia ...

held at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. An active speaker and author, Bishop Samra has written extensively on the subject of

, Christian leadership and stewardship. He has also published a multi-volume history of the Melkite Church and a book on the legacy of Archbishop

Other activities

Bishop Samra is the past president of the Eastern Catholic Association of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Having celebrated his 75th birthday on August 15, 2019, Bishop Samra submitted his request for retirement to 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 R ...

, the acceptance of which was announced along with the announcement that the Melkite Synod had elected Fr. Francois Beyrouti to succeed Bishop Samra.Pope_Francis_Accepts_Resignation_of_Bishop_Nicholas_Samra_of_the_Melkite_Eparchy_of_Newton;_Appoints_Rev._Francois_Beyrouti
_as_Successor,_20.08.2022.html" ;"title="Francois Beyrouti">Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Bishop Nicholas Samra of the Melkite Eparchy of Newton; Appoints Rev. Francois Beyrouti
as Successor, 20.08.2022">Francois Beyrouti">Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Bishop Nicholas Samra of the Melkite Eparchy of Newton; Appoints Rev. Francois Beyrouti
as Successor, 20.08.2022/ref>

References

External links

Official Website of the Melkite Church in the US

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samra, Nicholas American Eastern Catholics American people of Syrian descent American Melkite Greek Catholic bishops 1944 births Living people People from Paterson, New Jersey Melkite Greek Catholic bishops Saint Anselm College alumni