Paul (Yazigi) of Aleppo (also known as Boulos Yazigi; born 1959) was the metropolitan of the

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

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 ...

, of the

Church of Antioch The Church of Antioch ( ar, كنيسة أنطاكية, Romanization: kánīsa ʾanṭākiya, International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: a.niː.sa ʔan.tˤaː.ki.ja was the first of the five major churches of the early pentarchy in Christianity, w ...

Life

Born in 1959 in the coastal city of Latakia (

) into a very devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

family, he was active in the

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 ...

as a youth. After graduating in 1985 from the

Tishreen University Tishreen University ( ar, جامعة تشرين, lit=October University), is a public university located in Latakia, Syria. It is the third-largest university in Syria. History The university was founded under the name of the ''University ...

with a Civil Engineering degree, he was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

and studied

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 ...

at the

University of Thessaloniki A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, gaining a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1989, 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 1992 and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

. He also studied at

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

. Paul was ordained to the

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 particu ...

hood in 1992 and was

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the Institute of Theology from 1994 to 2000 when he was elected Metropolitan of Aleppo, being enthroned in Aleppo on October 22. He succeeded Youssef (Elias), bishop of Aleppo from 1971 to 2000. His brother is

John X Pope John X ( la, Ioannes X; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli, ...

, currently the

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch The patriarch of Antioch is one of the Eastern Orthodox patriarchs, the leader of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. The term "Greek" does not refer to ethnic origin; the majority of these patriarchs were not ethnic Greeks. It r ...

Kidnapping

In 2013, Paul, along with Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

Yohanna Ibrahim Yohanna Ibrahim ( ar, يوحنا إبراهيم) also Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim (born August 18, 1948) is the Syriac Orthodox archbishop of Aleppo. He was kidnapped on April 22, 2013, along with Paul (Yazigi), the Greek Orthodox metropolitan of ...

, was abducted by militants in the Syrian Civil war; his whereabouts was unknown for several years. The Rewards for Justice Program offers $5 million for information on the ISIS network responsible for kidnapping Christian clerics:

Maher Mahfouz Maher may refer to: Name *Maher (given name), an Arabic given name *Maher (surname), list of people with the name Places *Maher Island, an Antarctic island *Maher, Colorado, an unincorporated community in the United States *Maher, West Virgi ...

Michael Kayyal Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

and

Paolo Dall'Oglio Paolo Dall'Oglio (born November 17, 1954) is an Italian Jesuit priest and peace activist. He was exiled from Syria by the government in 2012 for meeting with members of the opposition and criticizing the alleged actions of the Syrian government ...

, as well as Boulos Yazigi. In January 2020, an investigative report published by

Mansur Salib Mansour ( ar, منصور, Manṣūr); also spelled Mounsor, Monsur (Bengali), Mansoor, Manser, Mansur, Mansyur (Indonesian) or Mensur (Turkish), is a male Arabic name that means "He who is victorious", from the Arabic root '' naṣr'' (نصر), m ...

, a self-described "Syrian citizen in the United States", alleged that both bishops were killed in 2016., citing In October 2021, the Antiochian Synod in Balamand made the decision to transfer him to the honorary diocese of Diyarbakir due to his remaining in captivity.

Gallery

File:Church of the Dormition of Our Lady, Greek Orthodox, Aleppo (the belfry).jpg,

Church of the Dormition of Our Lady Church of the Dormition of Our Lady ( ar, كنيسة رقاد السيدة العذراء) is a Greek Orthodox church in Jdeydeh quarter of Aleppo, Syria. The church belongs the Greek Orthodox Prelacy, the Diocese of Aleppo. It was built during ...

Cathedral File:Ayda alley, Aleppo Christian Quarter (02).jpg, A narrow street in the Christian quarter (Aleppo) File:Jerusalem Street Scenes (9076191798).jpg, Banner in support of the kidnapped bishops in front of the

Monastery of Saint Mark, Jerusalem The Syriac Orthodox Monastery of Saint Mark ( syr, ܕܰܝܪܳܐ ܕܡܳܪܝ̱ ܡܰܪܩܽܘܣ ܕܣܽܘܪ̈ܳܝܝܶܐ, romanized: Dayrā dMār Marqus dSūrāyē) is a Syriac Orthodox monastery and church in the Old City of Jerusalem. According to a ...

, in 2013.

References

{{authority control 1959 births 2010s missing person cases 21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Aristotle University of Thessaloniki alumni Greek Orthodox Christians from Syria Living people Missing people Missing person cases in Syria People from Latakia Syrian archbishops Tishreen University alumni

Life

Kidnapping

See also

Gallery

References