Metropolitan Saba (Isper) ( ar, سابا (إسبر), born 1959,

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

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 ...

) is the

Antiochian Orthodox The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch ( el, Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East ( ar ...

Metropolitan over the Archdiocese of New York and All North America, formerly the Metropolitan and Archbishop of Bosra,

Hauran The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...

and Jabal al-Arab in Syria. Saba Esber was born in 1959 in

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

, Syria, to an Orthodox Christian family. He graduated in 1987 with a BA in Civil Engineering from

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 o ...

in Latakia and with a BTh in Theology from the

University of Balamand The University of Balamand (UOB; ar, جامعة البلمند) is a private institution, secular in its policies and approach to education. It welcomes faculty, students, and staff from all faiths and national or ethnic origins. The university i ...

. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1984 and the priesthood in 1988, serving at the Church of the Archangel Michael in Latakia. In 1994 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. He was elected as an auxiliary bishop to Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch and consecrated to the episcopacy on Dec. 20, 1997, assigned as an auxiliary in Latakia. In 1999, he was elected by the Holy Synod of Antioch to be the Metropolitan of Bosra and Hauran. His episcopacy has been in the midst of extremely difficult circumstances, as the region over which he has presided has been particularly badly damaged and materially impoverished by the Syrian civil war. On February 23, 2023, the Holy Synod of Antioch elected Metropolitan Saba as the Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. He has translated numerous books and articles into Arabic, as well as serving as author and editor of many other articles. From 1995 to 2006, he taught Pastoral Care and Introduction to the Old Testament at the Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology at the

. As part of his friendship with Bishop Basil (Essey) of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, Saba has overseen a program of "twinning" between parishes of the North American archdiocese and his own archdiocese of Hauran as part of a "sister diocese" relationship. In 2022, he was included among the names on the nominating ballot for consideration for election by the Holy Synod of Antioch to be the metropolitan archbishop of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. He was elected metropolitan of the archdiocese in early 2023.

References

External links

Official biographyWritings by Metr. Saba Esber in English translationMetr. Saba's Facebook page (Arabic)Archdiocese of Hauran
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esper, Saba 1959 births 20th-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops 21st-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops Bishops in Syria Bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Eastern Orthodox metropolitans Syrian Christians Living people

See also

References

External links