Samuel Giamil (1847–1917) ( ar, شموئيل جميل, Shmuʾel Jamīl) was an

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

scholar,

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingualism, monolingual speakers in the World population, world's pop ...

and a Chaldean Catholic monk. He joined the

Monastery of Rabban Hormizd Rabban Hormizd Monastery ( syr , ܪܒܢ ܗܘܪܡܝܙܕ ܥܓ̰ܡܝܐ) is an important monastery of the Chaldean Catholic Church, founded about 640 AD, carved out in the mountains about 2 miles from Alqosh, Iraq, 28 miles north of Mosul. It was the ...

in 1866. In 1869, he accompanied his

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

and Patriarch Mar Yawsep VI Audo to the

first Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

. He was appointed a vicar for the diocese of ʿAqra for one year. He was elected a general Abbot for the Chaldean monks in 1881, 1887 and 1900. He authored numerous scholarly works in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and translated a theological book written originally in

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

by Adam ʿAqraya from Latin back into Syriac.

Biography

Samuel Giamil was born 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 ...

in Ninveh Governorate 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 Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

to Shimʿun Jamīl and Farīdeh. Tel Keppe was a predominantly Assyrian Christian town until the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

occupation on 6 August 2014. In 1866 he joined the Monastery of Rabban Hormizd of the Chaldean Catholic Church. The then Abbot of the monastery was Elishaʿ Tīshā. In 1869, he accompanied Patriarch Mar Yawsep VI Audo to the First Vatican Council. There he attended college and continued his studies there until 1879, when he was ordained a priest. As soon as he returned, he was sent out to serve in the Monastery of Saint Mary near Alqosh. There he established a school in 1880. In 1885 he was sent to the northern regions of Mesopotamia by Patriarch Eliya ʿAbū al-Yūnān as a Patriarchal envoy. For an year, he served as the Vicar of the Chaldean Diocese of ʿAqra. In 1892, he accompanied

Toma Audo Mar Toma Audo ( syr, ܬܐܘܡܐ ܐܘܕܘ), also spelled Thomas Audo (October 10, 1854 - July 27, 1918) was Archbishop of the Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Urmia (1890-1918), within the Chaldean Catholic Church.Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of 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 alt ...

, to the mountain villages for the purpose of healing a schism in the church.

Selected publications

Monte Singar: Storia d’un popolo ignoto
(1900)
Symbolum Nestorianum anni p. Ch. n. 612
(1901)

(1902).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giamil, Samuel 1847 births 1917 deaths People of Iraqi-Assyrian descent Chaldean Catholics Assyrian Iraqi writers Syriacists Syriac writers