Suheil Salman Ibrahim Dawani (born Nablus,

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, 1951) is a Palestinian Anglican bishop. He was the 14th bishop of the

Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem The Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem ( ar, أبرشية القدس الأنغليكانية) is the Anglican jurisdiction for Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It is a part of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Mi ...

from 15 April 2007, and Archbishop in Jerusalem from the restoration of the post in 2014, until his retirement in 2021. From 2017 to 2019 he was also the President Bishop of the

Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East The Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East is a province of the Anglican Communion. The primate of the church is called President Bishop and represents the Church at the international Anglican Communion Primates' Meetings. The Centra ...

. He is married and has three daughters.

Ecclesiastical career

Dawani graduated with a B.A. at the

Near East School of Theology The Near East School of Theology (NEST), located in Beirut, Lebanon, is an interdenominational Reformed Protestant theological seminary serving Christian churches of the Middle East and North Africa, and also educates international students who ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, in 1976. He was ordained an Anglican deacon in 1976 and a priest in 1978. He served for eight years at St. Andrew's parish in

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

, and St. Peter's in

Bir Zeit Birzeit ( ar, بيرزيت), also Bir Zeit, is a State of Palestine, Palestinian Palestinian Christians, Christian town north of Ramallah, in the central West Bank. Its population in the 2007 census was 4,529. Birzeit is the home to Birzeit Unive ...

. He moved with his family to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1985, to study at

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...

, where he completed his M.A. and began work on his Doctor of Ministry (D.Min). He was recalled to his diocese in 1987, and became priest at St. John's Episcopal Church in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He went to serve once again at the

and

parishes, from 1992 to 1997. He was elected Secretary General of the Diocese of Jerusalem in 1997. He became then Canon for the Arabic-speaking congregation at St. George's Cathedral, in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He went to serve for a third time in

, from 2004 to 2007. He became Coadjutor Bishop on 15 June 2005 and was consecrated on 6 January 2006. He was enthroned as Bishop of Jerusalem on 15 April 2007. The same year he completed his D.Min at Virginia Seminary. Dawani became Archbishop in Jerusalem in 2014 when synod voted to upgrade the concurrent role of representative of the Anglican Communion in the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

from a bishopric to an archbishopric, as it had been previously from 1957 to 1976. He was elected Primate of the

on 17 May 2017, for a two and a half year mandate, and served until the autumn of 2019. He retired in 2021, having reached the compulsory episcopal retirement age of 70.

Views

He was critical of the

Global Anglican Future Conference The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) is a series of conferences of conservative Anglican bishops and leaders, the first of which was held in Jerusalem from 22 to 29 June 2008 to address the growing controversy of the divisions in the An ...

, that took place in

, on 22-29 June 2008, stating that he believed that "reconciliation" was the way to solve divisions in the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

. He addressed GAFCON III on its opening day, but wasn't a registered delegate of his province.GAFCON III largest pan-Anglican gathering since Toronto Congress of 1963, Anglican Ink, 20 June 2018
/ref>

References

External links

Suheil Dawani Biography
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawani, Suheil 1951 births Living people Anglican bishops of Jerusalem Palestinian Anglicans 21st-century Anglican bishops in the Middle East 21st-century Anglican archbishops People from Nablus