Youssef Absi
[''Società dei Missionari di San Paolo'' – Missionary Society of St. Paul (Melkite Greek); se]
( ar, يوسف عبسي ; la, Iosephus Absi; born June 20, 1946, in
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
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, ...
,
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 current
patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
of the
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
el, Μελχιτική Ελληνική Καθολική Εκκλησία
, image = Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Damascus, Syria.jpg
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
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, abbreviatio ...
since June 21, 2017.
Ecclesiastical career
On May 6, 1973, Youssef Absi was ordained a priest and became chaplain of the Missionary Society of St. Paul (Italian: ''
Società dei Missionari di San Paolo''; abbreviated as S.M.S.P.), a Melkite Greek
Society of Apostolic Life that is also known as the ''Pères Paulistes''.
[ After the conclusion of philosophical and theological studies at the Major Seminary of St. Paul in ]Harissa, Lebanon
Harissa-Daraoun ( ar, حريصا–درعون) is a municipality that consists of two villages, Harissa and Daraoun, in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The municipality mayor from 2016 until 2022 is Mr. Nizar ...
, he obtained a licentiate in philosophy at the Lebanese University
The Lebanese University (LU) (, ) is the only public university in Beirut, Lebanon. It is ranked #701–750 worldwide in terms of education.
The creation of the Lebanese University was an idea first mentioned in the speech of the former Minist ...
, a licentiate in theology at the Institute of St. Paul in Harissa, and a doctorate in musical science and hymnography at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
The Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (french: Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik (USEK); ar, جامعة الرّوح القدس – الكسليك, ''Jāmiʿah al-Rūḥ al-Quddus – al-Kaslīk''), is a private, not-for-profit Catholic univer ...
.
On June 22, 2001, he was appointed titular archbishop
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 an ...
of Tarsus dei Greco-Melkiti and curial bishop and auxiliary bishop in the Melkite Patriarchate. Patriarch Gregory III Laham
Gregory III Laham, Basilian Salvatorian Order, B.S. ( ar, غريغوريوس الثالث لحام; la, Gregorius III Lahamus; born Lutfy Laham, December 15, 1933, in Darayya, Syria), Emeritus Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch, Patriarch ...
was his consecrator, and the co-consecrators were Archbishop Jean Mansour Jean Mansour, SMSP (born on 27 July 1928 in Baalbek, Lebanon - died on 17 November 2006) was Bishop and administrator in the Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch.
Life
Jean Mansour was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 1952 and became Chaplain of ...
, titular archbishop of Apamea in Syria dei Greco-Melkiti, and Archbishop Joseph Kallas
Joseph Kallas, SMSP (born on September 24, 1931 in Fakiha, Lebanon) is Emeritus Melkite Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos.
Biography
Joseph Kallas was ordained a priest on 13 August 1958 by the White Fathe ...
, Archeparch of Beirut and Byblos, on September 2, 2001.
From 1999 to 2006, he was Superior General
A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...
of his religious community, the Missionary Society of St. Paul. He assisted as co-consecrator at the episcopal ordination of Yasser Ayyash
Yasser Ayyash (born December 4, 1955, in Shatana in Irbid, Jordan) is a former archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Petra and Philadelphia in Amman and the current Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchal Archeparchy of Jerusalem.
Pr ...
, Archbishop of Petra and Philadelphia in Jordan. In October 2007, he was appointed patriarchal vicar for the archdiocese of Damascus.
He was elected on June 21, 2017, as the patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. His election came a month after 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. ...
accepted the resignation of Gregory III Laham.[
]
Other activities
In 2001, he became president of the Syrian Caritas (''Commission Commune de Bienfaisance'' (CCB)) and forwards with three full-time members more than 40 projects in Damascus, Aleppo and Hassake. He composed for the singer Marie Keyrouz
Sister Marie Keyrouz (also spelled "Kairouz") ( ar, ماري كيروز; born 1963) is a chanter of Oriental Church music, a member of the Congrégation des Soeurs Basiliennes Chouérites and founder-president of the National Institute of Sacred M ...
"L'Ensemble de la Paix", a hymn that was released on the album ''Cantiques de l'Orient''.
On the Middle East
As a participant in the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Middle East in October 2010, he gave an address in which he insisted that: "The Episcopal Conferences of each country should meet from time to time together. You should allow bi-ritualism, so that no parish remains without divine liturgy, no matter what church it belongs to."vaticanhistory.de
Quote translated from German.
Gallery
File:Joseph I (Patriarch).png, Pictured during a liturgy
File:Jusszef Abszi damaszkuszi melkita puspokkel.jpg, With Péter Fülöp Kocsis
Péter Fülöp Kocsis (born 13 January 1963 in Szeged, Hungary) is a Hungarian Greek Catholic archbishop. He is as metropolitan archbishop of the Archeparchy of Hajdúdorog, the head of the Hungarian Greek Catholic Church.
Biography
Metropolitan ...
in June 2017
References
External links
melkite.org/patriarchate
Spiritual Protector of the Order of Saint Lazarus
* https://web.archive.org/web/20100707121947/http://www.pgc-lb.org/english/Church2_Synod2006.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Absi, Youssef
1946 births
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch
Living people
Syrian archbishops
People from Damascus
Syrian Melkite Greek Catholics
Recipients of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910)
Eastern Catholic bishops in Syria