Yuhanna Makhluf, or John Makhlouf, was the

Maronite Patriarch This is a list of the Maronite patriarchs of Antioch and all the East, the primate of the Maronite Church, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Starting with Paul Peter Massad in 1854, after becoming patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchat ...

in 1608–1633.

Life

Makhlouf was a graduate of the

Maronite college The Roman Colleges, also referred to as the Pontifical Colleges in Rome, are institutions established and maintained in Rome for the education of future ecclesiastics of the Catholic Church. Traditionally many were for students of a particular nati ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. That college had been founded in 1585 by Pope Gregory XIII to train Maronite clergy. Makhlouf was elected patriarch on 16 October 1608 or June 1609, succeeding Joseph el-Ruzzi, who had died in March 1608. The delay was due to the instability in the Church's home region of Bsharri in northern

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

. The Ottoman government had mandated the quartering of imperial troops in the Tripoli Eyalet, a practice detested by the inhabitants, for the year 1607. The mandate was enforced by the Maronite '' muqaddams'' (rural chiefs) of Bsharri on behalf of the provincial governor

Yusuf Sayfa Yusuf Sayfa Pasha ( ar, يوسف سيفا باشا, Yūsuf Sayfā Pāsha; – 22 July 1625) was a chieftain and ''multazim'' (tax farmer) in the Tripoli region who frequently served as the Ottoman ''beylerbey'' (provincial governor) of Tripol ...

. The unfavorable or chaotic circumstances of the forced quartering was blamed for the delay in the election. The historian Pierre Dib describes Makhlouf as "a man of good and stable sense, of a character which was both gentle and firm at the same time, of a deep and active piety". He was the first graduate of the Rome college to be elected patriarch and many other graduates followed him, including the prominent

Istifan al-Duwayhi Estephan El Douaihy ( ar, اسطفانوس الثاني بطرس الدويهي / ALA-LC: ''Isṭifānūs al-thānī Buṭrus al-Duwayhī''; french: Étienne Douaihi; la, Stephanus Dovaihi; it, Stefano El Douaihy; August 2, 1630 – May 3, 1704) ...

. Makhlouf was not on good terms with Yusuf al-Khatir, the ''muqaddam'' of Bsharri, due to the troops quartering and other unspecified actions by Yusuf against Makhlouf. As a result, soon after his election, he left the patriarchal seat at Qannubin in Bsharri and took refuge in the Chouf area of southern Mount Lebanon with the powerful

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

and governor of the Sidon-Beirut district, Fakhr al-Din II. The latter had been developing ties with the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...

, who at the time wielded significant influence in the Papacy. The Druze emir donated land to the Maronite Church, namely the village of Majd al-Maush, which the patriarchs could use as a residence. In 1610 Pope

Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

instructed Makhlouf in a letter to forge ties with Fakhr al-Din, who was seeking Maronite support against his rival, Yusuf Sayfa. Makhlouf had the church of St. Mura rebuilt in Kfarzeina in 1632. He died in the following year.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruzzi, Joseph 1633 deaths 17th-century Maronite Catholic bishops 17th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 17th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops Bishops in the Ottoman Empire Maronite Patriarchs of Antioch