Filüksinos Yusuf Çetin, (born 20 August 1954), also called Filiksinos Yusuf Çetin Archbishop Mor Philoxenus Yusuf Cetin, is an Assyrian

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

religious leader who has served as the

Patriarchal Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, and

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

since 1986. A native of the

Dargeçit Dargeçit (, , ) is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 519 km2, and its population is 27,147 (2022). The town is principally populated by Kurds of the Erebiyan tribe. It is located in the historic region of ...

district of Turkey, known to its Assyrian native population as Kerburan, and located in southeastern

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

Mardin Province Mardin Province (; ; ; ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in Turkey. Its area is 8,780 km2, and its population is 870,374 (2022). The largest city in the province is Kızıltepe, while the capital Mardin is the second largest ci ...

, Yusuf Çetin expressed interest in Syriac Church

doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...

at an early age. While completing his secondary education, he also learned the

Syriac language The Syriac language ( ; ), also known natively in its spoken form in early Syriac literature as Edessan (), the Mesopotamian language () and Aramaic (), is an Aramaic#Eastern Middle Aramaic, Eastern Middle Aramaic dialect. Classical Syriac is ...

and subsequently attended his home province's

Mor Gabriel Monastery Dayro d-Mor Gabriel (; the ''Monastery of Saint Gabriel''), also known as Deyrulumur, is the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodox monastery in the world behind Mor Mattai Monastery in Northern Iraq. The monastery dint take its ...

, Syriac Orthodoxy's oldest surviving monastic institution. Demonstrating an aptitude for learning and spiritual instruction, he was ordained a priest in 1971 at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, he was entrusted with teaching theology. By 1977, he was consecrated with the title of "spiritual" and invited by

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

Moran Mor

Ignatius Zakka I Iwas Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas (; ; ', born Sanharib Iwas, 21 April 1931 – 21 March 2014) was the 122nd reigning Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and, as such, Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. Also know ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, enabling him to attend St. Mor Efrem School of Theology in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, where he received a diploma after three years of study and was ultimately appointed

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the school. On 28 September 1986, at the request of Istanbul's Syriac community, Mor Filiksinos Yusuf Çetin was elevated by the Patriarch to the rank of

Metropolitan bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

and assigned to the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

of İstanbul and Ankara as the Patriarchal Vicar. On 30 November 2006, twenty years into his service, he held talks with

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

as the pontiff initiated his visit to 2006 papal journey to Turkey.

References

External links

Ecclesiastical biography of "ARCHBISHOP Mor Filiksinos YUSUF ÇETÝN Syrian Orthodox Community of Istanbul & Ankara Clerical Leader and Deputy Patriarch" at ''suryanikadim.org'' (Syrian Church website)Brief biographical sketch of Mor Filiksinos YUSUF ÇETİN at ''biyografi.net''

"Syriac community ritual takes place in Adıyaman" ''Today's Zaman'' (30 June 2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cetin, Yusuf 1954 births Living people Turkish religious leaders Turkish Oriental Orthodox Christians Turkish people of Assyrian descent People from Dargeçit Alumni of St Cross College, Oxford Syriac Orthodox Church bishops