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

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

religious leader who has been serving since 1986 as the Patriarchal Vicar of the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

in Istanbul, Ankara, and İzmir. A native of Turkey's Dargeçit district, known to its Assyrian native population as Kerburan, parts of which are located in southeastern Anatolia's Mardin Province, Yusuf Çetin expressed interest in Syriac Church doctrine at an early age. In the course of completing his secondary education, he also learned the

Syriac language The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac ܠܫܢܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic language, Aramaic dialect that emerged during ...

and subsequently attended his home province's Mor Gabriel Monastery, Syriac Orthodoxy's oldest surviving monastic institution. Having demonstrated exceptional acuity for learning and spiritual instruction, he was ordained a priest in 1971, at the unusually early age of 17, and shortly thereafter was entrusted with instructing theology to the next generation of devout youth. By 1977 he was consecrated with the title of "spiritual" and received an invitation from Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas to come to

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 ...

, thus enabling his attendance at

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

' St. Mor Efrem School of Theology. Receiving a diploma after three years' intensive study, he ultimately received appointment as dean of the school. On 28 September 1986, upon the request of Istanbul's community of Syriac faithful,

Mor Mor or MOR may refer to: Names and titles * Mór (given name), a list of people named Mór or Mor * Mor (surname), a list of people named Mor or Mór * Mor (honorific), or Mar, in Syriac Radio and television * Middle of the road (music) genre * ...

Filiksinos Yusuf Çetin was elevated by the Patriarch to the rank of Metropolitan bishop and assigned to the diocese of İstanbul and Ankara as the Patriarchal Vicar. Twenty years into his service, on 30 November 2006, he held talks with Pope Benedict XVI as the pontiff initiated his 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