Elias IV of Antioch

Patriarch Elias IV of Antioch and All The East, born Elias Muawad (Arabic: الياس معوض (1914 in Lebanon – July 21, 1979 in Damascus) was the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and All The East from 1970 to 1979.

Biography

Elias Muawad was born in 1912, in an Orthodox Christian family in Lebanon He was ordained deacon in 1932, graduating from the Halki Theological School in 1939. In 1959, he was consecrated Metropolitan of Berroia and Alexandretta, being elected Patriarch of Antioch in September 25, 1970, succeeding Theodosius VI only six days after his death.[1][2]

Elias's pontificate was characterised by intense partification in Middle Eastern politics, plus increased participation in the Arab diaspora, lines that would mark Middle Eastern Christian hierarchy henceforth. He emphatically referred to his faithful as Arab Christians, a denomination that was then not as widespread. In February 1974, he took part in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation 2nd Summit, in Lahore, being called on occasion by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia "Patriarch of the Arabs".[3] In 1977, Patriarch Elias met President Jimmy Carter, being the first Patriarch of Antioch to ever visit the United States, and reiterated the necessity of independence for Palestinians.[4] He died in Damascus in June 21, 1979, after suffering a heart attack.

References

  1. "Elias IV (Muawad) of Antioch". Orthodox Wiki. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  2. "Bishop Elias Muawad of Aleppo has been elected by the Antioch Holy Synod in Beirut as the 163rd patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and the entire East". San Antonio Express: 98. 27 September 1970.
  3. Hage, Wolfgang (2007). Das orientalische Christentum. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. p. 111. ISBN 9783170176683.
  4. "Antiochian Patriarch Elias IV". Washington Post. 25 June 1979.
Eastern Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by
Theodosius VI
Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch
19701979
Succeeded by
Ignatius IV
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