Youssef Absi

His Beatitude

Youssef Absi

S.M.S.P.
His Beatitude; Youssef Absi; S.M.S.P.
Melkite Greek Patriarch of Antioch
	Pictured in June 2018
Native name	يوسف عبسي
Church	Melkite Greek Catholic Church
Diocese	Antioch
See	Antioch
Elected	June 21, 2017
Predecessor	Gregory III Laham
Previous post(s)	Curial Bishop (2001–2007); Patriarchal Vicar of the Archdiocese of Damascus (2007–2017);
Orders
Ordination	May 6, 1973; by Maximos V Hakim
Consecration	September 2, 2001; by Gregory III Laham
Personal details
Born	Youssef Absi; June 20, 1946 (age 78); Damascus, Syria
Denomination	Melkite Greek Catholic Church
Alma mater	St. Paul Seminary, Harissa; Lebanese University; Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
Coat of arms

Youssef Absi, S.M.S.P.^[1] (Arabic: يوسف عبسي; Latin: Iosephus Absi; born June 20, 1946, in Damascus, Syria) is the current patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church since June 21, 2017.^[2]^[3]

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.^[1] After the conclusion of philosophical and theological studies at the Major Seminary of St. Paul in Harissa, Lebanon, he obtained a licentiate in philosophy at the Lebanese University, 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.^[4]

On June 22, 2001, he was appointed titular archbishop of Tarsus dei Greco-Melkiti and curial bishop and auxiliary bishop in the Melkite Patriarchate. Patriarch Gregory III Laham was his consecrator, and the co-consecrators were Archbishop Jean Mansour, titular archbishop of Apamea in Syria dei Greco-Melkiti, and Archbishop Joseph Kallas, Archeparch of Beirut and Byblos, on September 2, 2001.^[5]

From 1999 to 2006, he was Superior General of his religious community, the Missionary Society of St. Paul. He assisted as co-consecrator at the episcopal ordination of Yasser Ayyash, 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 accepted the resignation of Gregory III Laham.^[2]

Other activities

In 2001, he became president of the Syrian Caritas (Commission Commune de Bienfaisance (CCB))^[6] and forwards with three full-time members more than 40 projects in Damascus, Aleppo and Hassake. He composed for the singer Marie Keyrouz "L'Ensemble de la Paix", a hymn that was released on the album Cantiques de l'Orient.^[7]

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."^[8]

Gallery

Pictured during a liturgy
With Péter Fülöp Kocsis in June 2017

References

^ ^a ^b Società dei Missionari di San Paolo – Missionary Society of St. Paul (Melkite Greek); see catholic-hierarchy.org.
^ ^a ^b "Joseph Absi elected patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church". The Daily Star (Lebanon). Retrieved 21 June 2017.
^ Melkite Catholic Church elects new patriarch www.catholicregister.org.
^ Sala Stampa della Santa Sede - Bollettino 14.07.2001
^ Bishop Joseph Absi Elected Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch
^ caritas.org
^ amazon.com
^ vaticanhistory.de Quote translated from German.

External links

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Lutfy Laham	Titular Archbishop of Tarsus 2001–2017	Succeeded by Vacant
Preceded by Gregory III Laham	Melkite Greek Patriarch of Antioch 2017–present	Succeeded by Incumbent

[SMSP-1] Società dei Missionari di San Paolo – Missionary Society of St. Paul (Melkite Greek); see catholic-hierarchy.org.

[star-2] "Joseph Absi elected patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church". The Daily Star (Lebanon). Retrieved 21 June 2017.

[3] Melkite Catholic Church elects new patriarch www.catholicregister.org.

[4] Sala Stampa della Santa Sede - Bollettino 14.07.2001

[5] Bishop Joseph Absi Elected Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch

[6] ritas.org

[7] zon.com

[8] vaticanhistory.de Quote translated from German.

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Latin Catholic (1276–1954)	Atanasio (Athanasius) Egidio da Ferrara (Giles) ?Humbert II, Dauphin of Vienne Juan (John) Guillaume de Chanac Arnaud Bernard du Pouget (Arnaldo Bernardi) uncanonical Jean de Cardaillac Pietro Amely di Brunac ? Johannes Walteri von Sinten uncanonical Simon of Cramaud Pietro Amely di Brunac Leonardo Dolfin Ugo Roberti Pietro Amaury di Lordat Lancelotus de Navarra Giovanni Contarini Pietro Vitalis di Mauléon Giovanni Vitelleschi Marco Condulmer Jean d'Harcourt Arnaldo Rogerii de Palas Pedro de Urrea Pedro González de Mendoza Diego Hurtado de Mendoza Alonso de Fonseca y Acevedo Bernardino Carafa Cesare Riario Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora Ottaviano Maria Sforza Julius Gonzaga Cristoforo Guidalotti Ciocchi del Monte Jacques Cortès Tommaso Alessandro Riario Enrico Caetani Giovanni Battista Albani Camillo Caetani Séraphin Olivier-Razali Alessandro di Sangro Honoratus Caetani Federico Borromeo Allesandro Crescenzi Aloysius Bevilacqua Petrus Draghi Bartoli Gregorio Giuseppe Gaetani de Aragonia Carlo Ambrosio Mezzabarba Filippo Carlo Spada Girolamo Crispi Giuseppe Antonio Davanzati Lodovico Agnello Anastasi Francisco Mattei Augustus Foscolo Paolo Angelo Ballerini Domenico Marinangeli Paolo de Huyn Luca Ermenegildo Pasetto
Melkite Catholic (1724–present)	Cyril VI Tanas Athanasius IV Jawhar Maximos II Hakim Theodosius V Dahan Athanasius IV Jawhar Cyril VII Siaj Agapius II Matar Ignatius IV Sarrouf Athanasius V Matar Macarius IV Tawil Ignatius V Qattan Maximos III Mazloum Clement Bahouth Gregory II Youssef-Sayur Peter IV Geraigiry Cyril VIII Geha Demetrius I Qadi Cyril IX Moghabghab Maximos IV Sayegh Maximos V Hakim Gregory III Laham Youssef I Absi
Coptic Catholic (1824–present)	Maximos Jouwed Kyrillos Makarios Stéphanos I Sidarouss Stéphanos II Ghattas Antonios I Naguib Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak
*Markianos is considered Mark II on the Greek side of the subsequent schism, hence this numbering of Mark III. Category Commons

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