It was announced this morning that His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I (pictured), the Syrian Patriarch of Antioch and all the East died of a massive heart attach whilst receiving treatment in Germany. He was enthroned as the 122nd Patriarch on 14 September 1980 in St. George’s Patriarchal Cathedral in Damascus in succession to Patriarch Ignatius Ya’qub II. His Holiness was the author of a number of books on Christian education, theology, history, and culture in Syriac and the Arabic and English languages. He also established a monastic seminary, the Monastery of St. Ephrem The Syrian, at Marret Saidn, and was active ecumenically, serving as a President of the World Council of Churches.
In recent years the Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East has suffered greatly through the civil war in Syria and especially through the kidnapping almost a year ago of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Allepo, Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim (pictured below with LOI facilitator, Canon Mark Oxbrow). Archbishop Gregorios had expressed great interest in the work of the Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative and was to have been invited to the 2013 consultation.
Please continue to pray for the safety and release of Archbishop Gregorios.
