Dioscorus Benjamin Atas

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Mor Dioskoros Benjamin Atas

Mor Dioscorus Benjamin Atas ( Aramaic ܡܪܝ ܕܝܘܣܩܘܪܘܣ ܒܢܝܡܝܢ ܐܛܫ; born as Benjamin Atas ; * January 3, 1966 in Bethkustan , Turkey ) is a Syrian Orthodox clergyman, Archbishop and Patriarchal Vicar of the Archdiocese of Sweden of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch . The number of Arameans or Syrian Orthodox Christians in Sweden is estimated at 120,000. The cathedral church of Mor Dioskorus Benjamin Atas' is the Mor Ephräm cathedral in Södertälje .

Life

Childhood and youth

Atas comes from a Syrian Orthodox family from the village of Bethkustan in the Mardin Province of Turkey. At a young age he began to learn Aramaic , the liturgical language of the Syrian Orthodox Church, and its catechetics and rites in the church school Mor Eliyo . He completed his primary education in the local village school, where he learned the basics of the Turkish language. During this time he claims to have had the intuition that someone was calling him to accept the monastic life. However, his parents allegedly discouraged him on the grounds that he was too young to become a monk. After the family later emigrated to Sweden, he continued his education there. From then on, he grew up in Rinkeby, a suburb of Stockholm , learned Swedish and came into closer contact with Swedish culture. During this time he continued to learn Aramaic with priest Melke Yilmaz.

novitiate

In his early twenties Atas claims to have felt the call of the Möchleben again. Understanding their son's aspirations, his parents helped him join the Syrian Orthodox monastery of St. Ephrem in Glane, the Netherlands. In 1986 he was admitted to the monastery as a novice by Archbishop Mor Julius Yeshu`Çiçek . Benjamin lived there from then on and continued his studies with his teacher brother Said Cakici.

Monasticism

After he was ordained a monk and priest, his job was to attend to the spiritual needs of the believers in the diocese by preaching Christian teachings to believers. He inspired them to learn the Syrian (Aramaic) language, as many Syrian Orthodox believers in the Netherlands did not speak the Aramaic language, as they came from predominantly Kurdish-speaking villages in Turkey, such as Hah or Kafro 'elayto . When the Syrian letters became available on computers, he began writing books, some of which were published. During this time he also learned German and English. He later moved to the United States for three years to complete his theological studies at a Roman Catholic university in New Jersey. While in the United States, he served in the Syrian Orthodox communities in Washington, DC, New York, Chicago, Florida, and New Jersey.

Patriarchal Vicar

Mor Dioskorus Benjamin Atas, Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch in Sweden

In 1995 he went to the Patriarchate in Syria at the request of the Patriarch. After a rather short stay, Atas was sent by the Patriarch to the new diocese in Sweden.

In the following year he was ordained a metropolitan by the patriarch and appointed patriarchal vicar of the Archdiocese of Sweden, where he finally took the name Dioscorus according to Syrian tradition. During his time as patriarchal vicar, numerous churches were consecrated and congregations founded. He also ordained altar servers as well as priests and choir bishops .

engagement

In 2014 and 2018, Atas was elected Chairman of the Swedish Christian Council (SKR), succeeding Anders Wejryd , the then Archbishop of the Church of Sweden .

Atas called on the Swedish government in a debate, with or without further support, to rescue the most vulnerable Christian minorities from IS- controlled areas in Iraq and Syria. He also called on the Turkish state to set up a truth commission on genocide, similar to the Reconciliation and Truth Commission established in South Africa, which concerned the crimes of the apartheid regime .

In a letter to all EU parliamentarians ahead of the 2016 vote on the genocide of Christians by the Islamic State , Atas continued to ask for recognition.

Consecration

His Eminence Mor Dioskorus Benjamin Atas received the following ordinations:

Awards

As a blessing as a help for the responsibility that came upon him, Atas received a cross from Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I. Iwas during his time as a monk and before his episcopal ordination , which is a typical way of honoring priests in the Syrian Orthodox Church.

Atas also received an honorary doctorate in theology from the Aalborg Academy of Science at Kansas State University on April 12, 2018.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dioskoros Benjamin Atas: Elections 2018 SKR. In: Facebook. May 17, 2018, accessed January 9, 2019 (Swedish).
  2. ↑ Hasyo Benyamin Ataş 15 Years in Sweden Part 1. In: YouTube. Retrieved January 8, 2019 (Aramaic).
  3. ^ Dioscorus Benjamin Atas. In: Sytiacchritianity. Retrieved January 8, 2019 .
  4. ^ Dioskoros Benjamin Atas: Honorary doctorate. In: Facebook. April 12, 2018, accessed January 9, 2019 (Swedish).
personal data
SURNAME Atas, Dioscorus Benjamin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Atas, Mor Dioskorus Benjamin (full name); Atas, Benjamin (maiden name); ܡܪܝ ܕܝܘܣܩܘܪܘܣ ܒܢܝܡܝܢ ܐܛܫ ( Aramaic )
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Syrian clergyman, archbishop and patriarchal vicar of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch of the Archdiocese of Sweden
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd January 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Bethkustan , Turkey