Gregory III. Laham
Gregory III. Laham BS (غريغوريوس الثالث لحام, civil: Lutfi Laham ; * December 15, 1933 in Darayya ) is a Syrian clergyman. He's Patriarch emeritus of Antioch and the whole East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem and was from 2000 bis 2017 the head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church , which the Roman Catholic Church in union is.
Life
Gregor was born under the name Lutfi Laham . From 1941 to 1943 he lived in an orphanage in Lebanon. From 1943 to 1956 he received his basic education in the seminary of the Order of the Basilians of the Most Holy Redeemer in the monastery of Saint-Sauveur in Lebanon and studied philosophy and theology. He made his temporary vows on August 15, 1949, followed by perpetual vows on January 20, 1952. In 1956, the mother monastery of Saint-Sauveur was seriously affected by an earthquake. In 1956 he went to Rome to continue his studies. He was ordained a priest on February 15, 1959 in Santa Maria di Grottaferrata . Since 1959 he had close contact with Germany and had a base in Munich. He became a member of Pax Christi Germany. In 1961 he received his doctorate in Oriental theology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. From 1961 to 1964 he was Regens at the St. Sauveur seminary. From 1966 to 1969 he was head of the seminary in Jeita, Beirut, where he also lectured theology and liturgy. In 1969/70 he stayed in Germany for a whole year to collect money for his many activities (orphanage, ecumenical magazine Al-Wahda , Freundeskreis Das Band etc.). In particular, he worked with Herta Figelius, the general director of the Christkönig Institute in Meitingen. In 1972 he became secretary of the Ecumenical and Liturgical Commission of the Greek Orthodox and Catholic Church of Antioch.
In 1974 Patriarch Maximos V appointed him first as administrator, then as patriarchal vicar of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Jerusalem . Numerous initiatives followed, such as the establishment of a center for religious formation for lay people in Jerusalem at the University of Bethlehem, the establishment of several multilingual bookshops, clinics, parish centers and others.
In 1981 he was consecrated by Patriarch Maximos V. Titular Archbishop of Tarsus . He implemented other initiatives, such as the establishment of a center for oriental churches in Jerusalem. From 1987 to 1989 he also took over the leadership of the St. Sauveur seminary in Beit Sahour. In 1997 he was also appointed patriarchal administrator in the Eparchy of Galilee. In 1999 he was President of the Interreligious Israeli Federation and in 2000 he was the head of the Symposium of Oriental Bishops from Eastern Europe in Jerusalem.
On November 29, 2000, the Synod of Bishops of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Raboueh, Lebanon, elected the incumbent Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem, Lufti Laham, as Bishop of Damascus and head of the Melkite Catholic Church as Patriarch of Antioch, the whole of the Orient, of Alexandria and Jerusalem . Since then he has been named Gregorios III. Like the cardinals of the Catholic Church, Patriarch Gregorios III. in Rome his own titular church, Santa Maria in Cosmedin .
Gregory III. speaks Arabic, English, Spanish, French, German, Greek, Italian and Latin. He travels around the world a lot to draw attention to the difficult situation of Christians in Syria. He also calls for a dialogue between all parties involved in Syria in order to end the civil war. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung at the beginning of November 2015, he criticized the German refugee policy. In the same interview he defended Syria's head of state Bashar al-Assad . He “couldn't share the negative view of Assad”. "'I don't know what the people have against him," the patriarch said literally. "
Pope Francis accepted his resignation as Patriarch on May 6, 2017 . As the longest-serving bishop, Jean-Clément Jeanbart was Apostolic Administrator until the election of Joseph I Absi's successor on June 21, 2017.
Publications (selection)
- The Chrysostom Liturgy: An Introduction and Explanation. 2002, ISBN 3-933001-43-9 .
- Practice in the spiritual path of the Chrysostom liturgy. 1999, ISBN 3-933001-36-6 .
- Introduction to the spiritual life of the Byzantine Rite. 1990, Arabic.
- Al-Wahada Quarterly (1962–1981) (Unity in Faith, the first ecumenical journal in Arabic)
- four volumes of liturgical prayers in Arabic
- The Shepherd's Voice. Arabic sermons.
Awards
Web links
- Entry to Gregory III. Laham on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on January 2, 2017.
- Official site of the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate (English)
- Gianni Valente: Interview with the patriarch of Antioch Grégoire III Laham: We are the Church of Islam . 30giorni.it, 2005 (English)
- Gregory III. Laham on the side of the Order of Saint Lazarus (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Das Band , circular from the Friends of the Basilian-Salvatorian Order in Lebanon, special edition October 2018
- ↑ Michael Meier : There is no reason to hate us Christians. Interview in Der Bund , Bern, May 7, 2015, page 5.
- ^ Wave of emigration: Syrian Patriarch criticizes German refugee policy . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , November 4, 2015, accessed on August 25, 2019
- ^ Gregorio III Laham: da patriarca greco-melkita a pellegrino di pace e amore . AsiaNews, May 8, 2017, accessed May 10, 2017 (Italian).
- ^ Rinuncia del Patriarca di Antiochia dei Greco-Melkiti. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office , May 6, 2017, accessed May 6, 2017 (Italian).
- ^ Peace Prize for Catholic Patriarchs in the Middle East. kna article on domradio.de , May 21, 2012, archived from the original on August 2, 2012 ; accessed on May 10, 2017 .
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
 Maximos V. Hakim |
 Patriarch of Antioch 2000-2017 |
 Joseph I. Absi SMSP |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gregory III. Laham |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Laham, Lutfi (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Syrian clergyman, Patriarch of Antioch |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 15, 1933 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Syria |