Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum

Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum was born in Mosul, Iraq, in 1887. He became a monk and a priest at the Monastery of Mor Hananyo, where he received a good education in Syriac and Arabic. He was ordained as the metropolitan bishop of Damascus in 1918 by Patriarch Ignatius Elias III. He was a strong defender of the Syriac Orthodox Church's rights and properties, and he recovered many ancient churches and monasteries from the Syriac Catholic Church. He also allegedly consecrated a French Presbyterian minister as a bishop for the Western mission, but this is disputed by some historians. He was elected as the Patriarch of Antioch in 1933, after the death of Patriarch Ignatius Jacob II. He moved to Constantinople, where he obtained official recognition from the Ottoman government. He also visited England, where he appealed to the British government for the protection of the Syriac Christians in India, who were facing problems from a reformist metropolitan. He ordained many bishops and priests, and reformed the church administration and liturgy. He wrote many books and letters on theology, history, and spirituality. He died in Homs, Syria, on June 23, 1957, and was buried at the Monastery of Mor Hananyo. He is remembered as one of the most influential and respected patriarchs of the Syriac Orthodox Church.