Emmanuel III Delly

Emmanuel III Delly was born as Emmanuel Karim Delly in Tel Keppe, Iraq, on September 27, 1927. 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 1846 by Patriarch Ignatius Elias II. He was a strong defender of the Chaldean Catholic Church's rights and properties, and he recovered many ancient churches and monasteries from the Syriac Orthodox 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 Babylon in 1872, 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 Chaldean 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 San Diego, California, on April 8, 2014, and was buried at the Monastery of Mor Hananyo. He is remembered as one of the most influential and respected patriarchs of the Chaldean Catholic Church.