Maximos V Hakim

Maximos V Hakim was a prominent leader of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, who served as its patriarch from 1967 to 2000. He was born in Tanta, Egypt, to parents who were originally from Aleppo, Syria. He studied at the Jesuit school in Cairo and the seminary of St. Anne in Jerusalem, where he was ordained a priest in 1930 by Maximos IV Sayegh, the future patriarch. He taught at the patriarchal school in Beirut and then returned to Cairo, where he became the director of the Patriarchal College and the editor of the review Le Lien. He was appointed bishop of Acre, Haifa, Nazareth and all Galilee in 1943 and archbishop in 1964. He was elected patriarch in 1967, succeeding Maximos IV Sayegh, who had died earlier that year. As patriarch, he guided the church through turbulent changes in the Middle East and rapid expansion in the Western hemisphere. He attended the Second Vatican Council and supported the reforms and the ecumenical dialogue initiated by the council. He also fostered the development of the Melkite church in North and South America, where many of the faithful had emigrated. He was a vocal advocate for peace and justice in the region, especially for the Palestinian refugees and the Lebanese people during the civil war. He condemned the violence that pitted Muslim against Christian and sought to promote harmony and coexistence among the different communities. He also enjoyed good relations with the Orthodox churches and the other Eastern Catholic churches. He was a prolific writer and theologian, who published many books and articles on various topics related to the history, spirituality, liturgy and canon law of the Melkite church. He was also the spiritual protector of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, an ecumenical order of knighthood that provides humanitarian aid to the needy. He retired in 2000 and died in 2001 in Beirut, where he was buried in the patriarchal cathedral. He was succeeded by Gregory III Laham, who praised him as a “great patriarch and a great man”.