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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}} |
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}} |
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{{Infobox Christian leader |
{{Infobox Christian leader |
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| type = [[List of |
| type = [[List of patriarchs of the Assyrian Church of the East|Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East]] |
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| name = Dinkha IV<br />{{Lang|syc|ܡܪܝ ܕܢܚܐ ܪܒܝܥܝܐ}} |
| name = Dinkha IV<br />{{Lang|syc|ܡܪܝ ܕܢܚܐ ܪܒܝܥܝܐ}} |
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| title = His Holiness |
| title = His Holiness |
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| image = Assyrian Patriarch.jpg |
| image = Assyrian Patriarch Dinkha IV Khanania.jpg |
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| imagesize = |
| imagesize = |
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| alt = A middle-aged Assyrian man dressed in white vestments holds an ornate cross with his eyes closed |
| alt = A middle-aged Assyrian man dressed in white vestments holds an ornate cross with his eyes closed |
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| caption = |
| caption = Dinkha IV presiding at the Assyrian [[Eucharist]] (or ''Raza'') in a church near Chicago in June 2008. |
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| church = [[Assyrian Church of the East]] |
| church = [[Assyrian Church of the East]] |
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| province = |
| province = |
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| metropolis = |
| metropolis = |
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| diocese = Patriarchal Diocese of the Eastern United States |
| diocese = Patriarchal Diocese of the Eastern United States |
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| see = [[Province of |
| see = [[Patriarchal Province of Seleucia-Ctesiphon|Holy Apostolic See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon]] (in exile in [[Chicago]]) |
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| enthroned = 17 October 1976 |
| enthroned = 17 October 1976 |
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| ended = 26 March 2015 |
| ended = 26 March 2015 |
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| predecessor = [[Shimun XXI Eshai]] |
| predecessor = [[Shimun XXI Eshai|Mar Shimun XXI Eshai]] |
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| successor = [[Gewargis III|Mar Gewargis III]] |
| successor = [[Gewargis III|Mar Gewargis III]] |
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| other_post = Deaconate at Mar Yokhanan Church, Harir (1950), [[Bishop of Urmi|Bishopric]] at [[Urmia]] (11 February 1962) |
| other_post = Deaconate at Mar Yokhanan Church, Harir (1950), [[Bishop of Urmi|Bishopric]] at [[Urmia]] (11 February 1962) |
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| ordination = 15 August 1957 |
| ordination = 15 August 1957 |
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| consecration = 11 February 1962 |
| consecration = 11 February 1962 |
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| consecrated_by = [[Shimun XXI Eshai]] |
| consecrated_by = [[Shimun XXI Eshai]] |
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| rank = |
| rank = [[Bishop]] |
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| birth_name = Dinkha Khananya (Khanania) |
| birth_name = Dinkha Khananya (Khanania) |
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| birth_date = 15 September 1935 |
| birth_date = 15 September 1935 |
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| alma_mater = |
| alma_mater = |
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| signature = |
| signature = |
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| honorific-prefix = [[Mar]] |
| honorific-prefix = [[Mar (title)|Mar]] |
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| honorific-suffix = |
| honorific-suffix = |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Mar Dinkha IV''' ([[Syriac language|Classical Syriac]]: {{Lang|arc|ܡܪܝ ܕܢܚܐ ܪܒܝܥܝܐ}} and {{lang-ar|مار دنخا الرابع}}), born '''Dinkha Khanania''' (15 September 1935 – 26 March 2015) |
'''[[Mar (title)|Mar]] Dinkha IV''' ([[Syriac language|Classical Syriac]]: {{Lang|arc|ܡܪܝ ܕܢܚܐ ܪܒܝܥܝܐ}} and {{lang-ar|مار دنخا الرابع}}), born '''Dinkha Khanania''' (15 September 1935 – 26 March 2015)<ref name="Awa Royel">{{Cite web |url=http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/2015/03/catholicos-patriarch-mar-dinkha-iv-enters-eternal-rest/ |title=Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV Enters Eternal Rest |author=Awa Royel |publisher=The Orthodox Church |date=27 March 2015 |access-date=27 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331065639/http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/2015/03/catholicos-patriarch-mar-dinkha-iv-enters-eternal-rest/ |archive-date=31 March 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref> was an [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christian]] prelate who served as the 120th [[List of patriarchs of the Assyrian Church of the East|Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East]]. He was born in the village of [[Darbandokeh]] (Derbendoki), [[Iraq]] and led the Church in exile in [[Chicago]] for most of his life. |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Dinkha Khanania was born in Iraq and [[baptism|baptized]] in the Church of Mar Qaryaqos located in the village of his birth, Darbandokeh. Khanania (also written as "Denkha Kh'nanya") gained his elementary education under the tutorship of his grandfather, Benyamin Soro. In 1947—at the age of eleven—he was entrusted to the care of [[Yosip Khnanisho|Mar Yousip Khnanisho]], Metropolitan and the Patriarchal representative for all Iraq, the second-highest-ranking ecclesiastic of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]].<ref name="Baum">Baum, p. 150</ref> After two years of study, he was ordained [[deacon]] in the church of Mar Youkhana in [[Harir]] by Mar Yousip on 12 September 1949. On 15 July 1957, he was [[Ordination|ordained]] to the [[priest]]hood, and appointed to minister [[Urmia]], [[Iran]]. He was the fourth in the line of succession to the Bishopric of [[Urmia]]. |
Dinkha Khanania was born in Iraq and [[baptism|baptized]] in the Church of Mar Qaryaqos located in the village of his birth, Darbandokeh. Khanania (also written as "Denkha Kh'nanya") gained his elementary education under the tutorship of his grandfather, Benyamin Soro. In 1947—at the age of eleven—he was entrusted to the care of [[Yosip Khnanisho|Mar Yousip Khnanisho]], Metropolitan and the Patriarchal representative for all Iraq, the second-highest-ranking ecclesiastic of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]].<ref name="Baum">Baum, p. 150</ref> After two years of study, he was ordained [[deacon]] in the church of Mar Youkhana in [[Harir]] by Mar Yousip on 12 September 1949. On 15 July 1957, he was [[Ordination|ordained]] to the [[priest]]hood, and appointed to minister [[Urmia]], [[Iran]]. He was the fourth in the line of succession to the Bishopric of [[Urmia]]. |
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Dinkha's priesthood as [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] of Iran and [[Tehran]]<ref name="Baum" /> reestablished a line of succession which had ceased to exist after the 1915 assassination of his predecessor.<ref name="Baum_a">Baum, p. 147</ref> In 1962, Dinkha moved from northern Iraq to Tehran.<ref name="Baum_a" /> During his tenure in Iran, he established a [[seminary]] and advocated for [[Assyrian nationalism]] and [[ecumenism]].<ref name="Baum" /> Responding to popular demand, Catholicos-Patriarch [[Shimun XXI Eshai]] [[Consecration|consecrated]] |
Mar Dinkha's priesthood as [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] of Iran and [[Tehran]]<ref name="Baum" /> reestablished a line of succession which had ceased to exist after the 1915 assassination of his predecessor.<ref name="Baum_a">Baum, p. 147</ref> In 1962, Mar Dinkha moved from northern Iraq to Tehran.<ref name="Baum_a" /> During his tenure in Iran, he established a [[seminary]] and advocated for [[Assyrian nationalism]] and [[ecumenism]].<ref name="Baum" /> Responding to popular demand, Catholicos-Patriarch [[Shimun XXI Eshai]] [[Consecration|consecrated]] Mar Dinkha as bishop on 11 February 1962, in the church of Martyr Mar Gewargis in Tehran. |
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Dinkha died on 26 March 2015 in [[Rochester, Minnesota]].<ref name="Awa Royel"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/03/27/_patriarch_mar_dinkha_iv_of_the_assyrian_church_dies/1132580 | title=Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV of the Assyrian Church of the East dies at age of 79 | work=Vatican Radio | date=27 March 2015 | |
Mar Dinkha died on 26 March 2015 in [[Rochester, Minnesota]].<ref name="Awa Royel"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/03/27/_patriarch_mar_dinkha_iv_of_the_assyrian_church_dies/1132580 | title=Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV of the Assyrian Church of the East dies at age of 79 | work=Vatican Radio | date=27 March 2015 | access-date=27 March 2015}}</ref> |
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==Tenure as Catholicos-Patriarch== |
==Tenure as Catholicos-Patriarch== |
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After the assassination of Mar |
After the assassination of Mar Shimun XXI Eshai, the Church of the East had an urgent need to restore its leadership. In 1976, the [[prelate]]s of the church convened in [[London]] to elect a new Catholicos Patriarch and chose Mar Dinkha as the most qualified candidate to fill the post.<ref name="Baum" /> He was consecrated on 17 October 1976, in the West London Church of St. Barnabas, Ealing.<ref name="Joseph">Joseph, p.252</ref> With this consecration, Mar Dinkha IV became the [[List of Patriarchs of the Church of the East|successor]] to the [[Apostolic see]] of [[Al-Mada'in|Seleucia-Ctesiphon]] ([[Babylon]]). He also announced that the hereditary line of succession for the Patriarchy which had existed for 500 years<ref>Baumer, p. 247</ref> was discontinued with his tenure, allowing any cleric from the Church of the East to be elevated to Catholicos-Patriarch.<ref name="Baumer_b">Baumer, p. 244</ref> |
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[[File:Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church Of The East-St. George Cathedral.JPG|thumb|Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church Of The East-St. George Cathedral, 7201 N. Ashland Ave Chicago, Illinois, U.S.]]Dinkha established headquarters—along with four other houses of worship—in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], United States, in part due to the instability of the [[Iran–Iraq War]].<ref name="Joseph" /> This conflict as well as [[Saddam Hussein]]'s policy of [[Arabization]] in [[Iraq]], the [[Gulf War]] and subsequent [[sanctions against Iraq]] intensified the [[Assyrian–Chaldean–Syriac diaspora|Assyrian diaspora]] from the region. Meanwhile, the [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic Revolution]] and [[Shia Islam| |
[[File:Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church Of The East-St. George Cathedral.JPG|thumb|Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church Of The East-St. George Cathedral, 7201 N. Ashland Ave Chicago, Illinois, U.S.]]Dinkha established headquarters—along with four other houses of worship—in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], United States, in part due to the instability of the [[Iran–Iraq War]].<ref name="Joseph" /> This conflict as well as [[Saddam Hussein]]'s policy of [[Arabization]] in [[Iraq]], the [[Gulf War]] and subsequent [[sanctions against Iraq]] intensified the [[Assyrian–Chaldean–Syriac diaspora|Assyrian diaspora]] from the region. Meanwhile, the [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic Revolution]] and [[Shia Islam|Shia]] emphasis in Iran created a tense situation for Assyrians in the Middle East.<ref>Baum, pp. 150–151</ref> During the reign of Shimun XXI and Dinkha IV, American membership in the Church of the East rose from 3,200 in the 1950s<ref name="Baum_a" /> to approximately 100,000 in 2008.<ref>Baum, p. 155</ref> |
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In 2005, the Patriarch conducted discussions with [[President of |
In 2005, the Patriarch conducted discussions with [[President of Iraqi Kurdistan]] [[Masoud Barzani]] on returning to the Apostolic See in northern Iraq and constructing a new residence in [[Ankawa]].<ref>Baumer, p. 270</ref> On 15 July 2007, Mar Dinkha celebrated 50 years of his priesthood. A ceremony was held at St. George Cathedral in [[Chicago]], where a portion of Ashland Avenue was renamed "His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV Blvd". In 2008, he received an [[honorary degree]] from the [[University of Chicago]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.acegyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/nomination.pdf |title=Nomination of His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV for an Honorary Degree |publisher=Assyrian Church of the East Global Youth Organization |date=November 2008 |access-date=2 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707080206/http://www.acegyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/nomination.pdf |archive-date=7 July 2011 |df=dmy }}</ref> in part because of his emphasis on education—he stated a goal of only appointing [[Theology|theologians]] with [[doctoral degree]]s to the position of [[bishop]].<ref name="Baumer">Baumer, p. 272</ref> |
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==Travels and ecumenism== |
==Travels and ecumenism== |
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===Relations with the Catholic Church=== |
===Relations with the Catholic Church=== |
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Dinkha promoted closer relations with the [[Catholic Church]], both with the [[Holy See|Vatican]] and the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]]; he first met [[Pope John Paul II]] immediately after the [[Pope]]'s election in 1978<ref>Baum, p. 152</ref> and made his first visit to the [[Vatican City|Vatican]] in 1984.<ref name="Joseph_a">Joseph, p. 253</ref> The two continued to meet informally over the next decade.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pu3uUd-csnIC |
Dinkha promoted closer relations with the [[Catholic Church]], both with the [[Holy See|Vatican]] and the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]]; he first met [[Pope John Paul II]] immediately after the [[Pope]]'s election in 1978<ref>Baum, p. 152</ref> and made his first visit to the [[Vatican City|Vatican]] in 1984.<ref name="Joseph_a">Joseph, p. 253</ref> The two continued to meet informally over the next decade.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pu3uUd-csnIC|title=Growth in Agreement II: Reports and Agreed Statements of Ecumenical Conversations on a World Level, 1982–1998|last1=Gros|first1=Jeffrey|last2=Meyer|first2=Harding|last3=Rusch|first3=William G.|date=2000|publisher=[[Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing]]|isbn=9782825413296|series=Faith and Order Commission Papers|volume=187|pages=709|language=en}}</ref> After a decision by the Holy Synod of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] to have better relations with the [[Roman Catholic Church]] in 1994,<ref>Bailey, p. 131</ref> Dinkha agreed to a Joint [[Christology|Christological]] Declaration with the [[Holy See]].<ref>Bailey, p. 42</ref> The "[[Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East]]" declares that it is "[a] basic step on the way towards the full communion to be restored between their Churches;" emphasized common [[Doctrine|doctrinal]] positions between the two bodies, such as the [[Nicene Creed]]; and clarifies that the centuries the two have spent out of [[full communion|communion]] were due to geographic and cultural issues rather than doctrinal differences.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_11111994_assyrian-church_en.html |title=Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East |author=[[Pope John Paul II]] and Mar Dinkha IV |publisher=[[Holy See]] |date=11 November 1994 |access-date=2 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104205725/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_11111994_assyrian-church_en.html |archive-date=4 January 2009 |df=dmy }}</ref> |
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On 29 November 1996, Dinkha signed an agreement of cooperation with the [[List of Chaldean Catholic Patriarchs of Babylon|Patriarch of Babylon]] of the Chaldean Catholic Church—[[Raphael I Bidawid]]—in [[Southfield, Michigan|Southfield]], [[Michigan]]<ref name=":0" /> and met again on 16 August 1997, to bless an Assyrian church.<ref name="Baumer" /> This "Joint Synodal Decree for Promoting Unity" also established a Joint Commission for Unity which helped draft the 2001 "Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East" that allows Assyrians and Chaldeans to accept the [[Eucharist]] from one another.<ref>{{Cite web|url= |
On 29 November 1996, Dinkha signed an agreement of cooperation with the [[List of Chaldean Catholic Patriarchs of Babylon|Patriarch of Babylon]] of the Chaldean Catholic Church—[[Raphael I Bidawid]]—in [[Southfield, Michigan|Southfield]], [[Michigan]]<ref name=":0" /> and met again on 16 August 1997, to bless an Assyrian church.<ref name="Baumer" /> This "Joint Synodal Decree for Promoting Unity" also established a Joint Commission for Unity which helped draft the 2001 "Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East" that allows Assyrians and Chaldeans to accept the [[Eucharist]] from one another.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20011025_chiesa-caldea-assira_en.html |title=Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East |author=[[Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity]] |publisher=[[Holy See]] |date=20 July 2001 |access-date=2 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103164736/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20011025_chiesa-caldea-assira_en.html |archive-date=3 November 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref> The prior year, Assyrians and Roman Catholics also produced "A Common Statement on Sacramental Life" that assessed the importance of [[sacrament]]s in both churches.<ref>{{Citation |last=Bliss |first=Frederick M. |title=Catholic and Ecumenical: History and Hope: Why the Catholic Church Is Ecumenical and What She Is Doing About It |edition=2nd |year=2007 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-0-7425-5257-9 |page=59}}</ref> Assyrians have also been allowed to study at [[Baghdad]]'s [[Chaldean Catholic College]] and unmarried [[deacon]]s and [[priest]]s can study at Catholic universities in [[Rome]].<ref name="Baumer" /> |
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===Middle Eastern and Syriac ecumenism=== |
===Middle Eastern and Syriac ecumenism=== |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[[List of |
*[[List of patriarchs of the Church of the East]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==Sources== |
==Sources== |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book|last1=Baum|first1=Wilhelm|author-link1=Wilhelm Baum (historian)|last2=Winkler|first2=Dietmar W.|title=The Church of the East: A Concise History|year=2003|location=London-New York|publisher=Routledge-Curzon|isbn=9781134430192|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnSCAgAAQBAJ}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book|last=Baumer|first=Christoph|title=The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity|year=2006|location=London-New York|publisher=Tauris|isbn=9781845111151|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SQ7ZAAAAMAAJ}} |
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*{{Citation |last=Bailey |first=J. Martin |title=Who Are the Christians in the Middle East? |type=Paperback |year=2003 |publisher=[[Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing]] |isbn=0-8028-1020-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/whoarechristians00bail }} |
*{{Citation |last=Bailey |first=J. Martin |title=Who Are the Christians in the Middle East? |type=Paperback |year=2003 |publisher=[[Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing]] |isbn=0-8028-1020-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/whoarechristians00bail }} |
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* {{Cite journal |
* {{Cite journal|last=Coakley|first=James F.|title=The Church of the East since 1914|journal=The Bulletin of the John Rylands Library|year=1996|volume=78|issue=3|pages=179–198|doi=10.7227/BJRL.78.3.14|url=https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/uk-ac-man-scw:1m2407}} |
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*{{Citation |last=Joseph |first=John |title=The Modern Assyrians of the Middle East: Encounters with Western Christian Missions, Archaeologists, and Colonial Powers |type=Hardback |edition=2nd |series=Studies in Christian Mission |volume=26 |year=2000 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=90-04-11641-9}} |
*{{Citation |last=Joseph |first=John |title=The Modern Assyrians of the Middle East: Encounters with Western Christian Missions, Archaeologists, and Colonial Powers |type=Hardback |edition=2nd |series=Studies in Christian Mission |volume=26 |year=2000 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=90-04-11641-9}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book|last=O’Mahony|first=Anthony|chapter=Syriac Christianity in the modern Middle East|editor-last=Angold|editor-first=Michael|editor-link=Michael Angold|title=The Cambridge History of Christianity: Eastern Christianity|volume=5|year=2006|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=511–536|isbn=9780521811132|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1xUV-nMxNGsC}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book|last=Mooken|first=Aprem|author-link=Aprem Mooken|title=The History of the Assyrian Church of the East in the Twentieth Century|year=2003|location=Kottayam|publisher=St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute|url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/10603/603}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{succession box |
{{succession box |
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|before=[[Shimun XXI Eshai|Mar Shimun XXI Eshai]] |
|before=[[Shimun XXI Eshai|Mar Shimun XXI Eshai]] |
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|title=[[List of |
|title=[[List of patriarchs of the Assyrian Church of the East|Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East]] |
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|years=1976–2015 |
|years=1976–2015 |
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|after=[[Gewargis III|Mar Gewargis III]] |
|after=[[Gewargis III|Mar Gewargis III]] |
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[[Category:20th-century archbishops]] |
[[Category:20th-century archbishops]] |
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[[Category:21st-century archbishops]] |
[[Category:21st-century archbishops]] |
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[[Category:American bishops]] |
[[Category:20th-century American bishops]] |
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[[Category:American |
[[Category:21st-century American bishops]] |
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[[Category:Catholicos Patriarchs of the Assyrian Church of the East]] |
[[Category:Catholicos Patriarchs of the Assyrian Church of the East]] |
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[[Category:People in Christian ecumenism]] |
[[Category:People in Christian ecumenism]] |
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[[Category:Iraqi Assyrian people]] |
[[Category:Iraqi Assyrian people]] |
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[[Category:Iraqi Christians]] |
[[Category:Iraqi Christians]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:20th-century bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East]] |
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[[Category:Iraqi emigrants to the United States]] |
[[Category:Iraqi emigrants to the United States]] |
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[[Category:Iraqi refugees]] |
[[Category:Iraqi refugees]] |
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[[Category:People from |
[[Category:People from Erbil Governorate]] |
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[[Category:Refugees in the United States]] |
[[Category:Refugees in the United States]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Religious leaders from Chicago]] |
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[[Category:21st-century bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East]] |
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[[Category:20th-century American clergy]] |
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[[Category:21st-century American clergy]] |
Latest revision as of 20:35, 2 February 2024
Dinkha IV ܡܪܝ ܕܢܚܐ ܪܒܝܥܝܐ | |
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His Holiness | |
Church | Assyrian Church of the East |
Diocese | Patriarchal Diocese of the Eastern United States |
See | Holy Apostolic See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (in exile in Chicago) |
Installed | 17 October 1976 |
Term ended | 26 March 2015 |
Predecessor | Mar Shimun XXI Eshai |
Successor | Mar Gewargis III |
Other post(s) | Deaconate at Mar Yokhanan Church, Harir (1950), Bishopric at Urmia (11 February 1962) |
Orders | |
Ordination | 15 August 1957 |
Consecration | 11 February 1962 by Shimun XXI Eshai |
Rank | Bishop |
Personal details | |
Born | Dinkha Khananya (Khanania) 15 September 1935 |
Died | 26 March 2015 Rochester, Minnesota, U.S. | (aged 79)
Buried | Montrose Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Nationality | Assyrian |
Denomination | Assyrian Church of the East |
Residence | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Parents | Andrews Khananya (father) and Panna Khananya (mother) |
Occupation | Cleric |
Mar Dinkha IV (Classical Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܕܢܚܐ ܪܒܝܥܝܐ and Arabic: مار دنخا الرابع), born Dinkha Khanania (15 September 1935 – 26 March 2015)[1] was an Eastern Christian prelate who served as the 120th Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. He was born in the village of Darbandokeh (Derbendoki), Iraq and led the Church in exile in Chicago for most of his life.
Personal life
Dinkha Khanania was born in Iraq and baptized in the Church of Mar Qaryaqos located in the village of his birth, Darbandokeh. Khanania (also written as "Denkha Kh'nanya") gained his elementary education under the tutorship of his grandfather, Benyamin Soro. In 1947—at the age of eleven—he was entrusted to the care of Mar Yousip Khnanisho, Metropolitan and the Patriarchal representative for all Iraq, the second-highest-ranking ecclesiastic of the Assyrian Church of the East.[2] After two years of study, he was ordained deacon in the church of Mar Youkhana in Harir by Mar Yousip on 12 September 1949. On 15 July 1957, he was ordained to the priesthood, and appointed to minister Urmia, Iran. He was the fourth in the line of succession to the Bishopric of Urmia.
Mar Dinkha's priesthood as Metropolitan of Iran and Tehran[2] reestablished a line of succession which had ceased to exist after the 1915 assassination of his predecessor.[3] In 1962, Mar Dinkha moved from northern Iraq to Tehran.[3] During his tenure in Iran, he established a seminary and advocated for Assyrian nationalism and ecumenism.[2] Responding to popular demand, Catholicos-Patriarch Shimun XXI Eshai consecrated Mar Dinkha as bishop on 11 February 1962, in the church of Martyr Mar Gewargis in Tehran.
Mar Dinkha died on 26 March 2015 in Rochester, Minnesota.[1][4]
Tenure as Catholicos-Patriarch
After the assassination of Mar Shimun XXI Eshai, the Church of the East had an urgent need to restore its leadership. In 1976, the prelates of the church convened in London to elect a new Catholicos Patriarch and chose Mar Dinkha as the most qualified candidate to fill the post.[2] He was consecrated on 17 October 1976, in the West London Church of St. Barnabas, Ealing.[5] With this consecration, Mar Dinkha IV became the successor to the Apostolic see of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (Babylon). He also announced that the hereditary line of succession for the Patriarchy which had existed for 500 years[6] was discontinued with his tenure, allowing any cleric from the Church of the East to be elevated to Catholicos-Patriarch.[7]
Dinkha established headquarters—along with four other houses of worship—in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in part due to the instability of the Iran–Iraq War.[5] This conflict as well as Saddam Hussein's policy of Arabization in Iraq, the Gulf War and subsequent sanctions against Iraq intensified the Assyrian diaspora from the region. Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolution and Shia emphasis in Iran created a tense situation for Assyrians in the Middle East.[8] During the reign of Shimun XXI and Dinkha IV, American membership in the Church of the East rose from 3,200 in the 1950s[3] to approximately 100,000 in 2008.[9]
In 2005, the Patriarch conducted discussions with President of Iraqi Kurdistan Masoud Barzani on returning to the Apostolic See in northern Iraq and constructing a new residence in Ankawa.[10] On 15 July 2007, Mar Dinkha celebrated 50 years of his priesthood. A ceremony was held at St. George Cathedral in Chicago, where a portion of Ashland Avenue was renamed "His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV Blvd". In 2008, he received an honorary degree from the University of Chicago,[11] in part because of his emphasis on education—he stated a goal of only appointing theologians with doctoral degrees to the position of bishop.[12]
Travels and ecumenism
Dinkha made ecumenism a priority during his reign,[13] as well as advocacy for the Assyrian people.[14]
Relations with the Catholic Church
Dinkha promoted closer relations with the Catholic Church, both with the Vatican and the Chaldean Catholic Church; he first met Pope John Paul II immediately after the Pope's election in 1978[15] and made his first visit to the Vatican in 1984.[16] The two continued to meet informally over the next decade.[17] After a decision by the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East to have better relations with the Roman Catholic Church in 1994,[18] Dinkha agreed to a Joint Christological Declaration with the Holy See.[19] The "Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East" declares that it is "[a] basic step on the way towards the full communion to be restored between their Churches;" emphasized common doctrinal positions between the two bodies, such as the Nicene Creed; and clarifies that the centuries the two have spent out of communion were due to geographic and cultural issues rather than doctrinal differences.[20]
On 29 November 1996, Dinkha signed an agreement of cooperation with the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldean Catholic Church—Raphael I Bidawid—in Southfield, Michigan[17] and met again on 16 August 1997, to bless an Assyrian church.[12] This "Joint Synodal Decree for Promoting Unity" also established a Joint Commission for Unity which helped draft the 2001 "Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East" that allows Assyrians and Chaldeans to accept the Eucharist from one another.[21] The prior year, Assyrians and Roman Catholics also produced "A Common Statement on Sacramental Life" that assessed the importance of sacraments in both churches.[22] Assyrians have also been allowed to study at Baghdad's Chaldean Catholic College and unmarried deacons and priests can study at Catholic universities in Rome.[12]
Middle Eastern and Syriac ecumenism
The Church of the East has been a member of the World Council of Churches since its 1948 inception and Dinkha used this membership as a vehicle for bi- and multi-lateral ecumenism that would have been impossible prior to its inception.[23] In 1984, the Assyrian Church applied for membership in the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), but was denied due to objections by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, whose Patriarch, Pope Shenouda III, required the Church of the East to condemn its Church Fathers Diodore of Tarsus, Nestorius, and Theodore of Mopsuestia.[23] The dispute between the Assyrians and Copts resulted in a common Christological declaration in 1996, which was later rejected by the Coptic synod.[24] In 1996, the Church of the East was offered membership in the MECC, but declined to join at the time.[25] Discussions for the Church of the East to join the MECC have stalled since 1999.
The Austrian Pro Oriente Foundation brought together several Syriac churches in Vienna in 1994 to start a common dialogue amongst the Ancient Church of the East, the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Indian (Malankara) Orthodox Church, Maronite Church, Syriac Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. Representatives of these churches along with academics founded the Commission on Dialogue Within the Syriac Tradition.[26] Consultations have been convened intermittently since that time. As a product of this process, Dinkha entered into negotiations with the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Mar Ignatius Zakka I Iwas in 1997 and the two churches ceased anathematizing each other.[27] Although Dinkha spent over 20 years in dialogue with the Ancient Church of the East, the two remain out of communion.[16] In 1995, the Indian metropolitan see pledged its allegiance to Dinkha,[7] leaving the Ancient Church primarily active in the Middle East, with some 50,000–70,000 members.[12] In 1999, Dinkha declared that all ordinations and orders from the Ancient Church were valid.[28]
Political work and Assyrian advocacy
In September 2006, Mar Dinkha IV paid a historic visit to northern Iraq to give oversight to the churches there and to encourage the president of Iraqi Kurdistan to open a Christian school in Erbil. During this trip, he also met Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Dinkha pursued a pragmatic political course, calling on Assyrians to work together with their respective governments. He sought to de-politicize the office of Catholicos-Patriarch and expanded the church's outreach to the youth by including non-Syriac liturgies composed in local languages.[29]
See also
References
- ^ a b Awa Royel (27 March 2015). "Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV Enters Eternal Rest". The Orthodox Church. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ a b c d Baum, p. 150
- ^ a b c Baum, p. 147
- ^ "Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV of the Assyrian Church of the East dies at age of 79". Vatican Radio. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ a b Joseph, p.252
- ^ Baumer, p. 247
- ^ a b Baumer, p. 244
- ^ Baum, pp. 150–151
- ^ Baum, p. 155
- ^ Baumer, p. 270
- ^ "Nomination of His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV for an Honorary Degree" (PDF). Assyrian Church of the East Global Youth Organization. November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
- ^ a b c d Baumer, p. 272
- ^ Baumer, p. 280
- ^ Baumer, p. 7
- ^ Baum, p. 152
- ^ a b Joseph, p. 253
- ^ a b Gros, Jeffrey; Meyer, Harding; Rusch, William G. (2000). Growth in Agreement II: Reports and Agreed Statements of Ecumenical Conversations on a World Level, 1982–1998. Faith and Order Commission Papers. Vol. 187. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 709. ISBN 9782825413296.
- ^ Bailey, p. 131
- ^ Bailey, p. 42
- ^ Pope John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV (11 November 1994). "Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East". Holy See. Archived from the original on 4 January 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
- ^ Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (20 July 2001). "Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East". Holy See. Archived from the original on 3 November 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
- ^ Bliss, Frederick M. (2007), Catholic and Ecumenical: History and Hope: Why the Catholic Church Is Ecumenical and What She Is Doing About It (2nd ed.), Rowman & Littlefield, p. 59, ISBN 978-0-7425-5257-9
- ^ a b Baumer, p. 282
- ^ Baum, pp. 151–152
- ^ Bailey, p.132
- ^ Baum, p. 153
- ^ Joseph, p. 258
- ^ Baum, p. 154
- ^ Baumer, p. 279
Sources
- Baum, Wilhelm; Winkler, Dietmar W. (2003). The Church of the East: A Concise History. London-New York: Routledge-Curzon. ISBN 9781134430192.
- Baumer, Christoph (2006). The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity. London-New York: Tauris. ISBN 9781845111151.
- Bailey, J. Martin (2003), Who Are the Christians in the Middle East? (Paperback), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, ISBN 0-8028-1020-9
- Coakley, James F. (1996). "The Church of the East since 1914". The Bulletin of the John Rylands Library. 78 (3): 179–198. doi:10.7227/BJRL.78.3.14.
- Joseph, John (2000), The Modern Assyrians of the Middle East: Encounters with Western Christian Missions, Archaeologists, and Colonial Powers (Hardback), Studies in Christian Mission, vol. 26 (2nd ed.), Brill Publishers, ISBN 90-04-11641-9
- O’Mahony, Anthony (2006). "Syriac Christianity in the modern Middle East". In Angold, Michael (ed.). The Cambridge History of Christianity: Eastern Christianity. Vol. 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 511–536. ISBN 9780521811132.
- Mooken, Aprem (2003). The History of the Assyrian Church of the East in the Twentieth Century. Kottayam: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute.