Sarhad Yawsip Hermiz Jammo (14 March 1941 – 4 February 2025) was an Iraqi-born American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...

who presided over the

Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Saint Peter the Apostle of San Diego Chaldean Eparchy of Saint Peter the Apostle () is a Chaldean Catholic Church eparchy of the Catholic Church in the Western United States. It practices the Syro-Oriental Rite in the Syriac/Arameic language. It is exempt, i.e. immediately subject ...

in the United States. He had been the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of this

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

since its inception on 25 July 2002. His

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

currently sits at St. Peter's Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in

El Cajon El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, lit. 'the box') is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was named for the box-like shape of the valley tha ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Mar Sarhad Jammo was born in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

and ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on 19 December 1964. Following 38 years as a priest, he was elevated to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

by the then Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Mar Raphael I Bidawid. Upon his installment, his first post was to serve as bishop of the newly created

eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

, St. Peter the Apostle, which spans across nineteen states of the western United States. He retired on 7 May 2016.

Early life and education

Born to an Assyrian family from Baghdad, he attended the Chaldean Patriarchal Seminary in

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

for formation and left to Rome at the age of 17. He attended the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian, is a pontifical university that was under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The university's mission is to ...

, where he earned a master's degree in both philosophy and theology. He then pursued doctoral studies at the

Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had bee ...

, where he earned a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in Eastern Ecclesiastical Studies. His dissertation was titled, "The Structure of the Chaldean Mass". Bishop Jammo conducted instructional work at several prestigious universities. He taught at the

in Rome, the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, and the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Pastoral work

After finishing his studies in Rome, Jammo was appointed pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Baghdad, where he would serve from 1969 to 1974. At which time, he became the rector at the Chaldean Patriarchial Seminary in Mosul. In 1977, he was made associate pastor of Mother of God parish in

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...

, where he would serve with Mar George Garmo. In 1983, he was appointed pastor of St. Joseph's Church in

Troy, Michigan Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Troy is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 87,294, ...

, in which capacity he would serve until his elevation to the

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

. In 2002,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

created a second diocese for the Chaldean Catholic Church in the United States. The new diocese would divide the country between the east and west. Mar Sarhad Jammo would be given an apostolic seat to preside over the Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle covering the western United States. Bishop Jammo has championed ecclesiastical renewal and reconciliation. In 2006, the Chaldean Catholic Church received Vatican approval on a reform of the

Liturgy of Addai and Mari The Liturgy of Addai and Mari (or the ''Holy Qurbana of Mar Addai and Mar Mari'') is the Eucharistic liturgy belonging to the East Syriac Rite and was historically used in the Church of the East of the Sasanian (Persian) Empire. This liturgy ...

. The St. Peter Diocese has been the first to implement the reformed mass showing Bishop Jammo's passion and zeal for liturgical renewal.

Degrees and publications

* Master's in Philosophy,

* Master's in Theology,

* Doctorate in Eastern Ecclesiastical Studies,

* Doctoral Dissertation, "The Structure of the Chaldean Mass" * Musical Play, "Between the Tigris and the Euphrates" * Chaldean Patriarchial Liturgical Committee, "Presentation of the Reformed Chaldean Missal" Bishop Jammo is an established author and historian of the Chaldean Catholic history, liturgy, and language. The Bishop has authored the following books/publications: "Introductory Chaldean," "Ancient and Modern Chaldean History," "The Chaldean Liturgy: At the Gate of God", "Chaldean Grammar", "Emmanuel", "Chosen to Rescue: Chaldean Exegis of the Old Testament (Old Pillars)", "Journeying to Emmaus: A Chaldean Catechism for First Communion" (), and "L'Office du soir chaldéen au temps de Gabriel Qatraya" in ''L'Orient Syrien'' 12 (1967) 187–210 on the writings of Gabriel of Qatar.

On Assyrian identity

At a 1996 lecture on "Chaldeans in the Third Millennium", Jammo stated, "So often I had to clarify it because I think it's not understood, never understood, how much I write, and educate people. When I say "Chaldean,"—our forefathers when they gave us the name "Chaldean," did not mean, did not mean, did not mean that they are from people of

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

. No! No! No! Don't be dumps, all of us, including me, to think that my forefathers didn't understand that living in

Tel Keppe Tel Keppe ( ', ', alternatively spelled Tel Kaif, Tilkepe, or Telkef) is a town in northern Iraq. It is located in the Nineveh Governorate, less than 8 mi (13 km) northeast of Mosul.Welcome to Tel Keppe at ChaldeansOnline http://www.cha ...

and

Alqosh Alqosh (, , , alternatively spelled Alkosh, Alqoš, or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District situated 45 km north of the city of Mosul. The inhabitants of Alqosh are Assyrian peopl ...

, they didn't know that they were

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

? Our forefathers understood. Our forefathers understood. When they said "Chaldeans," how someone living Tel Keppe didn't know that

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

was in front of his eyes, that he is not from Babylon. It's not meant in that way. Our forefathers searched for a comprehensive title, not only for one time or one period, but for the entirety of the people—all of it."

Death

Jammo died in San Diego, California, on 4 February 2025, at the age of 83.

References

External links

Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Saint Peter the Apostle of San Diego Official Site

Catholic Hierarchy.org

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jammo, Sarhad Yawsip 1941 births 2025 deaths American Eastern Catholic bishops Chaldean Catholic bishops Iraqi Assyrian people Iraqi emigrants to the United States Religious leaders from Baghdad University of Notre Dame faculty Catholic University of America faculty Pontifical Oriental Institute alumni Academic staff of the Pontifical Oriental Institute Syriacists Chaldean Catholic Church in the United States American people of Assyrian descent Chaldean Catholics Assyrian activists