Abraham Nehmé, BC or Ibrahim Naameh (8 October 1927 – 9 December 2022) was Archbishop of the

Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs (in Latin: Archeparchy Hemesena Graecorum Melkitarum-Epiphaniensis-Iabrudensis) is a nominally Metropolitan Archeparchy (Eastern Catholic archdiocese) of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Byzantine Rite, ...

in Syria.

Life

Nehmé was born in Kaïtouly,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

on 8 October 1927. Nehmé was ordained to the priesthood on 3 January 1954 and became Chaplain of the Saint John the Baptist Basilians of St. John consecrated. The Bishops' Conference of the

Melkite Greek Catholic Church el, Μελχιτική Ελληνική Καθολική Εκκλησία , image = Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Damascus, Syria.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = , abbreviatio ...

appointed him on 20 August 1986 successor of

Denys Gaith Denys Gaith, BC (19 March 1910 in Yabroud, Syria – 22 March 1986) was Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs in Syria. Life Denys Gaith was ordained on 8 September 1937 and became the Chaplain of the Saint John the Baptist ...

as Archbishop of Homs. The Patriarch of Antioch

Maximos V Hakim Maximos V Hakim ( ar, ماكسيموس الخامس حكيم; May 18, 1908, in Tanta, Egypt – June 29, 2001, Beirut, Lebanon) was elected Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Alexandria and Jerusalem of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church i ...

ordained him bishop on 26 October 1986. As co-consecrators assisted the Patriarch Hakim the Archbishops

Habib Bacha Habib Bacha, SMSP (June 24, 1931 in Tyre, Lebanon – 23 November 1999) was Melkite Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos. Priests and promotion Habib Bacha received his priestly ordination on 29 June 1956 leadi ...

, SMSP and André Haddad, BS. During his tenure Nehmé was co-consecrator of the archbishops Antoine Hayek, BC,

Georges El-Murr Georges El-Murr, BC (11 October 1930 in Ka'a at Baalbek, Lebanon – 8 February 2017) was Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Petra and Philadelphia in Amman. Life Georges El-Murr was ordained a priest of the Order of St. Jo ...

, BC and Bishop Jean-Abdo Arbach, BC. In 2006 Archbishop Nehmé after his retirement became emeritus archbishop, and was succeeded by Isidore Battikha. Nehmé died on 9 December 2022, at the age of 95.

About married priests

In 2001 Nehmé declared in an interview, "that the priests had four to nine children in his diocese on average and therefore were not less zealous in its missionary and apostolic work than their unmarried brothers". In another line of thought, he raises the question of whether the "success could not inspire the West with the married Catholic priests in the Orient?" And he gives an answer to this question: "But this development will not proceed stormy, may we have waiting for a third Vatican Council."

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20120419194326/http://www.pgc-lb.org/english/Church3.shtml#Homs {{DEFAULTSORT:Nehme, Abraham 1927 births 2022 deaths Melkite Greek Catholic bishops Syrian archbishops Lebanese emigrants to Syria Eastern Catholic bishops in Syria People from Homs