Mar Awa III (born David Maran Royel; 4 July 1975) is an Assyrian-American prelate who serves as the 122nd Catholicos-Patriarch of the

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christianity, Eastern Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian denomin ...

.Assyrian Church of the East – California
/ref> He previously served as the secretary of the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox ...

, is one of five trustees of the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization (ACERO), and is president of both the Commission on Inter-Church Relations and Educational Development (CIRED) and of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Assyrian Church of the East Youth Association (ACEYA) of the United States of America.National Council of Churches USA Meets with Assyrian Church of the East's CIRED
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Early life

David Royel was born on 4 July in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to Koresh and Flourence Royel. He is a first-generation Assyrian American. His involvement in the

began at a very young age. At 16, he was ordained as a

subdeacon Subdeacon is a minor orders, minor order of ministry for men or women in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed below the deacon and above the acolyte in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...

, and the following year became a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

. He was ordained by Mar Dinkha IV. Both ordinations took place at Mar Gewargis Cathedral (St. George Cathedral) in Chicago.

Education

David Royel obtained his bachelor's degree from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

in 1997 and went on to achieve his second bachelor's degree of Sacred Theology from

University of St. Mary of the Lake The University of Saint Mary of the Lake (USML) is a private Roman Catholic seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. It is the principal seminary and school of theology for the formation of priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois. USML wa ...

in 1999. He later received his Licentiate and Doctorate of Sacred Theology from 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 ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

.His Grace Mar Awa Bishop of California Consecrated November 30, 2008
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Service as Cor-Bishop

David Royel was ordained as Cor-Bishop on 15 July 2006 by Mar Dinkha IV at Mar Gewargis Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois, and as Archdeacon by Mar Dinkha IV on 23 November 2008 in Mar Yosip Khnanisho Church in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

Tenure as Bishop

On 30 November 2008, David Royel was elevated to the rank of Bishop, taking the name Mar Awa Royel – in Assyrian, ''Awa'' means ''father''. He is the first American-born Bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East. Mar Awa was again consecrated by the Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV, assisted by Mar Sargis Yousip, Bishop of Iraq, Mar Aprim Khamis, Bishop of the Western United States, and Mar Odisho Oraham, Bishop of Europe. The ordination ceremony took place at St. Zaia Church in Modesto, California, attended by over 2,500 members of the Assyrian Church of the East, and broadcast on Assyrian National Broadcast. , Mar Awa has served as the Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East. Under his tenure, Mar Awa established the St. Issac of Nineveh Monastery in California in addition to the tonsuring and clothing of two monks. This is the only active monastery in the Church worldwide.

Advocacy

As Bishop, Mar Awa has made many attempts to raise awareness for the plight of the persecuted Christians of the Middle East. In September 2014, he spoke at the inaugural In Defense of Christians Summit in Washington DC. On 9 March 2015, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes met with Mar Awa as well as Mar Paulus Benjamin. Together, the Bishops briefed Rhodes on the dire situation facing Christian communities in Iraq and Syria. They also discussed the crisis along the Khabour River in northeastern Syria, where the terrorist organization ISIL had attacked in late February 2015, which led to thousands of displaced people and a hostage crisis. Rhodes condemned

ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...

's targeting of religious minorities, and outlined the Administration's plan to protect and aid the civilians impacted by the terrorist organization.Statement by National Security Council Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes’ Meeting with Assyrian Christian Bishops
Bishop Mar Awa Royel meets with Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes

Election as Catholicos-Patriarch

On 6 September 2021, Mar Gewargis III formally stepped down as Catholicos-Patriarch during an Extraordinary Session of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East, leaving the Patriarchal See vacant. On 8 September 2021, the Holy Synod elected Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of California and Secretary of the Holy Synod, to succeed Mar Gewargis III as the 122nd Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. This was a historic decision as Mar Awa was the first Western-born Catholicos-Patriarch. He was consecrated and enthroned as Catholicos-Patriarch on 13 September 2021, on the Feast of the Holy Cross, in the Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist in Erbil, Iraq, and assumed the ecclesiastical name Mar Awa III.

Publications

In 2011, Mar Awa published a treatise on the theology of the Assyrian Church of the East regarding the seven Holy Sacraments, titled ''Mysteries of the Kingdom: The Sacraments of the Assyrian Church of the East''.''Mysteries of the Kingdom: The Sacraments of the Assyrian Church of the East''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royel, Mar Awa 1975 births Living people American people of Assyrian descent Clergy from Chicago Catholicos Patriarchs of the Assyrian Church of the East 20th-century bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East 21st-century bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East