Clement Michael Bahouth (or Clement Bahous, 1799 – 13 June 1882) was

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

of the

Melkite Catholic Church The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (, ''Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk''; ; ), also known as the Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catho ...

from 1856 until his resignation in 1864.

Life

Michael Bahouth was born in 1799 near

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

. In 1816 he entered in the Holy Saviour monastery of the

Basilian Salvatorian Order The Basilian Order of the Most Holy Saviour () abbreviated BS, also known as the Basilian Salvatorian Order, is an Eastern Catholic monastic order of Pontifical Right for men of the Greek-Melkite Catholic Church. The name derives from its mothe ...

and professed

monastic Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

vows in 1818. He was ordained

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 ...

in about 1824. Before 1826 he visited

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, ...

. From 1826 to 1835 he was Melkite

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

.Korolevskij, DHGE, 6 (1932) On 10 August 1836 he was consecrated bishop of

by patriarch

Maximos III Mazloum Maximos III Michael Mazloum, (born in November 1779 in Aleppo, present Syria – died in August 1855) was patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1833 until 1855. As patriarch he reformed church administration and bolstered clerical e ...

, taking the name of ''Clement''. At the death of patriarch Maximos III Mazloum, the synod of the Melkite Catholic bishops elected Clement Bahouth as patriarch on 1 April 1856. His election was supported by both the bishops partisans of Mazloum's line and by Archbishop Paolo Brunoni, a Cypriot who was the

Apostolic Legate An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. The same electoral synod, having in mind the last authoritative years of Maximos Mazloum, issued decrees to limit the patriarchal authority. Clement Bahouth's election was confirmed by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

on 16 June 1856. Clement Bahouth was docile to the demand of Archbishop Paolo BrunoniFrazee (2006), p. 290 to Latinize the Eastern Catholic Churches. Without consulting other Melkite bishops, in January 1857 he introduced the

Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

in place of the

Julian Calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

to promote conformity with the uses of the

Latin Rite Latin Rite may refer to: *The Latin Church, a ''sui iuris'' church of the Catholic Church *The Latin liturgical rites, a family of Christian rites and uses which includes the Roman Rite *The Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritua ...

as well as of the

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

s and of the

Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' (self-governing) particular church that is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Catholic Church. Originating in the Levant, it uses the West Syriac ...

; that act caused some discontent within the Melkite Church, and the opposition was led by the Archbishop of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Agapis Riyasi, the same who led the opposition against Maximos Mazloum some years before. Clement Bahouth, seen the discontent, resigned in August 1858, but the majority of the Melkite clergy and laity asked

to reject Clement's resignation, as it happened in September 1858. The 1859–1860 war between Maronites and

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

s, and the massacre of Christians in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

became more important issues than the calendar's one for most of the Melkites. A new player appeared: the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

, hoping to expand its influence in the Middle East, persuaded three of the bishops opponent to Clement Bahouth to formalize a schism, known as schism of the ''sarqiin'', creating a new Church separated from both the

and from the

Antiochian Orthodox Church The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch (), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Rūm Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (), is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church within the wider communion of E ...

. This schism, notwithstanding the funds given by Russia to build churches, ended after a few years, and never numbered more than five thousand adherents. In 1864 Clement Bahouth asked Rome again to resign and to elect as successor Gregory Youssef, who was appointed bishop of Acre a few years before by Clement himself. This time Rome authorized the resignation, and a synod of bishops was summoned 24 September 1864. At the opening of synod Clement announced his resignation, and the synod in a few days elected

Gregory II Youssef Patriarch Gregory II Youssef, also known as Gregory II Hanna Youssef-Sayour (October 17, 1823 – July 13, 1897), was Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1864 to 1897. Gregory expanded and modernized the church and its institu ...

according to Clement's wishes. After this synod Clement Bahouth returned to live as a simple

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

monk. In 1870 he participated silently at the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...

. He died on 13 June 1882 in the Holy Saviour monastery, where he was buried.

Notes

References

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External links

Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem

Melkite Catholic Web Ring

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahout, Clement Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch 1882 deaths 1799 births Eastern Catholic monks Participants in the First Vatican Council

Life

See also

Notes

References

External links