Cyril Salim Bustros (born January 26, 1939) is a Lebanese Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Beirut and Byblos in the

Melkite Greek 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 ...

since 1988. He previously served as Archbishop of Baalbeck and later as Eparch of Newton. He is a former professor at

Saint Joseph University Saint Joseph University of Beirut (; French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', commonly known as USJ) is a private Catholic research university in Beirut, Lebanon, founded in 1875 by French Jesuit missionaries and subsidized by the Go ...

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 ...

Life

Archbishop Cyril was born at Ain-Borday, near

Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...

, Lebanon, on January 26, 1939. He is a member of the

Bustros family The Bustros family is a prominent Lebanese Antiochian Greek Orthodox/Catholic family. One of the “Seven Families”, it is one of the original Beirut families along with the descendants of Sursock, Fernaine, Dagher, Trad, Tueni and Gebeily ...

, a prominent clan in Lebanese society.

Education

After his primary and secondary studies at the Minor Seminary of St. Paul at Harissa, he pursued his philosophical studies at St. Paul Institute in 1956 and 1957, and made his novitiate with the

White Fathers The White Fathers (), officially known as the Missionaries of Africa (), and abbreviated MAfr, are a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right (for men). They were founded in 1868 by Charles-Martial Allemand-Lavigerie, who w ...

in Gap, France. He then studied theology for four years (1958–1962) at the Major Seminary at St. Anne of Jerusalem.

Priesthood

He was ordained to the priesthood in the Society of the Missionaries of Saint Paul on June 29, 1962. From 1962 to 1970, he was Professor of Classical Greek and of French Literature at the Minor Seminary. Then from 1972-1974 Professor of Philosophy and Theology at St. Paul Institute in Harissa. Interrupting his teaching, he pursued a Doctorate of Theology at the

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Belgium, and received his degree in 1976. Bustros then served for eleven years as director of the St. Paul Institute of Philosophy and Theology at the Paulist Missionaries at Harissa. During this period he also held an appointment as

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Episcopate

In 1988 the Holy Synod of the Melkite Catholic Church elected him Archbishop of Baalbeck, succeeding

Elias Zoghby Elias Zoghby (9 January 1912 – 16 January 2008) was an Egyptian-born Lebanese Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Baalbek in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1968 to 1988. He was known as a leading advocate of Catholic–Ortho ...

. He was consecrated 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 ...

on November 27, 1988, in the Basilica of St. Paul in Harissa by

Maximos V Hakim Maximos V Hakim (; May 18, 1908 – June 29, 2001) was elected Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Alexandria and Jerusalem of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in 1967 and served until 2000. He guided the church through turbulent changes ...

, assisted by Archbishops Zoghby and

Joseph Raya Joseph Raya () (15 August 1916 – 10 June 2005) was a Lebanese-born Melkite Catholic prelate who served as Archeparch of Akka from 1968 to 1974. He was also a theologian and civil rights advocate. Raya was particularly known for his commitme ...

. Bustros was appointed to lead the

Eparchy of Newton Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton () is a Melkite Greek Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church. The eparchy is named for Newton, Massachusetts, and encompasses the entire United States. There are currently about fi ...

in the United States on June 22, 2004, succeeding

John Elya John Adel Elya, BS (16 September 1928 – 19 July 2019) was a Lebanese Catholic prelate who served as Eparch of Newton in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1993 to 2004. He was a member of the Basilian Salvatorian Order. Biography Elya, ...

. He was enthroned at Annunciation Melkite Catholic Cathedral on August 18, 2004. In June 2011 the Holy Synod of the Melkite Church elected Bustros to the Metropolitan See of Beirut. Taking his place as Eparch of the United States was

Nicholas Samra Nicholas James Samra (born August 15, 1944) is a Syrian American prelate who served as Eparch of Newton in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 2011 to 2022. He also served as Apostolic Administrator of the Eparchy of Nuestra Señora del ...

. Bustros is a member of the International Commission for Dialogue between the Catholic Church and 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 ...

, and of the Standing Conference of American-Middle Eastern Christian and Muslim Religious Leaders.

Distinctions

Grand Prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be lowe ...

of the Province of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

of the

Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem The Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem is a Catholic honorific laity, lay order (honour), order and ecclesiastical decoration established in 1979 by Patriarch Maximos V Hakim of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, with its seat in the ...

Notes

References

* ''The Melkite Handbook: Introducing the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.'' Published by the Office of Educational Services, Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton (2008)

External links

Archbishop Cyril discusses the culture clash between Islam and the West
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bustros, Cyril Salim 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops 21st-century Eastern Catholic bishops 1939 births Living people People from Baalbek District Melkite Greek Catholic bishops Université catholique de Louvain alumni Lebanese Christian clergy Lebanese Melkite Greek Catholics Members of the Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem Université catholique de Louvain alumni Academic staff of Saint Joseph University