Elias Peter Hoayek (; 4 December 1843 – 24 December 1931; also spelled Hoyek, Hwayek, Huayek, Juayek, Hawayek, Houwayek) was the 72nd Maronite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch from 1898 until his death in 1931.

Early life

Elias Hoayek was born in

Helta Helta () is a town in North Lebanon. It had 393 registered voters as of 2017, all Maronites. As of 2014, Howayek (surname), Howayek was the most common surname in the town, being held by 123 of 385 voters. Demographics In 2014 Christianity in Le ...

Batroun Batroun ( ';, ancient Botrys (), is a coastal city in northern Lebanon and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the capital city of Batroun District. The main Political Party of this city is the Free patriotic ...

North Lebanon North Lebanon () is the northern region of Lebanon comprising the North Governorate and Akkar Governorate. On 16 July 2003, the two entities were divided from the same province by former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The division was known as Law ...

on December 4, 1843. He studied at the Seminary College of St. John Maroun in North Lebanon. He later went to the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

of Ghazir in 1859, where he studied languages (French, Arabic, Syriac,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

) as well as philosophy. In 1866, he went to Rome to study

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

Propaganda Fide The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregati ...

. In 1870, he was made a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

and returned to Lebanon. Upon his return, he taught

at his old school the Seminary of St. John Maroun. He was appointed secretary and moved to the patriarchal residence in 1872, where he remained until 1898 when he was elected

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 ...

. He was consecrated

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Arca on December 14, 1889 by Patriarch

Paul Peter Massad Paul I Peter Massad, or Boulos Boutros Massaad (also Mas'ad; ; 16 February 1806 – 18 April 1890) was the 70th Maronite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch from 1854 until his death in 1890. Life Massad was born in the village of Ashqout in the Ke ...

. As vicar of Patriarch

John Peter El Hajj John XII Peter El Hajj (1 November 1817 in Dlebta, Keserwan District – 24 December 1898 in Bkerké), (or Youhanna Boutros El Hajj, ''El-Hage'', ''El-Haj'', ''El-Hadj'', ), was the 71st Maronite Patriarch of Antioch from 1890 until his death in ...

, he was commissioned to raise the necessary funds for the construction of a residence to the Maronites in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and for the construction of the new Maronite seminary in Rome, which opened in 1893. In 1895, Hoayek founded the Congregation of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family.

Becoming Patriarch

The previous patriarch, John el Hajj, died on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

in 1898; Hoayek was requested to return to Lebanon from a trip to Rome. On January 6, 1899, he was elected Patriarch and, in the consistory of June 19, 1899, Hoayek was ratified as the choice of Maronite bishops by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

, who granted him the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

. Hoayek adopted the middle name Peter (Boutros) to signify him being the successor to

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, first Bishop of Antioch. Patriarch Hoayek's residence was simple, consisting of three rooms: a bedroom/office, a reception room and a chapel. He was known to particularly revere the readings of the confessions of

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, the Eternal Maxims and the

Imitation of Christ In Christian theology, the imitation of Christ is the practice of following the example of Jesus.''A concise dictionary of theology'' by Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia 2004 , p. 115.''Imitating Jesus: an inclusive approach to New Testament ...

. Among his first acts as patriarch was the construction of a new residence in Bkerké, replacing the former one: the foundation stone was laid on September 29, 1899. In 1893, he began the construction of the new Maronite College of

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, ...

, inaugurated on February 7, 1904. In 1906, he obtained from the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

the division of the eparchy of Tyre and Sidon in two separate dioceses. Between 1906 and 1908, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, he ordered the construction of the statue of the Madonna in Harissa that still dominates the region.

Support for the diaspora

He was behind the creation of a Patriarchal Vicariate in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in 1904, the first Maronite ecclesiastical structure after 1736. He was the founder of the church in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, delegating Shikrallah Khoury and Peter Chebly. He was the founder of the independent dioceses in the

United States of America 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 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

and in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in 1920.

World War I

The First World War saw a lot of persecution of the Christians in the Middle East. Some sources cite one and a half million of

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

were killed by Ottoman forces in the war. The Ottoman Empire was allied to Germany. The Allies (France and Great Britain) set up a blockage of the Lebanese and Syrian coastline against the Ottoman Empire which leads to the start of a famine.

Jamal Pasha Ahmed Djemal (; ; 6 May 1872 – 21 July 1922), also known as Djemal Pasha or Cemâl Pasha, was an Ottoman military leader and one of the Three Pashas that ruled the Ottoman Empire during World War I. As an officer of the II Corps, he was ...

, Ottoman military governor took steps to exile Hoayek because of his relations with France. In 1915, the blockade as well as a large locust infestation had resulted in diminished food supplies. While the granaries are almost empty, the Ottoman Empire requisitions Lebanese foodstuffs. As a result, a third of the Lebanese population died of starvation. This situation continued until 1919. The Patriarch received funds from Lebanese Diaspora and the French government. Again, Jamal Pasha attempted to exile the Patriarch. The HM British army entered

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 ...

while the Ottoman (and their German allies) retreated to the north. This ended four hundred years of Ottoman rule in Lebanon. A transitional governance body was installed by the allied British and French forces.

Peace Congress in Versailles

In 1919, Patriarch Hoayek headed a second Lebanese delegation at the

Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...

. Prince Faisal had hoped for an Arab kingdom to encompass Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and the Arabian Peninsula. Hoayek fought to be able to see Lebanon free from the Ottoman Empire and had no desire to see it become part of an Arab monarchy. The Lebanese delegation led by Hoayek presented the Lebanese aspirations as follows: * The extension of the frontiers of Lebanon to include the cities 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 ...

, Tyre,

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

and the districts of Akkar, Beqaa, and Southern Lebanon. These cities and districts were natural parts of Lebanon but were administratively separated by the Ottoman rule. * The recognition of Lebanon's full independence * French protectorate over Lebanon. On October 25, he presented the assembly of the Peace Congress with this memorandum.

Independence of Lebanon

Proclamation of the state of Greater Lebanon

General Gouraud announced a declaration by France of the independence of Lebanon on September 1, 1920. He outlined the country's boundaries to include the area from Ras-al-Naqurah (Naqurah peninsula) in the south to Nahr-el-Kabir in the north and from the summits of the Anti-Lebanon mountain in the east to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

sea in the west. The new entity under French

mandate Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also r ...

was initially called The State of Greater Lebanon.

Death

Patriarch Elias Hoayek died on December 24, 1931, in Bkerké.

Sainthood

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

authorized the promulgation of decrees on the heroic virtues of Patriarch Elias Howayek, declaring him Venerable on July 5, 2019.

Quotation

Hoyek wrote: "Both national feeling and religion make it an obligation for you to respect and love everybody whatever may be his belief. Reason leads you to fraternize with the person you live with under the same sky and on the same land." (Hoayek, Al-Zakhair Al-Saniyyat, Jounieh, 1931 p. 501)

Sources

* Biography of the patriarch Elias Hoayek by HARFOÛCHE, P. Ibrâhîm, Dalâ' it Al 'inâya el-Samdanyat, Lebanese Jounieh, Printing works Missionaries Maronites; 1934. * Inventing Lebanon: Nationalism and the State Under the Mandate - by Kais M. Firro. * The Maronite Patriarch Elias Butrus al-Howayyek and the Establishment of Greater Lebanon - by Samawil Bulus, Haifa University, 1987. * Pierre Dib, v. Maronite (Eglise), in Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique, Tome Dixième, première partie, Paris 1928, coll. 110–112. * Zoghbi, Marie-Roger (1991). Une gloire du Liban: Le patriarche Elias Hoyek. Araya, Líbano: Imprimerie catholique.

Notes

External links

* http://www.kobayat.org/data/maronites/patriarchs.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20140127070120/http://www.qadisha.org/eliapeterhoayek.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoayek, Elias Peter 20th-century Lebanese people 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Lebanon Lebanese Maronites 1843 births 1931 deaths Maronite Patriarchs of Antioch Lebanese Roman Catholic saints Lebanese Roman Catholic bishops Venerated Catholics by Pope Francis