Emil Shimoun Nona (born November 1, 1967) is the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul in the northern part of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

since the consent of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

to his election on 13 November 2009. He took over the

archeparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administrative structure ...

after the murder of Paulos Faraj Rahho in early 2008.

Early life

Nona, a Chaldo-Assyrian was born in

Alqosh Alqosh (, , , alternatively spelled Alkosh, Alqoš, or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District situated 45 km north of the city of Mosul. The inhabitants of Alqosh are Assyrian peopl ...

in 1967. After completing his secondary education in 1985, he entered the Chaldean Patriarchal Seminary and was ordained priest on 11 January 1991 in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. From 1993 to 1997 he was parochial vicar at Alqosh, then pastor until 2000. He then enrolled at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

. In 2005 he obtained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

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 ...

and returned home. From 2005 he served as a professor of

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

at the Babel College. Later, he was named vicar general of the Chaldean Catholic eparchy (diocese) of Alqosh. He speaks Syriac, Arabic, Italian, and knows English.

Archbishop of Mosul

On May 5, 2009, the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of Bishops of the

Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...

elected Nona archeparch of Mosul of the Chaldeans.

gave his consent to Nona's election on November 13, 2009. He was ordained a bishop on 8 January 2010, with Mar Emmanuel III Delly,

patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans 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 in ...

, as principal consecrator. At the age of 42, he was the youngest Catholic archbishop in the world. Speaking on the violence in Iraq in 2014 Nona said, all the Christians who were still living there have now fled. Nona, corroborated this while speaking with the worldwide Catholic relief service Aid to the Church in Need. “All the faithful have left the city. Who knows whether they will ever be able to return,” Abp. Nona said. “In 2003 there were still 35,000 faithful living in Mosul. Three thousand were still there in early 2014. Now probably not one is left here, and that is tragic,” the Archbishop declared. The city of Mosul, with a population of three million, was already mentioned in the Bible as

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

, and for thousands of years it has been a place of Christian civilisation. Archbishop Nona reported on the capture of Mosul: “We have never experienced anything like it before. A major city like Mosul has fallen victim to chaos.” The fighting, he said, began on Thursday, June 5; at first, however, it was limited to several districts in the western part of the city. “The army began to bombard the areas that were affected, but then the armed forces and the police suddenly left Mosul during the night between Monday and Tuesday, leaving the city at the mercy of the aggressors.” More than half of the inhabitants and the entire Christian community immediately fled to the nearby Nineveh Plain. “At around 5:00 on Tuesday morning we took in the families of refugees and tried to lodge them in schools, catechism classrooms and abandoned houses,” Nona reported.Michael J. Miller (June 12, 2014
Iraq: “All the Christians have fled Mosul”
catholicworldreport.com Shortly after his exile began, Nona gave an interview in which he warned the West about the supposed dangers of accepting Muslims into their communities:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nona, Emil Shimoun Living people 1967 births Iraqi Assyrian people Chaldean Catholic archbishops Iraqi archbishops Iraqi Eastern Catholics People from Alqosh Christian critics of Islam Pontifical Lateran University alumni 21st-century Eastern Catholic archbishops 20th-century Eastern Catholic clergy