Farid Elias Nazha (, ; 10 January 1894 in

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

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 ...

– 19 October 1970)Farid Nazha tog vid där Naum Faiq slutade
, Hujada.com was an Assyrian nationalist and a journalist. He was known for his criticism of the clergy, which led to his

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

Syriac Orthodox The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The church upholds the Mia ...

Patriarch Ignatius Afram I Barsoum. Nazha is considered one of founders of modern Assyrian nationalism.Farid Nazha
Bethnahrin.nl

Early life

Farid was born on 10 January 1894 to a family that traces its roots back to Kharput in modern-day

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. In 1911 a number of

members of his family converted to Syriac Catholicism, which initiated a bitter conflict between the Assyrians of

. Farid's father decided to send his son to

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 ...

to prevent him from getting involved in the conflict. In August 1911 Nazha arrived in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, where he studied Mathematics and Economy. He got married and moved in March 1920 to

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a sur ...

, where he worked. After 11 years he went back to

Journalism and activism

Influenced by

Naum Faiq Naum Elias Yaqub Palakh (February 1868 – February 5, 1930), better known as Naum Faiq (, Naˁum Fayëq), was an Assyrian poet, journalist, and teacher, remembered as one of the founding fathers of modern Assyrian nationalism during the early 20 ...

's writing, Nazha established a Syriac cultural club, the "Ephremic Society", in 1934. It included Assyrian/Syriac immigrants in Argentina. A newspaper, "Syriac University" ( , ), was published by the society in September of the same year. The newspaper was initially aimed at the Assyrian/Syriac immigrants in Argentina, but its popularity grew as Assyrian journalists from other parts of the world started contributing to it. Nazha himself had a permanent column in the newspaper and he often attacked the clergy in what he saw as "consecration of separation" of different Syriac Churches. For him nationality was above religion, and archbishops should not have a leading role in the Assyrian/Syriac society. His views about the church worsened as the latter started adopting Arabic in its liturgies. The clash with the clergy reached its peak when the Syriac Orthodox patriarch Ignatius Afram I Barsoum formally excommunicated him, although Barsoum's successor Ignatius Ya`qub III retracted this decision in the late 1950s. Farid Nazha continued publishing his newspaper until his death in Spain on 19 October 1970.

References

* 1894 births 1971 deaths Syrian emigrants to Argentina Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Argentina Assyrian nationalists Assyrian writers Syriac Orthodox Christians Turkish Oriental Orthodox Christians Assyrians from the Ottoman Empire People from Hama Argentine people of Assyrian descent {{MEast-journalist-stub