Flavianos Michael Malke (, ), born Ya'Qūb Melkī; (1858 – 29 August 1915) was an

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the Brothers of Saint Ephrem of an Syriac background. He became the Syrian Catholic

eparch Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, 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 administra ...

of Gazarta (modern Cizre). Malke was killed in Gazarta during the

Assyrian genocide The Sayfo (, ), also known as the Seyfo or the Assyrian genocide, was the mass murder and deportation of Assyrian/Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish tribes during ...

after he refused to convert to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. On 8 August 2015,

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 ...

approved his

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

after he determined that Malke was killed in hatred of the faith. He was beatified on 29 August 2015, the centenary of his martyrdom.

Biography

Malke was born in Kalat’ül Mara, a village to the east of

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

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 the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He belonged to a family from the

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

which hails from Kharput. In 1868, he joined the Saffron Monastery where he studied

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

, Arabic and Turkish beside theology. He was consecrated a deacon in 1878 and a secretary of the library and a teacher in the monastery's school. He leaned towards Eastern Catholicism and subsequently joined the

Syriac Catholic 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 R ...

Charafe Monastery school spending four years. He was ordained a priest in

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

on 13 May 1883 and was assigned to various villages in

Tur Abdin Tur Abdin (; ; ; or ) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria and famed since Late Antiquity for ...

. His church and house were sacked and burned in 1895 during the Hamidian massacres in Diyarbekir Vilayet, during which Father Flavianus' mother and many other members of his parish were murdered. Over the following years he served as a visiting priest in several sacked and burned villages in Tur Abdin, where he helped with rebuilding efforts. Due to his works, Malke was ordained

Chorbishop A chorbishop is a rank of Christian clergy below bishop. The name chorepiscope or chorepiscopus (plural chorepiscopi) is taken from the Greek and means "rural bishop". History Chorepiscopi are first mentioned by Eusebius as existing in the se ...

in 1897 and vice bishop of Mardin and Gazarta. On 19 Januari 1913, he was consecrated a bishop together with the future

Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch The Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch is the head of the Syriac Catholic Church. According to tradition, the patriarchate of Antioch was established by Saint Peter in the 1st century AD, but split into two separate lines of patriarchs after ...

Gabriel Tappuni in

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 ...

. In the summer of 1915, during the height of the

Armenian Genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

, in the rural region Tur Abdin, Malke, who was in Azakh at the time, returned to Gazarta upon hearing news of the impending Assyrian genocide and refused to flee despite being advised so by local Turkish and Kurdish Muslim leaders. He was arrested by Ottoman authorities on 28 August 1915, alongside the Chaldean bishop of the city, Philippe-Jacques Abraham. According to Muslim eyewitnesses they were given choice between death or

conversion to Islam Reversion to Islam, also known within Islam as reversion, is adopting Islam as a religion or faith. Conversion requires a formal statement of the '' shahādah'', the credo of Islam, whereby the prospective convert must state that "there is none w ...

. Upon their refusal, Bishop Jacques Abraham was immediately shot dead and Bishop Michael Malke was beaten senseless and then beheaded.

Beatification

In 2010, the Syriac Catholic Patriarch launched a request for the

of Malke. He was declared

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

by 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 ...

, which is the first step towards sainthood. On Sunday, 30 September 2012, a report was submitted to

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, ...

by the Syriac Catholic Patriarch for Mar Michael Malke's beatification. On 8 August 2015, his beatification was approved after Pope Francis determined that Melki was killed ''In odium fidei'' ("Out of Hatred of the Catholic Faith"). Cardinal

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, Salesians of Don Bosco, S.D.B. (8 June 1938 – 31 December 2024) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 20 ...

- on behalf of the pope - presided over the beatification in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

on 29 August 2015.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malke, Flavianus Michael 1858 births 1915 deaths Beatifications by Pope Francis Christians executed for refusing to convert to Islam Christian saints killed by Muslims Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Oriental Orthodoxy Eastern Catholic beatified people Assyrians from the Ottoman Empire Syrian archbishops Syriac Catholic bishops People who died in the Sayfo 20th-century Eastern Catholic martyrs 19th-century venerated Christians 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops 19th-century Eastern Catholic bishops

Biography

Beatification

See also

References

External links