Ghattas Hazim (born 1963, in Mhardeh,

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 ...

) is a

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

(

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

) hierarch. Since 2014, he serves as

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

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 ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

and Dependencies, under the jurisdiction of

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch (), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Rūm Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (), is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church within the wider communion of E ...

Biography

Metropolitan Ghattas Hazim was born in 1963, in Mhardeh, Syria. He earned a bachelor's degree in Theology from the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology in 1987. He was ordained a Deacon in the Archdiocese of

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 ...

in 1989, and a priest in 1990. He was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite and appointed Vicar to the Metropolitan of Hama. He served as the Abbot of the Monastery of St. George in Mhardeh. During this time, he oversaw the Christian Education Department in the Archdiocese of Hama. In 1999, he was consecrated by his uncle, the late Patriarch

Ignatius IV of Antioch Patriarch Ignatius IV ( ; born Ḥabīb Hazīm ; April 17, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and All The East from 1979 to 2012. Life Habib Hazim was born on April 4, 1920, in the village o ...

as Bishop of Quarah. He moved to

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 ...

and was appointed Patriarchal Vicar. In October 2010, he was appointed dean of the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology and abbot of the Our Lady of

Balamand The Balamand Monastery (historically called Belmont, Bellimontis ultra Mare, or Bellus-Mons), is a monastery for the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch founded in 1157 in Balamand (Belmont), the Crusader County of Tripoli, now in the Koura Distri ...

Patriarchal Monastery in northern

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 ...

. In September 2013, he left the post of Dean, while remaining the abbot of the Balamand monastery until his election to Baghdad see On 7 October 2014, after the retirement of long serving (since 1969) Metropolitan Constantine Papastephanou, the Holy Synod of Antioch elected bishop Ghattas Hazim as new "Metropolitan of Baghdad, Kuwait and Dependencies". Since northern parts of his new diocese (specially

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 ...

) were severely affected by devastating wars and conflicts during past two decades, upon arriving in Baghdad he was faced with many problems, starting from the fact that over 90% of the Eastern Orthodox Christians in the country have been displaced due to the security chaos which has prevailed there for the past generation. Because of that, his official seat remains in Baghdad, but administrative headquarters of the Archdiocese are still located in Kuwait.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazim, Ghattas 1963 births People from Hama Governorate Greek Orthodox Christians from Syria Bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Eastern Orthodoxy in Iraq Eastern Orthodoxy in Kuwait 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Living people People from Bethlehem

Biography

See also

References