Patriarch Gregory II Youssef, also known as Gregory II Hanna Youssef-Sayour (October 17, 1823 – July 13, 1897), was

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 ...

of the

Melkite Greek Catholic Church The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (, ''Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk''; ; ), also known as the Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catho ...

from 1864 to 1897. Gregory expanded and modernized the church and its institutions and participated in the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...

, where he championed the rights of the

Eastern Catholic Churches 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 ...

. Gregory is remembered as a particularly dynamic patriarch of the Melkite Church. He is recognized as one of the forerunners of interconfessional dialogue and as an advocate for preserving the traditions and autonomy of the Melkites.

Early life, priesthood and episcopate

Hanna Youssef-Sayour was born October 17, 1823, at

Rosetta Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in 1799. Founded around the 9th century on the site of the ancient town of Bolbitine, R ...

, near

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

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 1840, at age 16, he entered the

Basilian Salvatorian Order The Basilian Order of the Most Holy Saviour () abbreviated BS, also known as the Basilian Salvatorian Order, is an Eastern Catholic monastic order of Pontifical Right for men of the Greek-Melkite Catholic Church. The name derives from its mothe ...

. In 1844, he began to study in 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 of Kesrouane in

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

. From 1847 to 1856 Youssef studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

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 ...

in the

Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius The Pontifical Greek College of St. Athanasius (; ) is a Pontifical College in Rome that observes the Byzantine rite. It was founded in 1577 by Pope Gregory XIII as a college for the training of priests and seminarians who worshipped accordin ...

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, ...

, where he was ordained

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on June 11, 1854. Back in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, he was chosen by the newly elected patriarch Clement Bahouth as successor for the See of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

and

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

. He received the

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

consecration on November 13, 1856, by patriarch Clement Bahouth. During his episcopate Youssef faced three major issues: discontent within the Melkite Church for the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar by Clement Bahouth, a short-lived schism supported by the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

on the basis of the newly introduced Gregorian Calendar, and division between the Basilians monks. Youssef remained strictly neutral on the calendar, but fiercely fought the schism.

Patriarchate

The conflicts in the Melkite church escalated and in 1864 Clement Bahouth asked the church leadership in Rome to abdicate his position as patriarch and elect Youssef as his successor. Rome authorized the resignation, and a synod of bishops was convened for September 24, 1864. At the opening of the synod Clement Bahouth announced his resignation, and the synod elected Youssef as patriarch on September 29, 1864. Youssef took the name ''Gregory'' and was confirmed by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

on March 27, 1865. Once elected, patriarch Gregory worked to restore peace in the religious community and successfully healed the schism. He also focused on improving church institutions and founded the Patriarchal College 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 1865 and the Patriarchal College in

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 ...

in 1875, and re-opened the Melkite seminary of

Ain Traz The Ain Traz Seminary of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, located southeast of Beirut, Lebanon, has served various roles during its 200-year history. History The village of Ain Traz was home to the Maronite Saad clan, members of whom where Frenc ...

in 1866.Dick (2004), p. 38 Gregory promoted the establishment of Saint Anne's Seminary 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 ...

by the

White Fathers The White Fathers (), officially known as the Missionaries of Africa (), and abbreviated MAfr, are a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right (for men). They were founded in 1868 by Charles-Martial Allemand-Lavigerie, who w ...

in 1882 for the training of Melkite clergy. Following the ''Hatti Humayyouni'' decree by Sultan Abdul Majid in 1856 the life of Christians in the Near East improved. This allowed Gregory to successfully encourage greater participation by the Melkite laity in both church administration and public affairs. Gregory also took an interest in ministering to the growing number of Melkites who had emigrated to the Americas. In 1889, he dispatched Father Ibrahim Beshawate of the Basilian Salvatorian Order in

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 ...

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 ...

, to New York to minister to the growing local Syrian community. According to historian Philip Hitte, Beshawate was the first permanent priest in the United States from the Near East from the Melkite,

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

, and

Antiochian Orthodox Church 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 ...

es.

First Vatican Council

Gregory was a prominent proponent of Eastern ecclesiology at the

. In two discourses he gave at the Council on May 19 and June 14, 1870, he emphasized the importance of conforming to the decisions of the

Council of Florence The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1445. It was convened in territories under the Holy Roman Empire. Italy became a venue of a Catholic ecumenical council aft ...

and of not innovating ideas of papal primacy, such as

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

. He anticipated a negative impact of a dogmatic definition of papal infallibility on relations with the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

and became a prominent opponent of the dogma at the Council.Parry (1999), p. 313 Gregory also defended the rights and privileges of the patriarchs afforded by earlier ecumenical councils. Speaking at the Council on May 19, 1870, Gregory stated:

The Eastern Church attributes to the pope the most complete and highest power, however in a manner where the fullness and primacy are in harmony with the rights of the patriarchal sees. This is why, in virtue of and ancient right founded on customs, the Roman Pontiffs did not, except in very significant cases, exercise over these sees the ordinary and immediate jurisdiction that we are asked now to define without any exception. This definition would completely destroy the constitution of the entire Greek church. That is why my conscience as a pastor refuses to accept this constitution.

Gregory refused to sign the Council's dogmatic declaration on papal infallibility. He and two of the seven other Melkite bishops present voted ''non placet'' at the general congregation and left Rome prior to the adoption of the dogmatic constitution ''

Pastor aeternus ''Pastor aeternus'' ("First dogmatic constitution, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ") was issued by the First Vatican Council, July 18, 1870. The document defines four doctrines of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith: the Primacy of ...

'' on papal infallibility. Other members of the anti-infallibilist minority from the Latin church and other Eastern Catholic churches also left the city.Descy (1993), p. 64

Relationship with the Vatican following the Council

After the First Vatican Council concluded, an emissary of the Roman Curia was dispatched to secure the signatures of the patriarch and the Melkite delegation. Gregory and the Melkite bishops subscribed to it, but added the qualifying clause used at the

: "except the rights and privileges of Eastern patriarchs." He earned the enmity of

for this; during his next visit to the

pontiff In Roman antiquity, a pontiff () was a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term ''pontiff'' was later applied to any h ...

before leaving Rome, when Gregory was kneeling, the Pope placed his knee on the patriarch's shoulder, saying to him, "''Testa dura!''" ("Hardheaded!"). In spite of this event, Gregory and the Melkite Catholic Church remained committed to their union with the Holy See. Relationships with the Vatican improved following the death of Pius IX and the subsequent election of

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 ...

. Leo's

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...

Orientalium dignitas ''Orientalium dignitas'' is a papal encyclical concerning the Eastern Catholic churches issued by Pope Leo XIII on 30 November 1894. The encyclical further established the rights of the Eastern Catholic churches. This includes a prohibition aga ...

'' in 1894 addressed some of the Eastern Catholic Churches' concerns on latinization and the centralization of power in Rome.Dick (2004), p. 39 Leo confirmed that the limitations placed on the Armenian Catholic patriarch by Pius IX's 1867 letter ''Reversurus'' would not apply to the Melkite Church and he formally recognized an expansion of Patriarch Gregory's jurisdiction to include all Melkites throughout 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 ...

. Patriarch Gregory died on July 13, 1897, in

. Following his death he was succeeded as patriarch by Barakat Géraigiry, who assumed the name Peter IV.

Legacy

Gregory is remembered as a particularly dynamic patriarch of the Melkite Church. His defense of the Eastern ecclesiological conception of church autonomy established the framework for the Eastern Catholic Church's interventions during the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. Gregory has also been recognized as one of the forerunners of interconfessional dialogue.Hajjar, J. "L'episcopat catholique oriental et le premier concile du Vatican, d'apres la correspondance diplomatique francaise." ''

Revue d'Histoire Ecclésiastique ''Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique'' is a peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of ecclesiastical history. Independent third-party sources have described it as "The best international church-historical journal".James E. Bradley ...

'', Louvain, p. 763; as presented in Descy (1993), p. 64

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yusuf, Gregory II 1823 births 1897 deaths Eastern Catholic monks Egyptian Melkite Greek Catholics Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch Levantine-Egyptians Eastern Catholic bishops in Africa Eastern Catholic bishops in Asia