Hilarion Capucci, BA (; 2 March 1922 – 1 January 2017) was a Syrian Catholic prelate who served as the titular Archbishop of Caesarea in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. He was a member of the Basilian Aleppian Order.

Early years

He was born 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 ...

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 ...

to Bashir Capucci (father) and Chafika Rabbath (mother) and was educated at St. Anne's Seminary in Jerusalem. During his time in office, he was an opponent of the Israeli occupation of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, and aligned himself with the

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

cause. On 20 July 1947, he was ordained a

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 ...

of the Basilian Aleppian Order. On 30 July 1965, he was elected archbishop and consecrated.

Arrest and imprisonment

On 18 August 1974 he was arrested by security forces of Israel for smuggling weapons into the West Bank in a Mercedes sedan. He was subsequently convicted by an Israeli military court of using his diplomatic status to smuggle arms to the Palestine Liberation Army and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Maximos V, the patriarch of the Melkite Church, was a vocal critic of Capucci's imprisonment. He was quoted as saying, "Is this Bishop reprehensible if he thought it was his duty to bear arms? If we go back in history we find other bishops who smuggled weapons, gave their lives and committed other illegal actions to save Jews from Nazi occupation. I do not see why a man who is ready to save Arabs should be condemned." Maximos also asserted that Israel had entered

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

illegally and against

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

resolutions. Capucci was among the prisoners whose release was demanded by Palestinian hijackers of the Kfar Yuval hostage crisis in 1975, and of German and Palestinian hijackers of Air France Flight 139 (the Entebbe hostage crisis), in 1976. He was released two years later, in 1978, due to intervention by the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, after having served four years of the 12-years sentence.

Negotiating the 1979 Iran hostage crisis

Capucci played a key role during the

Iran hostage crisis The Iran hostage crisis () began on November 4, 1979, when 66 Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage at the Embassy of the United States in Tehran, with 52 of them being held until January 20, 1981. Th ...

. He made several visits to the hostages, and in early May 1980 he obtained the release of the bodies of the American soldiers who had died in the refueling accident during the rescue mission. Capucci also negotiated an agreement for the release of the hostages, but the plan collapsed because the French press published the story before the agreement had been approved by Iran's Parliament.

Opposition to the 2003 Iraq War

An opponent of the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, Capucci wrote the foreword for the book '' Neo-Conned!: Just War Principles a Condemnation of War in Iraq'', by John Sharpe.

Participation aboard the 2009 Gaza aid ship

In 2009, Capucci was on a Lebanese ship bound for Gaza which was seized by Israeli forces when the ship attempted to violate the Israeli naval blockade.

Participation in the 2010 Gaza flotilla

In May 2010, Capucci participated in the Free Gaza Movement's aid flotilla to the Gaza Strip (see also Gaza flotilla raid). He was a passenger on , which was seized in the early hours of Monday, 31 May, by the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the Israel Defense Forces#Arms, naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea th ...

, with nine people killed and many injured. He was held in

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

prison and deported. During a reception for the return of the ''Mavi Marmara'' to Istanbul, he gave a speech to the assembly.

Honors by Muslim countries

The governments 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and

have honored Capucci with postage stamps.

Other

On 14 June 2009 he spoke at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) convention's annual Palestine Luncheon.

Death

On 1 January 2017, the Vatican announced that Capucci had died in

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, ...

, aged 94.

References

External links

Grzegorz Ignatowski, The arrest of Hilarion Capucci and the relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capucci, Hilarion 1922 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops 21st-century Eastern Catholic archbishops Christian Peace Conference members Hostage negotiators Iran hostage crisis Melkite Greek Catholic bishops Participants in the Second Vatican Council Religious leaders from Aleppo People of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Syrian archbishops Syrian Melkite Greek Catholics Syrian people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Israel People deported from Israel