Mar Ignatius Andrew 'Abdul-Ghal Akijan (or ''Akhidjan'', ''Akidjian'', 1622–1677) was the

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

Syriac Catholic Church 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 ...

from 1662 to 1677. His election as Patriarch marked the first separation of the hierarchy between the Syriac Catholic Church and 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 ...

Life

Andrew Akijan was born in 1622 in

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 ...

and soon came in contact with the

Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

. He studied from 1649 in the Maronite College 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, ...

and after three years he returned in the East where he was ordained priest in 1652 by the

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 ...

Patriarch. In those years 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 ...

a number of Syriac Christians entered in

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constit ...

with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and formed the first Syrian Catholic community. They chose as their bishop Akijan, who was consecrated on 29 June 1656 by Maronite patriarch John Bawab of Safra, taking the name of ''Andrew''. He took possession of his church on 9 August 1656. He suffered a strong and violent opposition by the Orthodox Syriacs that forced him to escape 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 15 May 1657, from where he returned to Aleppo on 12 March 1658. His ministry as Syriac bishop of Aleppo was confirmed by the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

on 28 January 1659. At the death of the Syrian Patriarch in 1662, the Syrian Catholic party in Aleppo was able to persuade the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of the Syriac Church to elect Andrew Akijan as Patriarch, and thus he was elected on 19 April 1662, but with the opposition of the Orthodox party which elected Abdul Masih as Patriarch. On 3 August 1662 the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV confirmed Akijan in the patriarchal office and on 20 August 1662 he was formally enthroned, taking the traditional name of ''Ignatius''. The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...

, unknown of Akijan's election, in September 1662 disapproved the means of propagation of the Catholic faith which involved gifts to the authorities to obtain appointment, and thus took a stand against Akijan's appointment as Patriarch. Later, after being informed about the actual promotion of Akijan,

granted his confirmation on 23 April 1663. The reign of Akijan was initially quite troubled. Abdul Masih claimed the Patriarchate and in 1663 occupied the cathedral of

, but in January 1664 Akijan was successful in being restored. On 10 April 1664 the Sultan Mehmed IV confirmed Akijan as head of the whole Syriac-Christian

Millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

all over 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 ...

, and this status lasted till Akijan's death. Andrew Akijan died peacefully in

on 18 July 1677.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akijan, Ignatius Andrew Syriac Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch 1677 deaths 1622 births People from Mardin 17th-century clergy from the Ottoman Empire Bishops in the Ottoman Empire 17th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops Assyrians from the Ottoman Empire Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Oriental Orthodoxy