Ignatius V Moussa Qattan, (or ''Cattan'', ''Kattan'', ''Quattan'', 1756–1833) 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 1816 until 1833.

Life

Moussa Qattan was born in 1756 (or 1752) in

Zouk Zouk is a musical movement and dance pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm, and a loud horn section. Musicians from Mart ...

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 ...

. He was the nephew of Soleiman Qattan, who ran the

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

of the monastery of Saint John at

Choueir Dhour El Choueir (), sometimes Dhour Shweir, is a mountain town in Lebanon ('dhour' meaning 'summit, top f a mountain) located in the Matn District. It lies slightly north of the main Beirut - Damascus highway, overlooking the city of Beirut and ...

after the death of

Abdallah Zakher Abdallah Zakher (; ) (1684–1748) was a Syrian-born (in Aleppo) typographer and Catholic deacon who set up the first printing press in the Middle East. His printing press used Arabic movable type and was installed in 1733 in the motherhouse of th ...

. Moussa Qattan worked with his uncle in the press. We know that in 1790 Moussa Qattan was a

celibate Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the term ''celibacy'' is applied on ...

diocesan priest In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

serving in Zouk. His being diocesan priest allowed him to be outsider in the conflict about the two

monastic order Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

s that marked the history of the 18th century Melkite Catholic Church. After the contested election of Michael Mazloum as bishop of

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 ...

in 1810 and Mazloum's following dismissal, Moussa Qattan was appointed on 30 May 1811 as

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of Aleppo. He maintained this ministry until his election as Patriarch. At the death of

Macarius IV Tawil Macarius IV Tawil (or ''Taouil'') was Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1813 to 1815. Life Macarius Tawil was born in Damascus. He entered in the religious order of the Basilian Salvatorians of which he was Superior from 180 ...

the episcopal synod of the Melkite Catholic Church (composed by only four bishops, the fifth bishop, Mazloum, being 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, ...

) elected Moussa Qattan as Patriarch, according to the wishes of Aloisio Gandolfi, the

Apostolic Legate An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

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 ...

. The election occurred on 10 July 1816, and Qattan took the name of Ignatius V. He was ordained bishop on 13 July and enthroned in his town, Zouk, where he preferred to live to maintain a neutral profile. He was confirmed by

on 30 May 1817. His conciliative and gently nature, and later his blindness and paralysis, led him to be a weak Patriarch, subject to bad advisers. He appointed, against the wishes of Rome, Agapis Riyasi (or ''Riachi'') as bishop of

Beyrouth Beirut ( ; ) is the 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 fourth-largest city in the Levant region and the sixteenth-largest i ...

. He opposed Mazloum refusing to re-open the

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 ...

Seminary. His administration of the Patriarchate created a situation of crisis and in 1829 all the bishops asked Mazloun to return in Lebanon from Europe, and the Apostolic Legate considered the idea of appoint a patriarchal vicar to rule in place of Ignatius Qattan. Mazloum arrived at Beyrouth in November 1831, and soon the bishops met to decide how to reform the Church, but Mazloum stopped the works of this

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, ...

, waiting for the course of the events. Ignatius V Qattan died on 13 March 1833, and on 24 March Mazloum was elected new patriarch with the name of Maximos III.

Persecutions

The patriarchate of Ignatius V Qattan is remembered as a time of persecutions and vexations against the Melkite Catholic Church, that was legally still under the civil authority of the

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

and was not able to defend itself. The violent persecutions halved the Catholic Melkite population of Aleppo and

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 about ten years. The persecutions against the Melkite Catholics were particularly strong in Aleppo in 1817: nine Melkites who were killed in such a year were honored as martyrs, and the Melkites had to leave the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, the

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 ...

residence, the library in the hands of the

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 ...

who were a minority in the town.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qattan, Ignatius V Lebanese Melkite Greek Catholics Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch 1756 births 1833 deaths