Michael II Fadel (1710 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 ...

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 ...

– May 17, 1795, in Dayr Harrash, Lebanon) (or Mikhail Fadil, ) was the 64th

Patriarch of Antioch The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

from 1793 to his death in 1795.

Life

Michael Fadel was born in

in 1710. 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 ...

at 21 years, from 1741 to 1753 he served the community 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 ...

where he erected a church. In 1754 he converted to Christianity the first member of the governing

Shihab family The Shihab dynasty (alternatively spelled Chehab; , ALA-LC: ''al-Shihābiyūn'') is an Arab family whose members served as the paramount tax farmers and emirs of Mount Lebanon from the early 18th to mid-19th century, during Ottoman rule (1517– ...

. In 1762 Michael Fadel was appointed and consecrated

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Tyre and Patriarchal Vicar by Patriarch

Tobias El Khazen Tobias El Khazen (or Tubiya al-Khazin, , , died 1766) was a former Eparch of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Cyprus, Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tripoli and the 62nd Maronite Patriarch of Antioch from 1756 to his death in 1766. Life ...

, who later appointed him also bishop of Beirut in place of Joseph Estephan. After 1766, under the patriarchate of

Joseph Estephan Joseph VI Estephan (or Yusuf Istifan, ''Stephan'', ; 1729, Ghosta, Lebanon – 22 April 1793, Ghosta, Lebanon) was the 63rd Maronite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch from 1766 until his death in 1793. Life Joseph Estephan was born in the village o ...

, Michael Fadel sided with the opponents to the Patriarch led by the

Khazen Khazen (also El-Khazen, Al-Khazen, Khazin or De Khazen; ) is a prominent Arab Levantine family and clan based in Keserwan District, Lebanon, Damascus, Syria, Nablus, Palestine (region), Palestine, as well as other districts around the Levant, predo ...

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

es, and he was one of supporters of the suspension of the Patriarch from 1779 to 1784, due to the Hindiyé's issue. Patriarch Estephan, in turn, appointed in 1768 Athanase Scenai and later in 1779 Joseph Najm (or Nujaym) in his place as bishop of Beirut. The solution of the dispute about the see of Beirut occurred only in the synod of 1786 where an agreement was found and Michael Fadel was confirmed as bishop of Beirut. Patriarch Joseph Estephan died on April 22, 1793, reconciled with Rome, but because of a pestilence the bishops could meet only in September. On September 10, 1793 Michael Fadel was elected patriarch and choose to reside in the monastery of Dayr Harrash (in

Keserwan District Keserwan District (, transliteration: ''Qaḍā' Kisrawān'') is a district (''qadaa'') in Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon, to the northeast of Lebanon's capital Beirut. The capital, Jounieh, is overwhelmingly Maronite Christian. The area ...

). Fadel send to Rome the priest George Ghanem, to obtain confirmation of 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 ...

of his election. However, when Ghanem arrived in Rome, Fadel had already died on May 17, 1795, at Dayr Harrash, where he was buried, before 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 ...

could confirm him. However in the consistory of 27 June 1796, which confirmed the election of his successor Philip Gemayel,

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

mentioned the name of Fadel on the list of the Maronite Patriarchs.books.google.it
/ref>

Notes

External links

* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bfadelm.html, catholic-hierarchy.org * Pierre Dib, v. Maronite (Eglise), in https://archive.org/stream/dictionnairedet10pt1vaca#page/n57/mode/2up, Tome Dixième, première partie, Paris 1928, coll. 100-101. *

Giuseppe Simone Assemani Giuseppe Simone Assemani ( Classical Syriac : ܝܵܘܣܸܦ ܒܲܪ ܫܸܡܥܘܿܢ , ( ''Yusuf ibn Siman as-Simani'', , ; July 27, 1687 – January 13, 1768) was a librarian, Lebanese Maronite orientalist, and Catholic bishop. For his efforts, an ...

, https://archive.org/stream/serieschronologi00asseuoft#page/40/mode/2up, Roma 1881, p. 41. * Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, https://archive.org/stream/hierarchiacathol06eubeuoft#page/87/mode/1up, vol. 6, p. 87. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fadel, Michael 18th-century clergy from the Ottoman Empire 1710 births 1795 deaths Lebanese Eastern Catholic bishops Lebanese Maronites Maronite Patriarchs of Antioch 18th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops Eastern Catholic bishops in the Ottoman Empire

Life

See also

Notes

External links