Tobias El Khazen (or Tubiya al-Khazin, , , died 1766) was a former Eparch of the

Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Cyprus The Archeparchy of Cyprus (Latin: ''Archeparchy Cyprensis Maronitarum'') is a seat of the Maronite Church immediately subject to the Holy See. It is currently ruled by Archeparch Selim Jean Sfeir. Territory and statistics The archeparchy exten ...

, Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tripoli and the 62nd

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 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 1756 to his death in 1766.

Life

Tobias El Khazen was a member of the Abu Nawfal branch of 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 ...

family, which ruled the

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 ...

, and he was a nephew of Patriarch

Joseph Dergham El Khazen Joseph V Dergham El Khazen (or Yusuf Dargham al-Khazin, , , born in Ghosta, Lebanon - died on May 13, 1742), was the 60th Maronite Patriarch of Antioch from 1733 to his death in 1742. Life Early life Joseph Dergham El Khazen was a member of the ...

. He entered in the

Lebanese Maronite Order The Baladites, formally known as the Lebanese Maronite Order (; abbreviated OLM), is a monastic order among the Levant-based, Catholic Maronite Church, which from the beginning has been specifically a monastic Church. The order was founded in 1 ...

. In 1733, when his uncle became patriarch, Tobias was appointed administrator of the Patriarchal residence of Qannubin Monastery, in the

Kadisha Valley Kadisha Valley (), also romanized as the Qadisha Valley and also known as the Kadisha Gorge or Wadi Kadisha (), is a gorge that lies within the Bsharri and Zgharta Districts of the North Governorate of Lebanon. The valley was carved by the Kad ...

, and appointed

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Naplouse. On February 12, 1733, El Khazen was ordained bishop by

Maronite Patriarch of Antioch This is a list of the Maronite patriarchs of Antioch and all the East, the Primate (bishop), primate of the Maronite Church, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Starting with Paul Peter Massad in 1854, after becoming patriarch of the Maronite Ca ...

Jacob Awad. In 1736 he was appointed bishop of the

, and with this title he participated in the 1736 Maronite

Synod of Mount Lebanon The Lebanese Council of 1736 (Arabic: ''al-Majma al-Lubnanī'', also Council of Mount Lebanon or Council of Luwayza) was a synod of the Maronite Church held from 30 September to 2 October that year at the monastery of Our Lady of Luwayza near Zouk ...

. In 1743 at the death of his uncle Patriarch Joseph Dergham Khazen, after the initial refusal of Simon Awad, Tobias in competition with Elias Mohasseb tried to be elected patriarch, but the case came to 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 ...

who chose Simon Awad in place of the two pretenders. In 1750 Tobias was appointed bishop of Tyre and Vice-Patriarch. In 1755 he was appointed Eparch of Tripoli and at the death of Simon Awad, Tobias succeeded at being elected patriarch on February 28, 1756. He was confirmed by

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

on March 28, 1757.vol. II, pp. 203-211.
/ref> The new patriarch placed his residence in Kisrawan, particularly in the monastery of Mar Rouhana. As patriarch, Tobias had three main issues to manage: the implementation of the 1736 Maronite Synod, the Hindiyya case and the problems in the Lebanese Maronite Order. To implement the 1736 Synod he summoned a new synod on August 25, 1756, without great results, and again another synod in 1762 which reduced the dioceses only to fifteen, not eight as requested in 1736. About Hindiyya he took a neutral position, which allowed Hindiyya to grow her influence during his patriarchate. The dispute over the Lebanese Maronite Order could be solved only under his successor,

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 ...

, when in 1770 it was divided into two branches, giving rise to OMM. Tobias El Khazen died on May 19, 1766.

Citations

Sources

* Pierre Dib, v. Maronite (Eglise), https://archive.org/stream/dictionnairedet10pt1vaca#page/n53/mode/2up , Tome Dixième, première partie, Paris 1928, col. 91. *

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 , Rome 1881, p. 40. * Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, https://archive.org/stream/hierarchiacathol06eubeuoft#page/87/mode/1up, p. 87. * K. Rizk, Khazen Thobie, in Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, 28 (2003), pp. 1425-1426.

External links

* * http://www.khazen.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=616 {{DEFAULTSORT:Khazen, Tobias El 18th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 1766 deaths Lebanese Eastern Catholic bishops Lebanese Maronites Maronite Patriarchs of Antioch Year of birth unknown 18th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops Maronites from the Ottoman Empire People from Keserwan District Eastern Catholic bishops in the Ottoman Empire

Life

See also

Citations

Sources

External links