Awkaf Minister: Patriarch Zakka Iwas was a towering national figure

22/3/14

Damascus, (SANA): Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of theUniversal Syriac Orthodox Church Ignatius Zakka I Iwas passed away Friday.

Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) Mohammad Abdul-Sattar al-Sayyed said the late Patriarch was “a great religious, national and Arabist figure”.

Speaking to the Syrian satellite TV channel, al-Sayyed announced with deep regret and sorrow the death of Patriarch Iwas, saying Syria was in his heart, mind and soul of Patriarch Iwas whom he loved and was loved by.

He added that the deceased Patriarch’ perseverance was to defend Syria, describing him as “the great man” and “the merciful father” who was a title of belief unifying of all the Syrians.

Ignatius Zakka I Iwas was born in Mosul on 21 April. He was the 122nd reigning Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and, as such, Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. Also known by his traditional episcopal name, Severios, he was enthroned as patriarch on 14 September 1980 in St. George’s Patriarchal Cathedral in Damascus.

Iwas was a president of the World Council of Churches and also a prolific author. He was an observer at Second Vatican Council before becoming metropolitan bishop of Mosul. At the time of his election as patriarch, Iwas had been archbishop of Baghdad and Basra.

Ignatius Zakka I Iwas was admitted in a hospital in Germany for angioplasty on 20 February 2014 and died on 21 March 2014.

B. Mousa/ H. Said/M. Ismael

Source: