Dinkha IV

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Cleric

Arabic: مار دنخا الرابع), born Dinkha Khanania (15 September 1935 – 26 March 2015)[1] was an Eastern Christian prelate who served as the 120th Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. He was born in the village of Darbandokeh (Derbendoki), Iraq and led the Church in exile in Chicago
for most of his life.

Personal life

Dinkha Khanania was born in Iraq and

Harir by Mar Yousip on 12 September 1949. On 15 July 1957, he was ordained to the priesthood, and appointed to minister Urmia, Iran. He was the fourth in the line of succession to the Bishopric of Urmia
.

Mar Dinkha's priesthood as

consecrated
Mar Dinkha as bishop on 11 February 1962, in the church of Martyr Mar Gewargis in Tehran.

Mar Dinkha died on 26 March 2015 in Rochester, Minnesota.[1][4]

Tenure as Catholicos-Patriarch

After the assassination of Mar Shimun XXI Eshai, the Church of the East had an urgent need to restore its leadership. In 1976, the

successor to the Apostolic see of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (Babylon). He also announced that the hereditary line of succession for the Patriarchy which had existed for 500 years[6] was discontinued with his tenure, allowing any cleric from the Church of the East to be elevated to Catholicos-Patriarch.[7]

sanctions against Iraq intensified the Assyrian diaspora from the region. Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolution and Shia emphasis in Iran created a tense situation for Assyrians in the Middle East.[8] During the reign of Shimun XXI and Dinkha IV, American membership in the Church of the East rose from 3,200 in the 1950s[3] to approximately 100,000 in 2008.[9]

In 2005, the Patriarch conducted discussions with

doctoral degrees to the position of bishop.[12]

Travels and ecumenism

Dinkha made ecumenism a priority during his reign,[13] as well as advocacy for the Assyrian people.[14]

Relations with the Catholic Church

Dinkha promoted closer relations with the

Roman Catholic Church in 1994,[18] Dinkha agreed to a Joint Christological Declaration with the Holy See.[19] The "Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East" declares that it is "[a] basic step on the way towards the full communion to be restored between their Churches;" emphasized common doctrinal positions between the two bodies, such as the Nicene Creed; and clarifies that the centuries the two have spent out of communion were due to geographic and cultural issues rather than doctrinal differences.[20]

On 29 November 1996, Dinkha signed an agreement of cooperation with the

Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldean Catholic Church—Raphael I Bidawid—in Southfield, Michigan[17] and met again on 16 August 1997, to bless an Assyrian church.[12] This "Joint Synodal Decree for Promoting Unity" also established a Joint Commission for Unity which helped draft the 2001 "Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East" that allows Assyrians and Chaldeans to accept the Eucharist from one another.[21] The prior year, Assyrians and Roman Catholics also produced "A Common Statement on Sacramental Life" that assessed the importance of sacraments in both churches.[22] Assyrians have also been allowed to study at Baghdad's Chaldean Catholic College and unmarried deacons and priests can study at Catholic universities in Rome.[12]

Middle Eastern and Syriac ecumenism

The Church of the East has been a member of the

Pope Shenouda III, required the Church of the East to condemn its Church Fathers Diodore of Tarsus, Nestorius, and Theodore of Mopsuestia.[23] The dispute between the Assyrians and Copts resulted in a common Christological declaration in 1996, which was later rejected by the Coptic synod.[24] In 1996, the Church of the East was offered membership in the MECC, but declined to join at the time.[25]
Discussions for the Church of the East to join the MECC have stalled since 1999.

The

orders from the Ancient Church were valid.[28]

Political work and Assyrian advocacy

In September 2006, Mar Dinkha IV paid a historic visit to northern Iraq to give oversight to the churches there and to encourage the president of Iraqi Kurdistan to open a Christian school in Erbil. During this trip, he also met Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Dinkha pursued a pragmatic political course, calling on Assyrians to work together with their respective governments. He sought to de-politicize the office of Catholicos-Patriarch and expanded the church's outreach to the youth by including non-Syriac liturgies composed in local languages.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Awa Royel (27 March 2015). "Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV Enters Eternal Rest". The Orthodox Church. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d Baum, p. 150
  3. ^ a b c Baum, p. 147
  4. ^ "Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV of the Assyrian Church of the East dies at age of 79". Vatican Radio. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b Joseph, p.252
  6. ^ Baumer, p. 247
  7. ^ a b Baumer, p. 244
  8. ^ Baum, pp. 150–151
  9. ^ Baum, p. 155
  10. ^ Baumer, p. 270
  11. ^ "Nomination of His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV for an Honorary Degree" (PDF). Assyrian Church of the East Global Youth Organization. November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  12. ^ a b c d Baumer, p. 272
  13. ^ Baumer, p. 280
  14. ^ Baumer, p. 7
  15. ^ Baum, p. 152
  16. ^ a b Joseph, p. 253
  17. ^
    ISBN 9782825413296
    .
  18. ^ Bailey, p. 131
  19. ^ Bailey, p. 42
  20. ^ Pope John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV (11 November 1994). "Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East". Holy See. Archived from the original on 4 January 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  21. Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (20 July 2001). "Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East". Holy See. Archived from the original
    on 3 November 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  22. ISBN 978-0-7425-5257-9
  23. ^ a b Baumer, p. 282
  24. ^ Baum, pp. 151–152
  25. ^ Bailey, p.132
  26. ^ Baum, p. 153
  27. ^ Joseph, p. 258
  28. ^ Baum, p. 154
  29. ^ Baumer, p. 279

Sources

External links

Assyrian Church of the East titles
Preceded by
Mar Shimun XXI Eshai
 Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East
1976–2015 		Succeeded by
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