Maximos IV Sayegh
His Eminent Beatitude Maximos IV Sayegh | |
---|---|
Aleppo Vilayet, Ottoman Syria | |
Died | 5 November 1967 Beirut, Lebanon | (aged 89)
Denomination | Melkite Catholic |
Maximos IV Sayegh (or Saïgh; 10 April 1878 – 5 November 1967) was a
Life
Massimo Sayegh was born on 10 April 1878 in
The Synod of Bishops of the Melkite Church elected Maximos Patriarch of Antioch on 30 October 1947, succeeding the recently deceased Cyril IX Moghabghab. His confirmation by the Holy See was on 21 June 1948.
Following an old tradition of the more-than-900-year-old Order of Knighthood, founded in Jerusalem to take care of lepers in the Hospital St. Lazare, he was the Spiritual Protector of the international ecumenical Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem.
Participation in Second Vatican Council
Maximos took part in the
As a participant in Vatican II, Maximos spoke forcefully against the latinization of the Eastern Catholic churches, and urged a greater receptivity to the eastern Christian traditions, especially in the area of ecclesiology. He stated that
We have, therefore, a twofold mission to accomplish within the Catholic Church. We must fight to ensure that Latinism and Catholicism are not synonymous, that Catholicism remains open to every culture, every spirit, and every form of organization compatible with the unity of faith and love. At the same time, by our example, we must enable the Orthodox Church to recognize that a union with the great Church of the West, with the See of Peter, can be achieved without being compelled to give up Orthodoxy or any of the spiritual treasures of the apostolic and patristic East, which is opened toward the future no less to the past.[3]
Also at Vatican II, Maximos successfully advocated use of vernacular languages for liturgical services, noting that:
Christ offered the first Eucharistic Sacrifice in a language which could be understood by all who heard him, namely, Aramaic. … Never could the idea have come to them [the Apostles] that in a Christian gathering the celebrant should read the texts of Holy Scripture, sing psalms, preach or break bread, and at the same time use a language different from that of the community gathered there … because this language [Latin] was spoken by the faithful of that time, Greek was abandoned in favor of Latin. … Why, then, should the Roman Church cease to apply the same principle today?
Speaking at the Council on the matter of indulgences, he noted that "the practice of indulgences too often favors in the faithful a sort of pious bookkeeping in which one forgets what is essential, namely, the sacred and personal effort of penance".
Cardinal
Maximos IV accepted the title of
On 11 February 1965,
The patriarch's acceptance was protested by Elias Zoghby, the Patriarchal Vicar for the See of Alexandria, Cairo and the Sudan.[4] The vicar opposed the acceptance of the status of a Roman cardinal by the Melkite patriarch, on the grounds that "the leader of an Eastern Catholic church should not hold a subordinate Latin-rite office" and in protest of Maximos' acceptance Zoghby resigned as vicar.[4] The patriarch gave a speech on 14 March 1965, clarifying his reasons for accepting and how the Pope Paul's decree altered the nature of the College of Cardinals: it was no longer just an institution within the Latin Church but was now the senate of the entire Catholic Church and an Eastern Catholic patriarch who became a cardinal was no longer accepting a subordinate position in the clergy of the Latin church. It was now a way for the pope to extend to the Eastern patriarchs an additional role in helping him govern the universal church.[citation needed]
On 22 November 1965, he was assigned the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin for religious celebrations while he was in Rome.[4] He was not assigned the Roman deaconry title associated with the church as he would have been were he not an Eastern patriarch. The title of cardinal-deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin was retained by Cardinal Francesco Roberti, who held the titular church from 15 December 1958 until 26 June 1967.[4]
Death
In October 1966 he received medical treatment at the Curie Institute (Paris) for a tumor on his left eyelid. His health deteriorated upon his return to Damascus, and on 8 October 1967 Maximos traveled to Beirut for further cancer treatment.[8] He died on 5 November 1967 in Beirut at the age of 89. He was succeeded by Maximos V Hakim.
See also
- Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East
- Melkite Greek Catholic Church
- Patriarch of Antioch
- Maximos V Hakim, Patriarch
- Gregory III Laham, late Patriarch
Notes
- ^ Via the motu propio Ad Purpuratorum Patrum
- ^ Pope John Paul II confirmed the rule that Eastern Catholic Patriarchs made cardinals would have their patriarchal sees as the sees assigned to them as cardinals in the Code of Canon Law of 1983.[6]
Specific references
- ^ "Maximos IV Cardinal Saigh, S.M.S.P." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ books.google.de
- ^ "Role and Position of Melkites in the Catholic Church". 5 February 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "SAIGH, M.S.S.P., Maximos IV". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "Ad Purpuratorum Patrum". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ^ 1983 Code of Canon Law - Canon 350 §3
- ^ "webdept.fiu.edu". Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-615-56974-1.
General references
- Dick, Ignatios (2004). Melkites: Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholics of the Patriarchates of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem. Roslindale, MA.: Sophia Press.
- Murphy, Gerasimos (2011). Maximos IV at Vatican II: A Quest for Autonomy. Roslindale, MA.: Sophia Press.