Mar Eliya XIV [XIII] Abulyonan † (or Abolionan) was the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church

Chaldean Catholic Church

The Chaldean Catholic Church , is an Eastern Syriac particular church of the Catholic Church, maintaining full communion with the Bishop of Rome and the rest of the Catholic Church...

 from 1878 to 1894.

Life

Eliya Peter Abulyonan was born in 1840 in Mosul

Mosul

Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...

. He studied three years in the College of the Propaganda in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 and was ordained priest in 1865. On May 24, 1874, in Alqosh

Alqosh

Alqōsh or Alqūsh is one of the most famous Assyrian towns of the mainly East Syrian rite in Iraq. It is located north of Mosul. The name Alqosh is derived from an Akkadian name Eil-Kushtu, where "Eil" means God and "Kushtu" means righteousness or power...

, he was ordained bishop of Gazireh by Patriarch Joseph Audo

Joseph Audo

Mar Joseph VI Audo † was the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1847 to 1878.Joseph VI Audo was born in 1790 in Alqosh and in 1814 he became a monk of the monastery of Rabban Hormizd. He was ordained priest in 1818 and consecrated bishop of Mosul on the March 25, 1825 by the...

. He was appointed Patriarch of the Chaldean Church on July 26, 1878 and confirmed by the pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 on February 28, 1879.

During his patriarchate he spare no effort to improve the relations both with the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 and within the Chaldean Church, after the eventful reign of his predecessor Joseph Audo. He died in Mosul

Mosul

Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...

 at the age of 54 on June 27, 1894.

The ordinal number

Monarchical ordinal

Ordinal numbers or regnal numbers are used to distinguish among persons with the same name who held the same office. Most importantly, they are used to distinguish monarchs...

of his title is sometime XIV, sometime XIII, while among scholars Eliya XII is often preferred. This is due to the uncertain list of the Patriarchal line of Alqosh in the 16th and 17th century.