Ignatius Ghattas was a bishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church

Melkite Greek Catholic Church

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics of mixed Eastern Mediterranean and Greek origin, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, Syria, of...

. He served as Eparch of Newton

Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton

The Eparchy of Newton is an eparchy of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church in communion with the Roman Catholic Church...

 from 1990 until his death.

Bishop Ghattas was born in Nazareth

Nazareth

Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...

 in 1920 and raised in Maaloul. He entered Holy Saviour monastery in Saida

Sidon

Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...

, Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 following his primary education and professed his religious vows in 1939. He was ordained a priest of the Basilian Salvatorian Order

Basilian Salvatorian Order

The Basilian Salvatorian Order is a religious order of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. The Latin name of this order is Ordo Basilianus Sanctissimi Salvatoris, the French name is Ordre Basilien Salvatorien. The name cames from its motherhouse, the Holy Saviour monastery, The Basilian Salvatorian...

 in 1946. Following his ordination he taught Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

, Latin, English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

.

In 1952, he went to the United States to serve as assistant pastor of St. Elias parish in Cleveland, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, and was appointed pastor in 1955. Later he was elected bishop by the Holy Synod of the Melkite Church in July 1989 and approved by the Holy See on December 11. He was consecrated bishop on February 23, 1990, succeeding Archbishop Joseph Tawil

Joseph Tawil

Archbishop Joseph Tawil was the Melkite Greek Catholic eparch for the United States, teacher and theologian...

 as eparch.

He died in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 in 1992, aged 71.

See also

• Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton
  Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton
  The Eparchy of Newton is an eparchy of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church in communion with the Roman Catholic Church...
  
  
• Melkite Greek Catholic Church
  Melkite Greek Catholic Church
  The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics of mixed Eastern Mediterranean and Greek origin, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, Syria, of...