Timothaus Mar Shallita
Encyclopedia
Timothaus Mar Shallita Youwala (*1936) is Archbishop
of the Ancient Holy Apostolic Catholic Church of the East
for Germany
and all Europe
.Invitation, University of Potsdam
, Retrieved November 27, 2010 (regarding a talk to be given by Shallita, identifying him with this position) He currently resides in Mainz-Kastel
, Germany.
Archbishop Timothaus Mar Shallita Youwala was born July 14, 1936 in Barwar Bala, Iraq
in the village of Galja where the church of Mar Kejoma is situated. Many bishops of the Mar Youalla family, which has served the Assyrian church for over four hundred years, have emerged therefrom. He was consecrated Deacon
September 3, 1954 in the village of Harir
, Iraq, by Archbishop Mar Yosip Khnanisho, the uncle of Patriarch Mar Shimun. As a reaction to the division of the church in 1957, Assyrians from all over Iraq came together in Mosul
(Ninveh) to elect Timothaus Mar Shallita as Archbishop for Iraq. They denied consecration
by Patriarch Mar Shimun, yet they advocated a union between Assyrians
and Syrians
. Consequently, Timothaus Mar Shallita was consecrated Archbishop in the church St. Petrus and Paulus in Beirut, Lebanon
, by Patriarch Mar Ignatius Jacup III on October 23, 1958. Participants to the ceremony were Archbishop Mar Paulus from Iraq, Archbishop Bahnnan from Lebanon, Bishop Paulus from Jerusalem and the current Patriarch for the Syrian-Orthodox Church
Zaki Iwaz I
, a former secretary and monk
. Over 2000 guests attended the consecration, Camille Chamoun
, the president of Lebanon, being one of them.
Timothaus Mar Shallita returned from Lebanon to Iraq in 1958. At that time, King Faissal II had been murdered by General Kassim and the former monarchy called itself a republic. He met with General Kassim, who had taken over power and had also murdered the Prime Minister Nuri-Es-Said, to demand freedom of speech
and press
. Furthermore, the archbishop gave a speech in Assyrian
and Arabic language
on Radio and Television Baghdad
.
From Baghdad he headed for Barwar-Bala, a district in northern Iraq which is heavily inhabited by Assyrians. Three years later, the gory conflict between the Kurds and the government began, which caused Timothaus Mar Shallita to leave the country to Damaskus. There he met Patriarch Mar Ignatius III, who contacted the World Council of Churches
in Geneva
on his behalf. Almost immediately, representatives of the Protestant Church in Germany
invited the Archbishop to come to Darmstadt
. There he arrived in 1967 and attended evening school to learn German
. Later, Mar Ignatius III appointed him Archbishop for Germany and Europe for Assyrians and Syrians. This entailed the foundation of new Assyrian communities in Europe
. An example is the opening of the St. Georges church in Joenkopings, Sweden
, where Timothaus Mar Shallita attended the opening ceremony. Furthermore, he has consecrated an Archpriest
, Khoshaba M. Georges, in London
and a priest
, Jacob Warda, in Denmark
, a priest, Oz Sabri, in Marseilles along with eleven deacons all over Europe. On June 8, 1997 the cornerstone ceremony for the church Mar Shallita in Los Angeles
took place. President Emanuel Bet Maleck, Sarkis Mikkael Fard, Mr. David S. Younan and the whole community of Los Angeles were attending this joyful ceremony.
At the time when Archbishop Timothaus Mar Shallita was consecrated, there was only a small division. But today, a huge split has emerged, caused by the fact that two patriarchs claim to lead one Assyrian church and people. Nevertheless, Timothaus Mar Shallita, who disapproves of the division into two parts, has tried to unite the church and the people by negotiating with both Patriarchs. Obviously, this is a difficult undertaking.
for a few months where he supported about 8000 Assyrians who had fled to Greece with the help of the United Nations
and the Red Cross
. He had talked to the Greek government beforehand in order to arrange possible housing and working places for the refugees, who not only fled from Iraq but also from Iran
, Lebanon and Syria.
In 1983 he headed to Italy
, again to support the approximately 2000 refugees and to improve their situation. Thereafter, he went to France
to continue his mission. In 1991 he arrived in Turkey
to visit the ten Assyrian refugees camps accompanied by staff members of the UNHCR
. Silopi was one of these camps. Before his arrival, Timothaus Mar Shallita had received a list with the name of over 40000 refugees, asking him for help. While visiting all of the camps, he informed himself about their situation. Afterwards, he talked to the Turkish
administration and succeeded in gathering the Assyrian refugees into two camps instead of ten and also insisting on accommodation in houses and no longer in tents for he worried about the health and the lives of the weaker and older refugees as the harsh East Anatolian winter was not far away.
After this problem was addressed, he started negotiations with the ambassadors of many nations. Months before his travel to Turkey, Timothaus Mar Shallita had already informed them about the situation of the Assyrians including the Chaldeans by introducing for the first time this ethnic minority, for most countries did not know that the Assyrians still existed. In these negotiations, he achieved that many embassies admitted the Assyrians as refugees to their countries.
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of the Ancient Holy Apostolic Catholic Church of the East
Ancient Church of the East
The Ancient Church of the East was established in 1968. It follows the traditions of one of the oldest Christian churches, the Church of the East, whose origins trace back to the See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in central Mesopotamia...
for Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and all Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.Invitation, University of Potsdam
University of Potsdam
The University of Potsdam is a German university, situated across four campuses in Potsdam, Brandenburg, including the New Palace of Sanssouci and the Park Babelsberg.- Profile :...
, Retrieved November 27, 2010 (regarding a talk to be given by Shallita, identifying him with this position) He currently resides in Mainz-Kastel
Mainz-Kastel
Mainz-Kastel is a district administered by the city of Wiesbaden, Germany. Mainz-Kastel was formerly a district of the city of Mainz, until the public administration by the city of Wiesbaden was decided on August 10, 1945...
, Germany.
Life
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in the village of Galja where the church of Mar Kejoma is situated. Many bishops of the Mar Youalla family, which has served the Assyrian church for over four hundred years, have emerged therefrom. He was consecrated Deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
September 3, 1954 in the village of Harir
Harir
Harir is an Assyrian village and a sub-district located in the district of Shaqlawa, Iraq. Today, many homes are being built for Assyrians, by Sarkis Aghajan Mamendo, who are willing to move back to the villages. Both the village and the sub-district of Harir were established by displaced Assyrian...
, Iraq, by Archbishop Mar Yosip Khnanisho, the uncle of Patriarch Mar Shimun. As a reaction to the division of the church in 1957, Assyrians from all over Iraq came together 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...
(Ninveh) to elect Timothaus Mar Shallita as Archbishop for Iraq. They denied consecration
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
by Patriarch Mar Shimun, yet they advocated a union between Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
and Syrians
Syrian people
The Syrian people are the inhabitants and citizens of Syria. Syrians are tied together by geography, linguistic heritage, religion, and similar Eastern Mediterranean ethnicities...
. Consequently, Timothaus Mar Shallita was consecrated Archbishop in the church St. Petrus and Paulus in Beirut, Lebanon
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, by Patriarch Mar Ignatius Jacup III on October 23, 1958. Participants to the ceremony were Archbishop Mar Paulus from Iraq, Archbishop Bahnnan from Lebanon, Bishop Paulus from Jerusalem and the current Patriarch for the Syrian-Orthodox Church
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
Zaki Iwaz I
Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
Ignatius Zakka I Iwas is 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...
, a former secretary and monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
. Over 2000 guests attended the consecration, Camille Chamoun
Camille Chamoun
Camille Nimr Chamoun was President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958, and one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War ....
, the president of Lebanon, being one of them.
Timothaus Mar Shallita returned from Lebanon to Iraq in 1958. At that time, King Faissal II had been murdered by General Kassim and the former monarchy called itself a republic. He met with General Kassim, who had taken over power and had also murdered the Prime Minister Nuri-Es-Said, to demand freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
and press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
. Furthermore, the archbishop gave a speech in Assyrian
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is a Neo-Aramaic dialect, spoken by an estimated 220,000 people , formerly in the area between Lake Urmia, north-western Iran, and Siirt, south-eastern Turkey, but now more widely throughout the...
and Arabic language
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
on Radio and Television Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
.
From Baghdad he headed for Barwar-Bala, a district in northern Iraq which is heavily inhabited by Assyrians. Three years later, the gory conflict between the Kurds and the government began, which caused Timothaus Mar Shallita to leave the country to Damaskus. There he met Patriarch Mar Ignatius III, who contacted the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
on his behalf. Almost immediately, representatives of the Protestant Church in Germany
Evangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
invited the Archbishop to come to Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
. There he arrived in 1967 and attended evening school to learn German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. Later, Mar Ignatius III appointed him Archbishop for Germany and Europe for Assyrians and Syrians. This entailed the foundation of new Assyrian communities in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. An example is the opening of the St. Georges church in Joenkopings, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, where Timothaus Mar Shallita attended the opening ceremony. Furthermore, he has consecrated an Archpriest
Archpriest
An archpriest is a priest with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches, although it may be used in the Latin rite of the Roman Catholic Church instead of dean or vicar forane.In the 16th and 17th centuries, during...
, Khoshaba M. Georges, in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, Jacob Warda, in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, a priest, Oz Sabri, in Marseilles along with eleven deacons all over Europe. On June 8, 1997 the cornerstone ceremony for the church Mar Shallita in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
took place. President Emanuel Bet Maleck, Sarkis Mikkael Fard, Mr. David S. Younan and the whole community of Los Angeles were attending this joyful ceremony.
At the time when Archbishop Timothaus Mar Shallita was consecrated, there was only a small division. But today, a huge split has emerged, caused by the fact that two patriarchs claim to lead one Assyrian church and people. Nevertheless, Timothaus Mar Shallita, who disapproves of the division into two parts, has tried to unite the church and the people by negotiating with both Patriarchs. Obviously, this is a difficult undertaking.
Refugee Aid
For many years Assyrian refugees have been writing to Timothaus Mar Shallita in search for help from persecution. In 1978, the archbishop lived in the monastery of Pandely in GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
for a few months where he supported about 8000 Assyrians who had fled to Greece with the help of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and the Red Cross
Red Cross (disambiguation)
The name Red Cross generally refers to the humanitarian movement, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which is composed of* International Committee of the Red Cross,* International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,...
. He had talked to the Greek government beforehand in order to arrange possible housing and working places for the refugees, who not only fled from Iraq but also from Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Lebanon and Syria.
In 1983 he headed to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, again to support the approximately 2000 refugees and to improve their situation. Thereafter, he went to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to continue his mission. In 1991 he arrived in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
to visit the ten Assyrian refugees camps accompanied by staff members of the UNHCR
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
. Silopi was one of these camps. Before his arrival, Timothaus Mar Shallita had received a list with the name of over 40000 refugees, asking him for help. While visiting all of the camps, he informed himself about their situation. Afterwards, he talked to the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
administration and succeeded in gathering the Assyrian refugees into two camps instead of ten and also insisting on accommodation in houses and no longer in tents for he worried about the health and the lives of the weaker and older refugees as the harsh East Anatolian winter was not far away.
After this problem was addressed, he started negotiations with the ambassadors of many nations. Months before his travel to Turkey, Timothaus Mar Shallita had already informed them about the situation of the Assyrians including the Chaldeans by introducing for the first time this ethnic minority, for most countries did not know that the Assyrians still existed. In these negotiations, he achieved that many embassies admitted the Assyrians as refugees to their countries.
Literature
- Verena Fehlmann-Meyer "Church of the East in Europe and America"
- Writings by Prof. Dr. Donart and Dr. Transchuk
- Summaries by Sabine Juli