Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal Sfeir

His Eminence and His Beatitude Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal Sfeir (born May 15, 1920 in Rayfoun, Lebanon) is the leader of Lebanon's largest Christian sect, the Maronites. He was elected Patriarch of Antioch for the Maronites on April 27, 1986, after the resignation of Patriarch Anthony Khoraiche. His official title is His Holiness the seventy-sixth Patriarch of Antioch and the Whole East Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. Lebanese Maronite leader Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir. ... Lebanese Maronite leader Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir. ... His Eminence is the official style or standard of address in reference to a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and several patriarchs of the Eastern Rite. ... His Eminence is the official style or standard of address in reference to a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. ... May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... Maronites (Marunoye ܐܶܝܢܘܪܡ in Syriac, Mawarinah in Arabic) are members of one of the Eastern Rites of the Catholic church. ... This is a list of the Maronite Patriarchs of Antioch, who have lead the Maronite Catholic Church, one of the Eastern-rite churches united with the Roman Catholic Church. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Patriarch of Antioch is the traditional title carried by the Bishop of Antioch. ...

He was educated in Beirut, and at Mar Abda School in Harharaya where he completed his primary and complementary studies, and Ghazir where he completed his secondary studies at St. Maron seminary. He trained in philosophy and theology in 1950 at Saint Joseph's University in Beirut. He was ordained to the priesthood in the same year on May 7. From 1951 to 1955 he served as priest to the parish of Rayfoun. In 1956 he was appointed the secretary of the Maronite Patriarchate, based in Bkerké. In the same year he became the professor of translation in literature and philosophy at the Frères Maronite School in Jounieh. In June of 1961 he was appointed the titular bishop of Tarsus and Patriarchal vicar. In July of 1961 he was elected a Bishop. He was elected to the primacy of the Maronite Church by the Council of Maronite Bishops, on April 27, 1986. Sfeir was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of November 26, 1994; as the Patriarch of a sui juris particular Church who has been made a cardinal, Sfeir is a Cardinal Bishop. Sfeir is fluent in many languages: Syriac, Aramaic, French, Italian, Latin, and English, as well as his native Arabic, of which he knows both the classical and Lebanese dialect forms. Central Beirut (2004) Beirut (Arabic: , transliterated BayrÅ«t - the French name, Beyrouth, was also commonly used in English in the past) is the capital, largest city and chief seaport of Lebanon. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Universite de Saint-Joseph is a private higher institute of education founded by the Jesuits in 1875 in Beirut, Lebanon, known for its school of medicine and its hospital, Hôtel-Dieu de France. ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jounieh is a Mediterranean coastal city about fifteen km north of Beirut, Lebanon. ... 1961 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... In tetrapods, the tarsi are the cluster of bones in the foot between the tibia and fibula and the metatarsus. ... 1961 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Maronites (Marunoye ܐܶܝܢܘܪܡ in Syriac, Mawarinah in Arabic) are members of one of the Eastern Rites of the Catholic church. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking just below the Pope and appointed by him as a member of the College of Cardinals, during a consistory. ... The Servant of God Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef WojtyÅ‚a [1] (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), reigned as pope of the Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his death, making him the third-longest in the history of the... Antiquity Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply sitting together, just as the Greek syn(h)edrion (from which the biblical sanhedrin was a corruption). ... November 26 is the 330th day (331st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Originally a patriarch is a man who exercises autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. ... Sui iuris is a Latin phrase that literally means “of one’s own right”. It is usually spelled sui juris in civil law, which uses the phrase to indicate legal competence, the capacity to manage one’s own affairs (Blacks Law Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary). ... In Roman Catholic theology and canon law, a particular Church is any of the individual constituent ecclesial communities in full communion with the Church of Rome. ... Cardinal Bishops, or Cardinals of the Episcopal Order, are among the most important persons in the Roman Catholic Church. ... Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a 3,000-year history. ... Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Arabic (العربية) is a Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Classical Arabic is the form of the Arabic language used in the Quran as well as in numerous literary texts from the same period. ... A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ...

Serving as the Vicar for two previous patriarchs prepared Sfeir for the role in both the ecclesiastical and civil spheres. He became a strong voice for reason and sanity in the latter years of the Lebanese Civil War, which raged from 1975 to 1990. He has often spoken out against social and political injustices, and for the poor and disenfranchised. His writings and sermons set out his vision of how Lebanon can achieve a free and prosperous future. Like his predecessor, Sfeir largely stayed out of politics during the first few years of his tenure as patriarch, generally deferring to the stance of the Lebanese President, but by 1989, he had become embroiled in national politics. The Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) had its origin in the conflicts and political compromises of Lebanons colonial period and was exacerbated by the nations changing demographic trends, Christian and Muslim inter-religious strife, and proximity to Syria and Israel. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This page lists presidents of Lebanon. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The cardinal has found himself both within the Syrian camp and outside it [1]. At the beginning of the 1990s he never supported Syria's role against the General Michel Aoun. In the spring of 1989, when Aoun launched a campaign to achieve control of militia-dominated areas, 23 Christian deputies of parliament met at the seat of the Maronite Church in Bkerké, under the auspices of Sfeir, and called for a cease-fire. This resulted in thousands of Christians demonstrating against Aoun. Under what some say was pressure from the Vatican, he backed the Taif Agreement to end the civil war, saying that it was "a fatal error to believe that we can live alone on an island in which we run our affairs as we like." A few days later, he declared that Aoun's nonacceptance of the Taif Agreement was illegal and unconstitutional. On November 5, as parliamentary deputies met at an abandoned air base in Syrian-controlled north Lebanon to elect a new president, Sfeir warned in a sermon that Aoun's stand "would lead to partitioning of the country." // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. ... General Michel Aoun Michel Aoun (born in 1935 in Beirut) is a Lebanese military commander and politician. ... The Taif Agreement was negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia by members of Lebanons parliament, presided by Speaker of the House President Hussein El-Husseini. ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ...

Not all Christian Lebanese shared Sfeir's outlook, and several strikes and demonstrations in support of Aoun or against Syria broke out intermittently. At one point, around 100 angry Christian youths stormed Sfeir's residence in Bkerké and physically assaulted the patriarch, forcing him to replace a portrait of Pope John Paul II with one of Aoun, and to kiss Aoun's portrait, while rioters burned tires outside of six other churches. Although Aoun quickly condemned the rioters, Sfeir complained bitterly that Lebanese soldiers stationed outside the patriarchate had not protected him. The patriarch reluctantly moved from the Christian enclave to Syrian-controlled north Lebanon. The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... The Servant of God Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef WojtyÅ‚a [1] (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), reigned as pope of the Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his death, making him the third-longest in the history of the...

The patriarch's authority was challenged even within the Church itself, as several monastic orders issued proclamations supporting Aoun and denouncing the Taif Accord. In order to bolster the patriarch's authority, the Vatican got directly involved in reorganizing the Maronite Church. Speaking before a gathering of Lebanese bishops in November 1989, the papal nuncio in Lebanon, Pablo Puente, condemned "the interference of clerical persons and institutions in politics without being officially mandated to by the church hierarchy... an end must be put to political visits and declarations that have no clear Church mandate." The Vatican later sought to temper nationalist views in the clergy by appointing "visiting bishops" to supervise three especially militant monastic orders. In 1990 Sfeir called for the rival government in West Beirut to take over Aoun's "Christian enclave" in the east. "The legitimate government should spread its authority over the whole nation," he said in one interview. "It should not wait for an invitation from anyone to do so." Finally in October of 1990, Syrian-led Lebanese forces crushed Aoun's insurgency and the long civil war finally came to an end. The Taif Agreement was negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia by members of Lebanons parliament, presided by Speaker of the House President Hussein El-Husseini. ... A Papal Nuncio (also known as an Apostolic Nuncio) is a permanent diplomatic representative (head of mission) of the Holy See to a state, having ambassadorial rank. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Under the Taif Accord, Damascus undertook to eventually withdraw its forces, which up until March of 2005 have not completely left. Sfeir was at times a vocal critic of Syrian prevarication against its implementation, up until around 2003, falling silent again just as anti-Syrian views were becoming more widespread. Being have lost suppport from the majority of the Christians who had fled the country. The Cardinal has also urged restraint in anti-Syrian rhetoric, and for Lebanon to focus on its economic development rather than political rifts. These political change has put him back to be the spoken person in the name of the Christians. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Maronite Church is an Eastern Rite Catholic Church in communion with the Patriarch of Rome, the Pope.

Sfeir has written several books, including "The sources of the Gospel-Bkerké", (1975); "Personalities that disappeared 1961-1974" - (two volumes); and "Sunday sermons: spiritual reflections and stand of national positions", (several volumes, 1988). 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Sfeir is keen on accelerating liturgical reforms. This work bore fruit in 1992 with the publication of a new Maronite Missal, which represents an attempt to return to the original form of the Antiochene Liturgy. Its Service of the Word has been described as far more enriched than previous Missals, and it features six Anaphoras [Eucharistic Prayers]. 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Missal, in the Roman Catholic Church, is a liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Masses throughout the year. ... This is about one of the cities called Antioch in Asia Minor, now Turkey. ...

External links

• Official website
• His Holiness Patriarch Sfeir
• Dossier: Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir

This is a list of the Maronite Patriarchs of Antioch, who have lead the Maronite Catholic Church, one of the Eastern-rite churches united with the Roman Catholic Church. ...