Paul Yazigi
Paul Yazigi | |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan of Aleppo | |
.jpg) Metropolitan Yazigi (right) in a banner calling for international intervention in the case of kidnapping, Jerusalem | |
| Archdiocese | Antioch |
| See | Aleppo |
| Installed | 1971 |
| Term ended | 2021 |
| Predecessor | Elias (Youssef) |
| Successor | Ephraim (Maalouli) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bulus Yaziji 1959 (age 65–66) |
| Denomination | Greek Orthodox |
| Alma mater | Tishreen University University of Thessaloniki |
Metropolitan Paul Yazigi, also Bulus Al-Yaziji (Arabic: بولس اليازجي, romanized: Būlus al-Yāzijī; born 1959) is the metropolitan of the honorary diocese of Diyarbakir, and former metropolitan of the archdiocese of Aleppo, Syria, under the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch.
Life
Born in 1959 in the coastal city of Latakia, Syria into a very devout Christian family, he was active in the church as a youth. After graduating in 1985 from Tishreen University with a Civil Engineering degree, he was ordained a deacon and studied theology at the University of Thessaloniki, gaining a Bachelor's degree in 1989, a Master's degree in 1992, and a Doctor of Philosophy. He also studied at Mount Athos.[1]
Paul was ordained to the priesthood in 1992 and was Dean of the Institute of Theology from 1994 to 2000 when he was elected Metropolitan of Aleppo, being enthroned in Aleppo on October 22. He succeeded Youssef (Elias), bishop of Aleppo from 1971 to 2000. His brother is John X, currently the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.[2] In 2010, he represented the Greek Orthodox delegation in a meeting of Christian leaders in Aleppo, discussing the importance of protecting the children of their communities and committing support for one another.[3]
Kidnapping
On April 22, 2013, Paul was abducted by militants during the Syrian Civil War, alongside Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo Yohanna Ibrahim, and their whereabouts have remained unknown for several years.[4] The Rewards for Justice Program is offering $5 million for information regarding the ISIS network responsible for the kidnapping of Christian clerics, including Maher Mahfouz, Michael Kayyal, Yohanna Ibrahim, Paolo Dall'Oglio, and Boulos Yazigi.[5] In April 2024, L'Orient-Today published a three-part investigation into the archbishops' disappearance claiming that the Assad regime was responsible for their kidnapping, with Yohanna Ibrahim as the primary target.[6]
In January 2020, an investigative report published by Mansur Salib, a self-described "Syrian citizen in the United States", alleged that both bishops were killed in 2016.[7] In October 2021, the Antiochian Synod in Balamand made the decision to transfer him to the honorary diocese of Diyarbakir due to his remaining in captivity.[8] As of 2025, Bishop Paul is still missing.[9]
The Middle East Council of Churches declared April 22 as "The Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented" in honor of the abducted bishops Paul Yazigi and Yohanna Ibrahim. This was made in a collaborative statement from the Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox Patriarchates of Antioch.[10]
See also
- Arab Christians
- Eastern Orthodoxy in Syria
- Yohanna Ibrahim
- Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian civil war
- Persecution of Christians by the Islamic State
- List of kidnappings
Gallery
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.jpg)
Church of the Dormition of Our Lady Cathedral -
.jpg)
A narrow street in the Christian quarter (Aleppo) -
Banner in support of the kidnapped bishops in front of the Monastery of Saint Mark, Jerusalem, in 2013.
References
- ^ الموقع الرسمي للبطريركية/الأبرشيات Archived 2018-01-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hardan, Mohammed (23 December 2021). "Syrian government loosens travel restrictions on Christian clergy". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
- ^ Al-Mawardi, Michael (2 July 2020). "مجلس رؤساء الكنائس الأرثوذكسية بحلب يعقد اجتماعه اليوم". www.albawabhnews.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ Evans, Dominic (2013-04-22). "Syria says two bishops kidnapped by rebels". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
- ^ "ISIS Kidnapping Networks". Rewards for Justice. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ "Kidnapping of the archbishops of Aleppo: The road to Damascus | 3/3". L'Orient Today. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
- ^ "Abducted Syrian hierarchs killed in 2016, according to new investigative report". OrthoChristian.Com. 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2020-01-17., citing Fides, Agenzia (2020-01-17). "ASIA/SYRIA - Journalistic investigation". Agenzia Fides. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
Among other things, the reconstruction claims - by presenting blurred clues or by aggregating information without objective evidence - that the two Archbishops were tortured, and that one of them, in 2015, was in a health facility in Antioch, the Antakya Devlet Hastanesi, in the Turkish province of Hatay. In the final section, the investigation claims that the two bishops were allegedly killed and buried in an unspecified place in December 2016, while areas east of Aleppo were about to be recaptured by the Syrian army. In conclusion, the investigation published on medium.com may be useful to clarify details of the dynamics of the kidnapping and the early stages of the segregation of the two metropolitans, but in many passages it does not seem to provide certain elements useful to definitively clarify what was the fate of Boulos Yazigi and Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim
- ^ "Bishop Ephraim Maalouli: Metropolitan of Aleppo, Alexandretta and their Dependencies | Orthodox Times (en)". orthodoxtimes.com/. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
- ^ Mattingly, Terry (2023-07-13). "Ten years later, the shepherds of Aleppo are still missing". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
- ^ "On the 10th Yearly Commemoration of the kidnapping of Archbishops of Aleppo". The Middle East Council of Churches (in English and Arabic). The Middle East Council of Churches.