Agapius II Matar | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch | |
| Church | Melkite Greek Catholic Church |
| See | Patriarch of Antioch |
| Installed | 11 September 1796 |
| Term ended | 2 February 1812 |
| Predecessor | Cyril VII Siaj |
| Successor | Ignatius IV Sarrouf |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 1795 (Bishop) by Cyril VII Siaj |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Agapius Matar 1736 |
| Died | 2 February 1812(1812-02-02) (aged 75–76) |
Agapius II Matar, (sometime also known asAgapios III, 1736–1812) wasPatriarch of theMelkite Greek Catholic Church from 1796 to 1812.
Agapius Matar was born in 1736 inDamascus. He entered young in theBasilian Salvatorian Order. In 1779, when he was already apriest, he traveled toRome and later toParis. In 1789 he was appointedSuperior of the Basilian Salvatorian Order and in 1795 he was appointed and consecrated bishop ofSaida by PatriarchCyril VII Siaj. On 11 September 1796[1] he was elected Patriarch.[2]
The first problem Agapius Matar had to face as Patriarch were the clashes with themetropolitan ofBeirut (see ArticleIgnatius IV Sarrouf) that saw Agapius Matar allied withGermanos Adam bishop ofAleppo in rejecting the disciplinary reform (and later the new foundation) of the monastic orders promoted by Sarrouf and by theLatin missionaries.
In those years the Melkite Church was in pursuit of its identity with regard to Rome.[3] Agapius Matar asked and obtained fromPropaganda Fide to forbid to theFranciscans to promote theirThird order among Melkites, and later he obtained from Rome to forbid to theCustodian of the Holy Land to confer the sacrament ofConfirmation on faithfuls not ofLatin Rite.[2] In 1806 he summoned asynod in Qarqafe (orKarkafeh) that lined up with theecclesiological andsacramental doctrine of Germanos Adam, despite the fact that it was marked byJansenist ideas.[4] The acts of the Qarqafe's synod were later rejected byMaximos III Mazloum and condemned byPope Gregory XVI with hisbriefMelchitarum catholicorum of 3 June 1835.
After the death of Germanos Adam he appointed as bishop of Aleppo, against the wishes of Ignatius Sarrouf and of other bishops, the young Adam's secretary, Maximos Mazloum. In 1811 Agapius Matar founded theseminary ofAin Traz to teach thediocesan priests. He died there on 2 February 1812.[5]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Patriarch of Antioch 1796-1812 | Succeeded by |