Clement Bahouth | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch | |
| Church | Melkite Greek Catholic Church |
| See | Antioch |
| Installed | 1 April 1856 |
| Term ended | 24 September 1864 |
| Predecessor | Maximos III Mazloum |
| Successor | Gregory II Youssef |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 10 August 1836 (Bishop) by Maximos III Mazloum |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Bahouth 1799 |
| Died | 13 June 1882(1882-06-13) (aged 82–83) |
Clement Michael Bahouth (orClement Bahous, 1799 – 13 June 1882) waspatriarch of theMelkite Catholic Church from 1856 until his resignation in 1864.[1]
Michael Bahouth was born in 1799 nearAcre. In 1816 he entered in the Holy Saviour monastery of theBasilian Salvatorian Order and professedmonastic vows in 1818. He was ordainedpriest in about 1824. Before 1826 he visitedRome. From 1826 to 1835 he was Melkitechaplain inLivorno,Italy.[2] On 10 August 1836[3] he was consecrated bishop ofAcre by patriarchMaximos III Mazloum,[4] taking the name ofClement.
At the death of patriarch Maximos III Mazloum, the synod of the Melkite Catholic bishops elected Clement Bahouth as patriarch on 1 April 1856. His election was supported by both the bishops partisans of Mazloum's line and by Archbishop Paolo Brunoni, aCypriot who was theApostolic Legate ofSyria. The same electoral synod, having in mind the last authoritative years of Maximos Mazloum, issued decrees to limit the patriarchal authority.[5] Clement Bahouth's election was confirmed byPope Pius IX on 16 June 1856.
Clement Bahouth was docile to the demand of ArchbishopPaolo Brunoni[5] toLatinize the Eastern Catholic Churches. Without consulting other Melkite bishops, in January 1857 he introduced theGregorian Calendar in place of theJulian Calendar to promote conformity with the uses of theLatin Rite as well as of theMaronites and of theSyriac Catholic Church; that act caused some discontent within the Melkite Church, and the opposition was led by the Archbishop ofBeirut, Agapis Riyasi, the same who led the opposition against Maximos Mazloum some years before. Clement Bahouth, seeing the discontent, resigned in August 1858, but the majority of the Melkite clergy and laity askedRome to reject Clement's resignation, as it happened in September 1858.[2] The 1859–1860 war between Maronites andDruzes, and the massacre of Christians inDamascus became more important issues than the calendar's one for most of the Melkites.[5] A new player appeared: theRussian Orthodox Church, hoping to expand its influence in the Middle East, persuaded three of the bishops opponent to Clement Bahouth to formalize a schism, known as schism of thesarqiin, creating a new Church separated from both theMelkite Catholic Church and from theAntiochian Orthodox Church. This schism, notwithstanding the funds given by Russia to build churches, ended after a few years, and never numbered more than five thousand adherents.[2]
In 1864 Clement Bahouth asked Rome again to resign and to elect as successorGregory Youssef, who was appointed bishop of Acre a few years before by Clement himself. This time Rome authorized the resignation, and a synod of bishops was summoned 24 September 1864. At the opening of synod Clement announced his resignation, and the synod in a few days electedGregory II Youssef according to Clement's wishes. After this synod Clement Bahouth returned to live as a simplenovice monk.[2] In 1870 he participated silently at theFirst Vatican Council. He died on 13 June 1882 in the Holy Saviour monastery, where he was buried.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Patriarch of Antioch 1856–1864 | Succeeded by |