Cyril VI Tanas | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch | |
| Church | Melkite Greek Catholic Church |
| See | Patriarch of Antioch |
| Installed | September 24, 1724 |
| Term ended | January 10, 1760 |
| Predecessor | Athanasius III Dabbas[a] |
| Successor | Maximos II Hakim |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | October 1, 1724 (Bishop) by Neophytos Nasri |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Seraphim Tanas 1680 |
| Died | January 10, 1760(1760-01-10) (aged 79–80) |
PatriarchCyril VI Tanas, also known asCyril VI of Antioch (1680,Damascus – January 10, 1760), became the firstPatriarch of Antioch and of All the East, of Alexandria, and of Jerusalem of theMelkite Greek Catholic Church, following the schism of theGreek OrthodoxPatriarchate of Antioch in 1724.[1] Cyril re-establishedfull communion with theCatholic Church.
Seraphim Tanas was born inDamascus in 1680, and he was the nephew ofEuthymios Saifi, bishop ofSidon. On August 3, 1701, he arrived inMarseille, France, and from 1702 to 1710 he studied in theCollege of the Propaganda in Rome. Returning toSyria, he was ordained as apriest by his uncle; he (Tanas) became distinguished for his sermons, and PatriarchCyril V Zaim appointed him "Preacher of the Patriarchate of Antioch".[2]: 67
Like many of his fellow clerics, Seraphim Tanas favored re-establishing full communion with theRoman Catholic Church. The DamasceneMelkites elected him as the newPatriarch of Antioch on September 24, 1724,[3] and he was consecrated as Cyril VI byNeophytos Nasri, eparch ofSaidnaya—assisted by Basile Finas, eparch of Baniyas, andEuthymius Fadel, eparch ofZahle and Forzol[2]—in the patriarchal cathedral of Damascus[4][5] on October 1, 1724.[b] As Cyril was a prominent pro-Westerner, the OrthodoxPatriarch Jeremias III of Constantinople felt that his authority was challenged thereby; Jeremias declared Cyril's election to be invalid, excommunicated him, and appointed a young Syrianmonk—Sylvester of Antioch[6] (1696–1766)—to the patriarchal See of Antioch. Jeremias consecrated Sylvester as bishop on October 8, 1724,[c] inConstantinople.[4]
SultanAhmed III withdrew the recognition he had initially conferred upon Cyril, who was forced to flee as emissaries of Sylvester arrived from Constantinople with a mandate for his arrest. Cyril took refuge at theHoly Savior Monastery nearSidon, located in modern-dayLebanon, where his safety was guaranteed by theShehab emirs. Sylvester unleashed a hard persecution against all who had elected or supported Cyril: many were exiled, and all churches were taken by Sylvester's party. This persecution strengthened the faith of the Catholic Melkites, who—even without a formal hierarchy—continued to increase in number, meeting in secret places and celebrating theDivine Liturgy in homes at night.[7]: 327–328
Although the populace of Aleppo was mainly pro-Catholic in sentiment, the people initially supported Sylvester; however, the latter's heavy-handed rule of the church led to many Melkites choosing to instead acknowledge Cyril VI as patriarch. The people united against Sylvester, forcing him to flee Aleppo.[1]: 33–34 The Greek domination over the Byzantine Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch lasted until 1899.
Notwithstanding the many requests by Cyril for recognition, thePapacy moved with great caution and took six years to recognize Cyril as the legitimate Patriarch of Antioch. The decision was made byPope Benedict XIII, and was communicated to the Melkites in the synod held on April 25, 1730.[8] From this time onward, theMelkite Greek Catholic Church has existed separately from and in parallel to theGreek Orthodox Church of Antioch in the Middle East. Thepallium—formal recognition of patriarchal authority—was granted by Rome to Cyril only on February 3, 1744, about twenty years after the 1724 election.[9]
The reasons for this caution and delay, in Rome's recognition of Cyril as patriarch, can be summarized as follows:
Cyril VI Tanas summoned three different synods (in 1736, 1751, and 1756), seeking to provide further structure to the Melkite Church; in this, he met with mixed results, succeeding in establishing a foundation for the governance and expansion of the Melkite Catholic faithful (ultimately to result in his successorMaximos III Mazloum's triumphal return to Damascus, whence Cyril had been forced to flee), but failing to unite two of the main Melkite Basilian Orders—viz., theBasilian Salvatorian Order and theBasilian Chouerite Order of Saint John the Baptist.
Cyril renounced his position in 1759, and died on January 10, 1760,[d] having designatedAthanasius IV Jawhar his replacement (though complications would lead toMaximos II Hakim becoming Cyril's immediate successor instead, with Athanasius being forced to wait one further term—that ofTheodosius V Dahan—before ascending to the office himself).
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Preceded by | Bishop of Antioch 1724–1760 | Succeeded by |
