Gregory II Youssef | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch | |
 | |
| Church | Melkite Greek Catholic Church |
| See | Antioch |
| Installed | September 29, 1864 |
| Term ended | July 13, 1897 |
| Predecessor | Clement Bahouth |
| Successor | Peter IV Geraigiry |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 11, 1854 (Priest) |
| Consecration | November 13, 1856 (Bishop) by Clement Bahouth |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hanna Youssef-Sayour October 17, 1823 nearAlexandria,Egypt |
| Died | July 13, 1897(1897-07-13) (aged 73) |
PatriarchGregory II Youssef, also known asGregory II Hanna Youssef-Sayour (October 17, 1823 – July 13, 1897), wasPatriarch of theMelkite Greek Catholic Church from 1864 to 1897. Gregory expanded and modernized the church and its institutions[1] and participated in theFirst Vatican Council, where he championed the rights of theEastern Catholic Churches.
Gregory is remembered as a particularly dynamic patriarch of the Melkite Church. He is recognized as one of the forerunners of interconfessional dialogue and as an advocate for preserving the traditions and autonomy of the Melkites.
Hanna Youssef-Sayour was born October 17, 1823,[2] atRosetta, nearAlexandria,Egypt. In 1840, at age 16, he entered theBasilian Salvatorian Order. In 1844, he began to study in theJesuit seminary of Kesrouane inMount Lebanon. From 1847 to 1856 Youssef studiedphilosophy andtheology in thePontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius inRome, where he was ordainedpriest on June 11, 1854. Back in theMiddle East, he was chosen by the newly elected patriarchClement Bahouth as successor for theSee ofAcre andGalilee.[3] He received theepiscopal consecration on November 13, 1856, by patriarch Clement Bahouth.[4]
During his episcopate Youssef faced three major issues: discontent within the Melkite Church for the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar by Clement Bahouth, a short-lived schism supported by theRussian Orthodox Church on the basis of the newly introduced Gregorian Calendar, and division between theBasilians monks. Youssef remained strictly neutral on the calendar, but fiercely fought the schism.[5]
The conflicts in the Melkite church escalated and in 1864Clement Bahouth asked the church leadership in Rome to abdicate his position as patriarch and elect Youssef as his successor. Rome authorized the resignation, and a synod of bishops was convened for September 24, 1864. At the opening of the synod Clement Bahouth announced his resignation, and the synod elected Youssef as patriarch on September 29, 1864. Youssef took the nameGregory and was confirmed byPope Pius IX on March 27, 1865.[3]
Once elected, patriarch Gregory worked to restore peace in the religious community and successfully healed the schism. He also focused on improving church institutions and founded the Patriarchal College inBeirut in 1865 and the Patriarchal College inDamascus in 1875, and re-opened the Melkite seminary ofAin Traz in 1866.[6][7] Gregory promoted the establishment ofSaint Anne's Seminary inJerusalem by theWhite Fathers in 1882 for the training of Melkite clergy.[8]
Following theHatti Humayyouni decree by Sultan Abdul Majid in 1856 the life of Christians in the Near East improved. This allowed Gregory to successfully encourage greater participation by the Melkite laity in both church administration and public affairs.[6] Gregory also took an interest in ministering to the growing number of Melkites who had emigrated to the Americas. In 1889, he dispatched Father Ibrahim Beshawate of the Basilian Salvatorian Order inSidon,Lebanon, to New York to minister to the growing local Syrian community. According to historian Philip Hitte, Beshawate was the first permanent priest in the United States from the Near East from the Melkite,Maronite, andAntiochian Orthodox Churches.[9]
 |
| Papal primacy,supremacy andinfallibility |
|---|
Catholic episcopal councils compared to popes |
Existing dogma compared to popes |
Objections and controversy
|
Gregory was a prominent proponent of Eastern ecclesiology at theFirst Vatican Council. In two discourses he gave at the Council on May 19 and June 14, 1870, he emphasized the importance of conforming to the decisions of theCouncil of Florence and of not innovating ideas of papal primacy, such aspapal infallibility.[10] He anticipated a negative impact of a dogmatic definition of papal infallibility on relations with theEastern Orthodox Church and became a prominent opponent of the dogma at the Council.[11] Gregory also defended the rights and privileges of the patriarchs afforded by earlier ecumenical councils. Speaking at the Council on May 19, 1870, Gregory stated:
The Eastern Church attributes to the pope the most complete and highest power, however in a manner where the fullness and primacy are in harmony with the rights of the patriarchal sees. This is why, in virtue of and ancient right founded on customs, the Roman Pontiffs did not, except in very significant cases, exercise over these sees the ordinary and immediate jurisdiction that we are asked now to define without any exception. This definition would completely destroy the constitution of the entire Greek church. That is why my conscience as a pastor refuses to accept this constitution.[12]
Gregory refused to sign the Council's dogmatic declaration on papal infallibility. He and two of the seven other Melkite bishops present votednon placet at the general congregation and left Rome prior to the adoption of the dogmatic constitutionPastor aeternus on papal infallibility. Other members of the anti-infallibilist minority from the Latin church and other Eastern Catholic churches also left the city.[13]
After the First Vatican Council concluded, an emissary of the Roman Curia was dispatched to secure the signatures of the patriarch and the Melkite delegation. Gregory and the Melkite bishops subscribed to it, but added the qualifying clause used at theCouncil of Florence: "except the rights and privileges of Eastern patriarchs."[11][14] He earned the enmity ofPope Pius IX for this; during his next visit to thepontiff before leaving Rome, when Gregory was kneeling, the Pope placed his knee on the patriarch's shoulder, saying to him, "Testa dura!" ("Hardheaded!").[15][16][17]
In spite of this event, Gregory and the Melkite Catholic Church remained committed to their union with the Holy See. Relationships with the Vatican improved following the death of Pius IX and the subsequent election ofPope Leo XIII. Leo'sencyclicalOrientalium dignitas in 1894 addressed some of the Eastern Catholic Churches' concerns onlatinization and the centralization of power in Rome.[18] Leo confirmed that the limitations placed on the Armenian Catholic patriarch by Pius IX's 1867 letterReversurus would not apply to the Melkite Church and he formally recognized an expansion of Patriarch Gregory's jurisdiction to include all Melkites throughout theOttoman Empire.[18]
Patriarch Gregory died on July 13, 1897, inDamascus.[3] Following his death he was succeeded as patriarch by Barakat Géraigiry, who assumed the namePeter IV.
Gregory is remembered as a particularly dynamic patriarch of the Melkite Church.[19] His defense of the Eastern ecclesiological conception of church autonomy established the framework for the Eastern Catholic Church's interventions during theSecond Vatican Council. Gregory has also been recognized as one of the forerunners of interconfessional dialogue.[20]
The Catholic Melkite patriarch, Gregory II Yusuf (1846–97) opposed the definition of papal infaillibility at the Vatican Council (1869–70); on a subsequent visit to the pope, he was cast down at his feet by his guards, while the pope placed his foot on Gregory's head.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Patriarch of Antioch 1864–1897 | Succeeded by |