Mar Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa
Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon Patriarch of Mosul in Eastern Syria[1] Patriarch of the Church of the Chaldeans of Mosul[2] Patriarch of the Eastern Assyrians[3]
Church	Church of the East/Chaldean Catholic Church
See	Amid of the Chaldeans
Installed	28 April 1553
Term ended	January 1555
Successor	Abdisho IV Maron
Personal details
Born	Yohannan Sulaqa Circa 1510 Mosul
Died	January 1555 Amadiya
Residence	Amid,Ottoman Empire (nowDiyarbakır,Turkey)

Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa (Classical Syriac:ܫܡܥܘܢ ܬܡܝܢܝܐ ܝܘܚܢܢ ܣܘܠܩܐ;Latin:Simeon Sulacha; alsoYohannan d'Bēth Bello (Syriac:ܝܘܚܢܢ ܕܒܝܬ ܒܠܘ),John Soulaqa,Sulaka orSulacha; circa 1510–1555) was the firstPatriarch of what was to become theShemʿon line of theChaldean Catholic Church, from 1553 to 1555, after it absorbed thisChurch of the East patriarchate intofull communion with theHoly See and theCatholic Church.^[4]

Yohannan Sulaqa's ascension as Patriarch was part of theSchism of 1552 in theChurch of the East, which resulted in the establishment of rival patriarchates and ultimately a permanent rift in the Church of the East. He was elected by those who opposed the hereditary patriarchal succession within theEliya family. He took an unprecedented step in the Church of the East: he traveled toRome, accepted theCatholic creed, and was consecrated as Patriarch in 1553 after at first failing in an attempt to join theSyriac Orthodox Church.^{[5][6][dubious –discuss]}

His reign did not last long though. Upon his return, due to strong opposition by the opposing Patriarch, Sulaqa was imprisoned by theOttoman leader ofAmadiya, tortured, and executed in January 1555.^[7] He is considered amartyr of the Catholic Church.^[8]

Up until theSchism of 1552, the Church of the East was united in a single patriarchate, and theepiscopal see was located in the ancient city ofAlqosh. However, by the end of the 15th century, the PatriarchShimun IV Basidi (1437–1493) decided to make the office hereditary in his own family,^[9] the Eliya line.

This was made possible through the ancientcanon law of the Church of the East, which decreed that onlymetropolitan bishops could confirm a patriarch. As a result, Shimun IV and his successor only appointed their family members as metropolitan bishops,^[10] for the uncle to choose his brothers or nephews to succeed him as patriarch. This designated successor, once consecrated as metropolitan bishop with right of succession, was callednatar kursi.

The patriarchShemon VII Ishoyahb, consecrated either towards the end of 1538 or early in 1539, was highly unpopular due to his illicit activities and profligate life, selling church properties, and using concubines. Furthermore, he consecrated his nephews at the ages of twelve and fifteen as metropolitan bishops. These actions led to wide protest, causing further upheaval and instability in the church.

Yohannan Sulaqa (The name "Sulaqa" means "Ascension") was born c. 1510 in theMosul region of northern Mesopotamia. Around 1540 he becameabbot ofRabban Hormizd Monastery nearAlqosh.^[11][12][13] A single source,Abdisho IV Maron, says he was a monk of the monastery of Sabrishoʿ at Beth Qoqa, nearArbela.^[14]

Widespread complaints emerged against Shimun VII's consecration of his younger nephew as his designated successor. This led to three non-related bishops of Shimun VII (the bishops of Erbil,Urmia andSalmas) calling an assembly in Mosul of clergy, monks, and church members from ten regions to elect the hesitant Yohannan Sulaqa as the new patriarch. However, A bishop of metropolitan rank was needed at the ceremony to consecrate Sulaqa as patriarch. As the Eliya family would object to it, Yohannan Sulaqa askedPope Julius III of Rome to celebrate the consecration.

Yohannan Sulaqa, along with seventy delegates, traveled toJerusalem to meet theCustodian of the Holy Land. The group managed to persuade theFranciscan friars that they agreed with the Catholic faith, and expressed the desire to have Sulaqa confirmed as patriarch by the pope.^[15] The Friars gave them a letter of presentation to the pope and Sulaqa traveled to Rome, whereAndreas Masius assisted him as a translator in the court of Pope Julius III.

Yohannan Sulaqa requested that the pope consecrate him as patriarch. He justified this request by saying that, afterShemon VII Ishoyahb died in 1551, his 8-year-old nephew who was his designated successor also died.^[16] For this reason many historians such asEugène Tisserant,^[17] Tfinkdji,^[18] and Fiey postulate the existence of one Shimun (VIII) who reigned in Alqosh from 1552 to 1558. Becchetti himself says that in reality the designated successor was neither an 8-year-old nor was he dead.^[16] More recent scholars such as Habbi^[19] and Lampar, suggest that Shimun VII did not die in 1551 but reigned till 1558,^[20] and that Sulaqa had lied to the pope.^[21]

On February 20, 1553, Yohannan Sulaqa made a profession of faith before the Pope. On April 9, 1553, he was consecrated as bishop inSt. Peter's Basilica in Rome by CardinalJohn Álvarez y Alva de Toledo,OP (1488–1557) (or by the pope himself according other sources).^[8] Sulaqa's appointment as patriarch was ratified by thepapal bull entitled"Divina disponente clementia".^[21] In the course of thepapal consistory held on April 28, 1553, Sulaqa received thepallium, i.e., the sign of his patriarchal authority, from the hands of the pope.

He took the regnal name Shimʿun, adopted by all his successors except his immediate successor until the late 20th century. The successors of Shimʿun VII all took the name Eliya.^[22]

Yohannan Sulaqa traveled back viaConstantinople to the northern town of Amid (nowDiyarbakır), where he arrived on November 12, 1553, and established hisSee. He was accompanied by the bishopAmbrose Buttigeg, OP († 1558), a powerfulMaltese clergyman, who was specially appointed as "Nuncio for Mosul."

However, in January 1555, he was summoned, imprisoned for many months, tortured, and executed, probably by drowning, by the localpasha ofAmadiya instigated by the partisans of Shimun VII.^[7] He had just ordained five metropolitans as the basis of a new church structure. In theCatholic Church, he is often considered a martyr but has not been officially declared such by the inclusion of his name in theRoman Martyrology.

Sulaqa's brother, Joseph Mar (Sulaqa) of India, held the office from 1556 to 1569 of Metropolitan of theSaint Thomas Christians inSouth India.

Yohannan Sulaqa was pointedly given the title of "Patriarch of Mosul and Athur" in Rome,^[23] not in a restrictive sense, but meaningof the Church of the East, and at that time, Kerala aside, was exclusive to northern Mesopotamia, the former Assyria. The Chronicle of the Carmelites states that Sulaqa was proclaimedPatriarch of the Eastern Assyrians but on April 19, 1553, the title was changed toPatriarch of the Chaldeans.^[24][25] This was in reference to theOld Testament which gives Abraham's birthplace as "Ur of Chaldees" (traditionallyEdessa) at a time long before the Chaldeans entered Mesopotamia. This did not signify any ethnic or geographic link with the long extinctChaldeans of the south eastern extremities of Iraq. Many modern scholars also now believeAbraham's Ur was actually inAnatolia.^[26][27]

The term "Chaldeans" had a history of being used in an ethnically and geographically inaccurate sense by Rome, having been previously officially used by theCouncil of Florence on August 7, 1445, as a new name for a group ofGreekNestorians ofCyprus who entered intofull communion with the Catholic Church.^[28] Rome followed to use the termChaldeans to indicate the members of the Church of the East in Communion with Rome (mainly not to use the termNestorian that was theologically unacceptable) also in 1681 forJoseph I and later in 1830 whenYohannan VIII Hormizd of the line of Alqosh became the first Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans of the modern Chaldean Catholic Church.

"Pope Julian III in 1553 consecrated Sulâka, an Assyrian convert, "Patriarch of the Chaldeans" – the designation then given for the first time to the so-called Nestorians who had seceded to Rome, which patriarchate has been continued to this present day."^[29]

Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa was the first incumbent of theShemʿon line of the Church of the East. This patriarchal See was initially located in Amid, but very soon moved toSiirt, then toUrmia, then toKhosrowa (nearSalmas) and from the second half of 17th century to Qodchanis (nowKonak, Hakkari).

The last patriarch of this line recognized by the pope wasShimun IX Dinkha (died 1600), and later, there were only a few correspondences through missionaries. This See reintroduced in 1600 the traditional heredity system for patriarchal' succession, a practice unacceptable to Rome. In 1692, patriarchShimun XIII Dinkha^[8] broke formally the communion with Rome and returned his members to the faith that he abandoned, but without accepting the patriarchal line that he broke away from. The patriarchate that he originated is that which in 1976 adopted the name "Assyrian Church of the East".^[20]

• Schism of 1552
• List of Chaldean Catholic Patriarchs of Babylon

• http://www.chaldeancatholics.com

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• People executed by drowning
• 16th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire
• Bishops in the Ottoman Empire
• 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire
• 1510 births
• Religious leaders from Mosul

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