Mar Ignatius Philip I Arkus | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch | |
 | |
| Church | Syriac Catholic Church |
| See | Patriarch of Antioch |
| Installed | 24 May 1866 |
| Term ended | 7 March 1874 |
| Predecessor | Ignatius Antony I Samheri |
| Successor | Ignatius George V Shelhot |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1850 (Priest) |
| Consecration | 28 July 1862 (Bishop) by Antony I Samheri |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sa'id Arkus 11 April 1827 |
| Died | 7 March 1874(1874-03-07) (aged 46) |
| Residence | Mardin |
MarIgnatius Philip I Arkus (orArqous,Harcus,Arcous, 1827–1874) wasPatriarch of theSyriac Catholic Church from 1866 to 1874.
Philip Arkus was born inAmid on 11 April 1827 (on 30 March according to theJulian Calendar used by the Syriac Catholic Church up to 1836). He was sent to study in the Patriarchalseminary of Charfeh inLebanon and was ordainedpriest in 1850. On 28 July 1862 he was consecrated bishop by PatriarchIgnatius Antony I Samheri and appointed bishop ofAmid (i.e. Diyarbakır).[1]
At the death of Patriarch Ignatius Antony I Samheri on 16 June 1864, theCongregation Propaganda Fide ofRome asked that the new Patriarch should live inMardin where was the traditionalSee of the Syriac Patriarch of Antioch. Because of a pestilence the electoralsynod could be summoned only in 1866 inAleppo, and when threemetropolitans declined not to go to live in the cold Mardin, Philip Arkus was elected Patriarch (21 May 1866). He was enthroned Sunday 24 May 1866, and soon traveled to Rome where he was confirmed byPope Pius IX on 3 August of the same year.[2]
Philip Arkus was a poor leader[3]: 295 without the energy and the strength of his predecessor. The Syriac Catholic Church suffered of a period of problems, due to the too high number of bishops and to some cases of misconduct.[2]
Philip Arkus did not keep a clear position towards the attempts of Pius IX to decide the appointments of bishops in theEastern Catholic Churches.[4] While theChaldean PatriarchJoseph VI Audo and theMelkite PatriarchGregory II Youssef, as well as theArmenian Catholic Church, reacted fiercely and later obtained substantial changes, Philip Arkus pretended initially not to have received any instruction from Rome.
In this climate Philip Arkus went to Rome to attend theFirst Vatican Council (together with other six Syriac Catholic bishops:Behnam Benni ofMosul,George Shelhot ofAleppo, Athanase Jarkhi ofBaghdad, Flavien-Pierre Matah, and other two bishops converted from theSyriac Orthodox Church). In Rome, not to be forced to take a position on the issue of the appointment of the bishops, he offered his resignation as Patriarch that was rejected by the Pope. Throughout his staying in Rome, Philip Arkus, probably already ill, did not participate to the works of the Council nor to the liturgies. When back home, in 1872 he ordained a bishop without the previous approval from the Pope.[2]
Philip Arkus died in Mardin on 7 March 1874.
