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| Patriarch of Antioch | |
_-_Greek_catholic_archbishop_george_hakim%2c_during_Christmas_services_in_Haifa_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Church | Melkite Greek Catholic Church |
| See | Antioch |
| Elected | 22 November 1967 |
| Installed | 26 November 1967 |
| Term ended | 22 November 2000 |
| Predecessor | Maximos IV Sayegh |
| Successor | Gregory III Laham |
| Other post | Bishop of Damas |
| Previous posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | 20 July 1930 by Maximos IV Sayegh |
| Consecration | 13 June 1943 by Cyril IX Moghabghab |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George Selim Hakim (1908-05-18)18 May 1908 |
| Died | 29 June 2001(2001-06-29) (aged 93) |
| Denomination | Melkite Greek Catholic Church |
| Residence | Syria andLebanon |
| Coat of arms |  |
Maximos V Hakim (Arabic:ماكسيموس الخامس حكيم; May 18, 1908 – June 29, 2001) was electedPatriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Alexandria and Jerusalem of theMelkite Greek Catholic Church in 1967 and served until 2000. He guided the church through turbulent changes in the Middle East and rapid expansion in the Western hemisphere.
He was born George Selim Hakim atTanta,Egypt, on May 18, 1908, to parents who were originally fromAleppo.[1] He was educated locally and at Le Collège de la Sainte Famille (High School of the Holy Family) Jesuit school in Cairo. After completing his studies at St. Anne ofJerusalem, he was ordained a priest in the Basilica of St. Anne byMaximos IV Sayegh, then Archbishop ofTyre, on July 20, 1930. As a young priest he taught for a year in the patriarchal school in Beirut before returning to Cairo in 1931.[citation needed]
He was appointed eparch on March 13, 1943 and consecrated Eparch of St. John of Acre,Haifa,Nazareth and allGalilee, inCairo on June 13, 1943, by PatriarchCyril IX Moghabghab, assisted by the ArchbishopsDionysius Kfoury, Titular bishop of Tarsus dei Greco-Melkiti, andPierre Medawar, Titular bishop of Pelusium dei Greco-Melkiti, patriarchal auxiliaries. On November 18, 1964 Hakim became Archeparch. He was elected Patriarch by theHoly Synod atAin Traz on November 22, 1967 and his election was confirmed on November 26 of the same year.[2]
As a priest, he distinguished himself by his running of the Patriarchal College in Cairo and by the launching and publication of the reviewLe Lien. Later, as an archbishop, he built schools, a junior seminary, an orphanage, a home for the elderly and several churches. He took particular care for the clergy and for the religious and secular orders and he brought in several groups of Europeans come to integrate themselves into the Church. As archbishop he spearheaded efforts to provide relief for Palestinians during the 1948 exodus.
Under his guidance as patriarch, a minor seminary was established atDamascus and later a major seminary for the formation of priests was opened atRaboueh inLebanon. He later funded numerous scholarships for needy seminarians during theLebanese Civil War. He also oversaw the growth of the Melkite church in North and South America as many of the faithful emigrated to the West.
Maximos condemned the violence that pitted Muslim against Christian in Lebanon, where Greek Catholics constitute 4% of the population.[1] In 1982, he negotiated with Druze leaderWalid Jumblatt to safeguard ancient Christian villages in the Chouf valley. He enjoyed warmer ties with the Syrian government than theNasrallah Boutros Sfeir, patriarch of the more powerfulMaronite Catholic community.[1] Even so, community politics would prove dangerous for him at times. In 1990, he was targeted by would-be assassins as he travelled to the predominantly Christian city of Zahle, located in the predominantly Shi'ite Beq'a valley.[1]
Following an old tradition of the more-than-900-year-old Order of Knighthood, founded in Jerusalem to take care of lepers in the Hospital St. Lazare, he was the Spiritual Protector of the international ecumenicalMilitary and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, as is his successor.
Patriarch Maximos resigned on November 22, 2000, due to failing health, and was succeeded by PatriarchGregory III Laham. He died on June 29, 2001, inBeirut.
In the aftermath of the1948 Arab-Israeli War, Hakim negotiated with Yehoshua ("Josh") Palmon, then leader of the "Arab Section" in the Israeli Foreign Ministry, for the return of Galilee Christian Arabs (then refugees in Lebanon) in exchange for Hakim's future goodwill towards the Jewish State. In the end, several thousand (including several hundred fromEilabun) Galilee Christians were allowed to return in the summer of 1949.[3]
In the 1950s, while he was archbishop of Galilee, the future patriarch was involved in the fate of thePalestinians of the two depopulated Christian villages ofKafr Bir'im andIqrit. He alerted theVatican and other Church authorities about the expulsion of the villagers, and lobbied for their return.
A number of sources[4][5][6] have quoted Maximos V as having said"theArab League had issued orders exhorting the people to seek a temporary refuge in neighboring countries."For example, Israel'sAbba Eban told the U.N. Special Political Committee in 1957 that Hakim had said:
The refugees had been confident that their absence from Palestine would not last long; that they would return within a few days [or] within a week or two; their leaders had promised them that the Arab armies would crush the 'Zionist gangs' very quickly and that there would be no need for panic or fear of a long exile.[4]
A 1949 pamphletArab Refugees: Facts and Figures prepared by the Research Department of theJewish Agency, quotes a letter by Karl Baehr, Executive Secretary of theAmerican Christian Palestine Committee to theNew York Herald Tribune:
The role played by theBritish authorities in the Arab mass flight is also stressed by Monsignor George Hakim, Archbishop of the Greek Catholic Church (a Uniate Church which is in fellowship with the Vatican and counts 20,864 adherents in Palestine). An Arab himself and a former supporter ofthe Mufti, Archbishop Hakim told Baeher... that an important element in precipitating the flight, particularly in theHaifa area (where Monsignor lives) was "the fact that the British informed the Arabs that they would not protect them. Since most of the Arab leaders had already fled, the people were thrown into a panic so they fled by sea to Lebanon. They fled in spite of the fact that the Jewish authorities guaranteed their safety and rights as citizens of Israel."[7]
Erskine Childers investigated the claims made about Hakim, and inThe Spectator of May 12, 1961, published a letter from Hakim addressing them:
There is nothing in this statement to justify the construction which many propagandists had put on it, namely, that it established the allegation widely disseminated by partisan sources that the Arab leaders had urged the Arab inhabitants of Palestine to flee.
As far as I can recollect, the aforesaid statement was intended to voice the strong feeling of resentment and revulsion felt by the refugees. They were convinced by what they had heard and read that the defeat of the Jewish armed forces, the re-establishment of peace and order throughout the country, and the institution of Arab rule, would be achieved within a short time. Instead of such achievements the Arab States had twice agreed to a truce, and the Arab armies were inactive. Hence the strong feeling of disappointment and frustration among the file and rank of refugees.
At no time did I state that the flight of the refugees was due to the orders, explicit or implicit, of their leaders, military or political, to leave the country and seek shelter in the adjacent Arab territories. On the contrary, no such orders were ever made by the military commanders, or by the Higher Arab Committee, or indeed, by the Arab League or Arab States. I have not the least doubt that any such allegations are sheer concoctions and falsifications. [....]
... as soon as hostilities began between Israel and the Arab States, it became the settled policy of the Government to drive away the Arabs.[8]
Thecauses of the1948 Palestinian exodus are still a subject of contentious debate amonghistorians. However, findings since the 1980s by the 'New Historians', most prominentlyBenny Morris, cast doubt on the predominance of foreign Arab instigated mass evacuation as portrayed in theofficial Israeli account.
A prolific writer, Maximos is best remembered for hisArabic workAl Rabita andFrench worksMessage de Galiléerenc andPages d'Évangile lues en Galilée.
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