Patriarch Ignatius Elias III | Feb 13

Published by Jacob P Varghese on

Mor Ignatius Elias III, the second son of Chorepiscopa Abraham and Maryam, was born in Mardin, Turkey. Nasri, as was his Christian name, had four brothers and three sisters. After the death of his mother, he was taken care of by his elder sister Helena. He worked as a shoemaker as a teenager.

In 1887, he joined Kurkumo Dayro (Deir al-Za`faran )also known as Saffron Monastery and was ordained Deacon by Patriarch Peter III. He became a sharwoyo (novitiate – training as a monk) in 1888 and a monk in 1889 upon which he took the name Elias. Elias was ordained priest in 1892 by Patriarch Peter III. In 19th century, numerous Armenian and Syriac Christians were massacred in Turkey. Priest Elias endeared himself to the Armenian Christians providing refuge for about 7000 in the monastery of Mar Quryaqos, Turkey and later on was appointed the Chief (reesh dayroyo) of the Mor Quryaqos as well as of Deir al-Za`faran. In 1908 Priest Elias was consecrated bishop of Amid, by Patriarch `Abded Aloho II with the name Mar Ivanios, along with Mor Osthatheos Sleeba.

In 1912, he was transferred to Mosul. Patriarch ‘Abded Aloho passed away on 9 December, 1915, and Mor Ivanios was elected Patriarch and assumed the throne in 1917. In 1922, when civil war broke out in Turkey, during this period Moran Mar Elias III spent a few months in Jerusalem and laid the foundation stone of the Church of Our Lady at Jerusalem on 22 March 1926, established a printing press there and began publication of journals in Syriac and Arabic.

Mar Elias III was the last Patriarch to reign at the Kurkmo Dayro (Deir Za‘faran) in Mardin, Turkey, the seat of the Patriarchate for most of the second millennium. Following the massacre of the Syriac Christians in South East Turkey in the beginning of the Ottoman Empire, and during World War I, the Patriarch was forced to leave Mardin. Mar Elias III undertook pastoral tours to the Middle East, the first in 1919 and the second in 1925 to Aleppo and Jerusalem.

Mar Elias III left Mosul on February 6, 1931 accompanied by other bishops and aides, set sail to India on February 28, 1931 from Basra on the ship and disembarked at the Karachi port on March 5, 1931. On 6 March 1931, the Patriarch and his entourage proceeded to Delhi by train reached Delhi on 8 March and visited Lord Irwin. On 14 March, the Patriarch arrived in Madras and stayed as a guest of the British Governor Sir George Stanley. From there, he arrived at the Thrikkunathu Seminary, Alwaye on 21 March. Mar Elias III convened conciliatory meetings at Alwaye, Karingachira and Panampady and visited various churches in Karingachira, Kuruppumpady, Pakkil, in Kottayam. Moran stayed at St. Ignatius church, Pallom for a week.

On 11 February 1932, the Patriarch arrived at the Manjinikkara Mar Stephanos Church from Kallissery. On arriving at Manjinikkara, the Patriarch said, “This place offers us much comfort; he desire to remain here permanently.” On 12 February, His Holiness requested the priests who came to visit him, to stay back for a couple of days. After the noon prayers and lunch, the Patriarch spent time recording events in his journal. He complained of pain in his head, and soon he fainted and slipped into eternal rest at 2:30 p.m. A deep gloom that cast its spell on the area that evening. On 14 February, 1932 the funeral services of His Holiness were held there. Mar Dionysius Michael consoled the gathering.

The memory of the holy Patriarch is revered by the Church and especially in Malankara where thousands of pilgrims reach the tomb by foot on the annual feast day, 12 February, from various parts of the Kerala State, India. Mar Elias III remains are interred in the St. Stephen in Church, Manjanikkara, near Omallur. and his tomb stands as a towering symbol of the sacrifices made by the Syriac fathers to nurture the Church in Malankara. The feast of St. Elias III is celebrated on 13 February.


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