He is Father Youssef bin Girgis Musa bin Muhanna Al-Haddad (1) Known, for short, as Father Youssef Muhanna Al-Haddad. He is of Beirut origin, Damascene origin, Orthodox in doctrine, and he sometimes liked to introduce himself. (2). His father left Beirut in the last quarter of the eighteenth century and settled in Damascus, where he worked in the textile industry, where he married and had three male children: Musa, Ibrahim, and Youssef. He is of Ghassani-Hourani Arab origin. His ancestors moved to the Lebanese town of Ferzal in the Bekaa Valley in the sixteenth century and from there to Baskinta, in the current Northern Matn district, to Beirut.

His translators, who was a priest, described him as being of square stature, moderate in body, white in complexion, majestic in countenance, with a prominent forehead, bright eyes with intelligence, and a thick beard of medium length and width, in which the gray hair spread its strands until it resembled the rays of the sun in the forenoon.

His birth and upbringing

Youssef was born in Damascus during May 1793 (3) For a poor, pious family. Received some education (4a) He spoke Arabic and a little Greek. Cut off writers (5) After a while, because his father was not able to complete his education for him. He started working in silk weaving. It did not extinguish want and filled hand yearning to science and knowledge. He had to find a solution. The solution was manual labor during the day and self-study at night. Necessity made him self-made. Perhaps his inclination towards knowledge was encouraged by his eldest brother Musa, who was a writer and well-versed in the sciences, especially the Arabic language, and who owned a small library. (6)But he fell asleep when he was under twenty-five, and it was said that he was exhausted, due to his intense interest in reading. The injury negatively affected the attitude of Youssef’s parents towards his passion for books as well. However, the flame of knowledge remained burning within him.

When he reached fourteen, he began reading his brother's books. But he felt frustrated because he understood only a little of what he was reading. Instead of failure discouraging him from his resolve, it increased his determination. His response was: “Wasn’t the author of these books a person like me, so why don’t I understand their meaning?!” “I have to understand.” (7a).

He had the opportunity to study under the scholar of his time, Sheikh Muhammad al-Attar al-Dimashqi, from whom he learned Arabic, debate, logic, and rational sciences. (8). But he retreated again after a while, because the fees for education and the prices of books burdened him and his parents, so he returned to his previous routine: working during the day and reading at night.

It is important to know that the pursuit of knowledge in that time was intertwined with piety and the pursuit of divine knowledge. Let us not forget that one of the most prominent textbooks at that time was the Bible.

On the Torah, the Psalms, and the New Testament, Joseph spent his nights comparing the Greek version to the Arabic and the Arabic to the Greek until he mastered the translation from and to Greek. His learning did not stop at the level of language, because he had memorized most of the Holy Book.

Youssef continued to monitor academic opportunities, one after another, with endless eagerness. He took theology and history from the late George Shehadeh Al-Sabbagh (4b). He began accepting students into his home. Then he learned Hebrew from one of his Jewish students.

All this tireless activity raised his parents' fears again, so they tried to distract him from reading, studying, and teaching, lest what happened to his brother Musa happen to him, but they did not succeed. Finally, it seemed to them that the only remaining solution was to marry him, so they married him to a Damascene girl named Maryam Al-Karsha, when he was still nineteen years old (1812). However, marriage would not distract him from reading, so he continued to read voraciously, even on his wedding night, as his biographer reported.

Joseph is a priest

The parish of Damascus became aware of him after his mention became widespread among the people, so they wanted Patriarch Seraphim (1813 - 1823) to make him their shepherd. He also had good regard for him, so he ordained him a deacon and then a priest, within a week, when he was twenty-four years old (1817). Patriarch Methodius (1824 - 1850) also gave him the title of great administrator (Megas Economos) after he knew in him zeal, piety, knowledge, and courage. (9).

Joseph was interested in preaching in the church known as Marianism (10a) For many years, I am creative. Some considered him the second John Chrysostom (b7)Noman Kassatly spoke in “Al-Rawda Al-Ghana…” about being a “promiscuous preacher.” (11). Amin Zahir Khairallah mentioned in “Al-Arj Al-Zaki...” at the end of the nineteenth century (1899), that is, thirty-nine years after Joseph’s death, that the Damascene sheikhs were still repeating some of his sermons. Its echo continued to resonate in the early twentieth century, when Habib Effendi al-Zayyat, the Melkite Catholic, defined him as “famous among Orthodox Arabs at that time for his knowledge and preaching.” (12).

In his preaching, Joseph was distinguished by the strength of his argument and the conclusive and convincing answer. And it was - in the words of Issa Iskandar Al-Maalouf (13a)- He has a light voice that “can be heard from afar, and people listen to his words with pleasure and longing, and they are affected by him and trust him.” (14) With his advice...and they keep his commandments....”

In addition to preaching, he was diligent in consoling the miserable, comforting the sad, supporting the poor, and strengthening the sick. (13b). When the yellow air spread in Damascus in 1848, Father Youssef showed great zeal in serving the sick, not caring about the possibility of contracting the disease himself, relying on God in every situation, and concerned with burying the dead and consoling the mourning. He did all that and more with tireless energy while losing one of his children, Muhanna, to the epidemic. His zeal, firmness, and tenderness at the same time increased the Damascenes’ great respect for him, and they saw in him the image of the one who said, “… distressed in every way, but not distressed, perplexed, but not despairing… cast down, but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus might be made manifest.” also in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

Father Youssef sought, among other things, to divert the faithful people from many of the common customs that were inconsistent with the integrity of opinion. His words influenced people and he succeeded in changing many of the customs of sermons, weddings, and funerals. (15).

Just as he was interested in building souls, he was also interested in building stone structures, so in 1845 AD he sought to renovate the Church of Saint Nicholas. (16) Adjacent to the Marian Church, it was carefully restored, but it burned down in the events of 1860 (10b).

Patriarchal School

We do not know exactly who established and when the Patriarchal School arose in Damascus. What is certain is that in the nineteenth century it was associated with the name of Father Youssef until it became known as his school.

Father Youssef moved to the Patriarchal School in 1836 and joined the students whom he was teaching at his home. (17). He quickly developed it, expanded it, appointed agents over it, took care of its “supervisors”, and appointed specific salaries for teachers. It soon attracted students from all over Syria and Lebanon.

Father Youssef’s primary concern was to educate the young minds of the Orthodox parishioners “and nominate them for the priesthood and receive its degrees so that they may serve the parish in a beneficial service.” (18). Education expenses at the school was covered by the believers and the Patriarchate (19a).

It was natural, within Father Youssef’s view of things, that interest in studying theology in school doubled. In the year 1852, during the time of Patriarch Erotheos (1850 - 1885), Father Youssef took the initiative to open a high branch of theological sciences, and his intention was to raise it to a high academic level comparable to the theological institutes in the Orthodox world. (20). Twelve students joined this institute, all of whom became priests of the Church of Antioch. But the death of the degree in 1860 interrupted the establishment of the dream on stable foundations that would provide the institute with its continuity.

Father Youssef breathed into his students “a spirit of peace and success whose extension - in the eyes of those who know - is unparalleled except to the greatest saints, so much so that this holy spirit extended beyond his students and graduates to all those close to them, those who graduated from them, and those who associate with them.” They passed it on to those who contacted them until it was like a chain connected by links. His teachings spread and his upbringing yielded good results.” (21).

In addition, it is noteworthy that Father Youssef was one of those who taught at the Balamand Clerical School at one time (22)Between the years 1833 and 1840.

Characteristics of a man of God

The first characteristic of Father and Teacher Youssef was that he was poor. Some sources go so far as to say that his service to the church was “without compensation.” (23) One of the most knowledgeable Russian scientists (19b) He said about him that he had no income at all because he was devoted to serving the school, but his expenses were collected by his children from their own work. (24).

In any case, money would not have tempted him at all.

One of his stories is that after his school became famous, Patriarch Cyril II of Jerusalem (1845 - 1872) wanted him to teach Arabic at the Al-Musalaba Clerical School, west of Jerusalem. He apologized and offered him an attractive monthly salary of twenty-five liras. (25), in addition to housing, the income of the petrichil, and other compensation, but he refused despite his need for money. Pointing to his parish in Damascus, he said: “I was called to serve this parish and no other, and whoever called me is sufficient for me.” (26).

In addition, he was good in worship, fervent in faith, extremely patient,19 very good, meek, and calm. (27)He is humble, compassionate, and gentle. He hates talking about himself and is so proud that he is ashamed of those who praise him. (28) He does not know what to answer them.

He was wise and gentle in his care. He spoke the language of the wise and scholars, thus enlightening them, and he spoke the language of the simple, thus convincing them. Among his news is that some naive people once left the church for a trivial matter, so Patriarch Methodius advised him to go after them and retrieve them. When he came to them, he did not express any dissatisfaction with their work. Rather, he treated them kindly and showed them some small icons that he had in his possession. He touched their hearts and returned with them to the church, ashamed and remorseful. (29).

As a scholar, he was a professor of teachers (30) And the planet of the East and the working sign (31a). People of his time other than his church testified that he was one of the most accomplished Christian scholars of his time (32). “No one of the Arabs in his time, in the Orthodox community, compared him in his knowledge and knowledge except Jurji Elian.” (33).

As a churchman, he was considered a great theologian, the pride of Orthodoxy, a martyr among the priests, and a model of piety and virtue (31b).

This is how Father Youssef Al-Dimashqi’s features were characterized in his time: one of the men of God.

His library and his products

We do not know anything about Father Youssef’s library when he was martyred because it was burned in the events of 1860 or was looted and lost. His nephew, Youssef Ibrahim Al-Haddad, said that the total amount of books and manuscripts he had was around the year 1840. (34)It was 1827, or perhaps 2827 volumes.

As for his written work, it seems to have been prolific. He examined the Psalms, the Sa'i, the Qandāq, and the Epistles according to their Greek origin, so he checked and corrected them. He translated into Arabic the book of Christian education by Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow. He copied many manuscripts and reconciled the copies, and they came out accurate and corrected, “like well-minted dirhams, without falsities or tinsel.” (35). This includes the interpretation of the six days of creation and what was created in them since ancient times by Saint Basil the Great, which is an Arabization of Deacon Abdullah bin Al-Fadl of Antioch, and Thirty Memes by Saint Gregory the Theologian. He used to end his manuscripts with statements like these: This book was copied from an old copy and was accepted completely. He used to imprint it with his stamp and sign it, thus authorizing any printing or copying of it. Orthodox printing presses, at that time, such as the Saint George Press in Beirut, the Holy Sepulcher Press in Jerusalem, and the Arabic presses in Russia and elsewhere, were all relying on it to correct their publications and match them to the original. His seal was a seal of confidence in the field of theology, literature and culture. He used to participate in transferring from Arabic to Greek and from Greek to Arabic with Yeni Papadopoulos. He also contributed to revising the Arabic version of the Bible, known as the London edition. Faris Al-Shidyaq used to present his work, which he was doing in cooperation with the English orientalist Lee, to Father Youssef, and he would interview him on the Hebrew or Greek original and express his opinion about it.

In his written work, Father Youssef showed great perseverance, extensive research, honesty, and accuracy. He always complained about the distortion to which his editors were exposed in the printing presses.

We do not know if Father Youssef left any writings, other than some articles here and there. Perhaps he did not have the opportunity, or did not consider himself worthy, to keep up with the fathers in their productions. Rather, he was content with transmitting what they wrote, doing the work of a scrutinizing examiner in order to present to the children of the faith and what he had preserved for them their heritage, intact, accurate, without deviation, defect, or corruption.

Father Youssef and the Roman Catholics

The problem of dealing with the Melkite Roman Catholics - who were the same yesterday (36) Within the Orthodox Church - it was one of the most difficult and painful problems facing the people of the orthodox faith in the days of Father Youssef. At that time, the effort, from near or far, was focused on restoring the dissidents. For this purpose, some took the approach of coercion and political and administrative pressure, while others adopted understanding and persuasion.

Father Youssef Muhanna Al-Haddad was from the second team (37a).

He hated violence and did not agree to contact the Ottoman Empire to attack the Roman Catholics (38) And restrict them. This is not worthy nor futile. It creates division and does not restore unity.

We do not know how successful Father Youssef was in his endeavors in this direction. But what happened in the year 1857 and what followed indicated that his vision of things was more accurate than anyone else’s, more appropriate, and more useful. In that year, the Roman Catholic Patriarch, Clement, tried to impose the Western calendar on his church. Many abstained and felt alienated, and some of them began to make their way back to the mother Orthodox Church. (39). A group of them gathered led by Shibli Ayyub al-Dimashqi and his companions such as George al-Anhouri, John Frege, Musa al-Bahri, Sarkis Debbana, and Boutros al-Jahuri. These people contacted Father Youssef, and he embraced them, strengthened them, and worked hard to enlighten their followers, for three consecutive years. He also presented a book written by Shibli, which included the protests of this group. The name of the book was “The Purity of Christian Law from Astronomical Opinions,” printed by the Holy Sepulcher Press in 1858. The size of this group began to increase until it was said that had it not been for the martyrdom of Father Youssef in the 1860 massacre, he would have succeeded in restoring the remaining Roman Catholics in Damascus to the true faith. (37b).

Father Youssef and preachers of Protestantism

Father Youssef had more than one confrontation with advocates of Protestantism, most notably in Hasbaya and Rashaya, and then in Damascus in particular.

In Hasbaya, the American Protestant missionaries met (40) Success through their school that they established there. One hundred and fifty people joined them. As a result, a sharp dispute arose between these people, most of whom were Greek Orthodox, and the rest of the Greeks in Hasbaya, Rashaya, and their dependencies. He sent Patriarch Methodius (41) Father Youssef went there, where he stayed for a few months, and was able to return some of the stray flocks to the fold. He also charred the American missionaries on more than one occasion, and succeeded in stopping them at their limit. (37c).

As for Damascus, Father Youssef sought, through care, preaching, and guidance, to educate his people, alert them, and protect them against the heresies and heresies popular at the time.

What is narrated about him regarding dealing with foreign missionaries is that an English missionary, named Grimm, perhaps the oldest of them, used to meet Father Youssef and discuss with him issues of the Holy Bible. (42). Joseph realized that this Grimm began asking him questions and then distorting his answers to them, so he requested that the messengers’ questions be in writing. After they sent him several questions, he did not answer them, so they thought they had misled him. They came to him once during the first week of Lent, and he answered all their questions, one by one, with precision and persuasion until they were amazed at the accuracy of his research and the abundance of his knowledge, and his status increased in their eyes. It is said that, since that time, they gave up their campaigns and became his friends. They were happy to visit him and ask him questions, not as arguers, but as inquirers. (37d).

The first Renaissance man

There is no doubt that Father Youssef Muhanna Al-Haddad was the first renaissance man in the Antiochian Church in the nineteenth century.

Vontakih, that day, was in the event of naughty. The schism of the Melkite Catholics led to serious complications at all levels, especially pastoral ones. Protestant missionaries were active in every direction, while the Church prevailed in a state of weakness and loss coupled with poverty and ignorance. The flock was in one valley and the shepherds were in another valley. Since 1724, the Patriarchs have been strangers to the country and the suffering of its people. Antioch fell under guardianship more than before under the pretext of its possible fall into Catholicism. The See of Constantinople and the See of Jerusalem shared, in the name of Orthodoxy, the determination of its path and the appointment of its pontiffs. No priests were able not care to remember. This is how the image of Antioch was drawn: a ship tossed by the waves, threatening to break apart and sink...

Amidst these dangers and challenges, Father Youssef grew a new branch that was jealous of what belongs to God and the Church of Christ in these lands... and the renaissance began...

Father Youssef’s biography, his zeal, his piety, his poverty, his passion for knowledge, and then his diligent pastoral work, his preaching and guidance, his translations and articles, his school and his nights, all of this and more created a climate of progress that stirred the souls around him, revived the spirit and sharpened resolve. A new generation began to sprout, a new thought, a new direction. The dry bones began to come together, bone to bone, and the spirit began to enter into them (Ezekiel 37).

More than fifty of the most prominent men of the rising church studied him and were jealous of his zeal. Patriarch Meletios Doumani († 1906), the first local patriarch since 1724, was one of his students, as were Mr. Gavriil Chatila, Metropolitan of Beirut and Lebanon († 1901), and Mr. Gerasimus Yared († 1899), Metropolitan of Zahle, Saydnaya, and Maaloula, a landmark of his era, and so on. Less than ten other bishops and a large number of priests, including Archimandrite Athanasius Kassir († 1863), founder of the Balamand Clerical School, Father Spyridon Sarrouf († 1858), director of the Crucifixion School in Jerusalem and proofreader of the Holy Sepulcher’s publications, and Iconomos John Domani († 1904), creator of the Arabic printing press. in Damascus. The names also include Dimitri Shehadeh Al-Sabbagh, one of the most prominent pillars of Al-Nahda, Mikhail Kalila, Director of the Patriarchal Schools in Damascus, and Dr. Mikhail Mashaqa (†1888).

So, what Father Youssef hoped for came true, some of it during his days and some of it after his death, and he always repeated, “I was planted in the true vine of Christ in Damascus, and I am awaiting the harvest.”

All of this and more explains the statement of Mr. Gabriel Chatila, the Metropolitan of Beirut, that there are three stars in Damascus: Paul the Apostle, John of Damascus, and Youssef Muhanna Al-Haddad.

It remained for the servant of Christ to crown his life with a conclusion that matched his zeal and great love, glorifying God with it, and that was his martyrdom.

His martyrdom (43)

The massacre of the year 1860 began in Damascus, on the ninth day of July. On that day, a large number of believers took refuge in the Marian Church, after their escape routes were blocked. Among them were those who came from the villages of Hasbaya and Rashaya, where the massacre had occurred and claimed the lives of many, as well as from the villages of Western and Eastern Ghouta and Mount Hermon.

Father Youssef was keeping the sacred relic in his house, as was the custom of the priests of Damascus at that time, so he took it in his bag and went out toward the sagebrush on the rooftops of the houses, from house to house, until he reached it. He spent the rest of that day and the entire night strengthening the believers and encouraging them to face the fate if it was necessary and not to fear those who kill the body because they cannot kill the soul, and that crowns of glory were prepared for those who, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, surrendered their affairs to God. He told them the stories of the righteous martyrs and called on them to imitate them.

Then, on the morning of the next day, Tuesday, the tenth of July, a fierce attack occurred on Al-Mariyya, and the attackers began looting, killing, and burning. Many fell as martyrs, and others were able to go out into the alleys and roads. Among them was Father Youssef. He was covered with a cloak and walked a few hundred meters until he reached the area known as the Minaret of Fat. There, one of the attackers knew him and he was a scholar, and Yusuf had previously gotten into an argument with him and harbored evil plans for him. When he saw him, he shouted to those who were with him: “This is the imam of the Christians.” If we kill him, we will kill all the Christians with him!” As the man shouted these words, Father Youssef realized that his hour had approached, so he just took out the divine relic from his chest and swallowed it. Then the attackers attacked him with axes and bullets as if they were lumberjacks, until they horribly disfigured him. Then they tied him by the leg and began to parade him around the alleys and neighborhoods, dragging him on the ground until they smashed him to pieces.

This is how Father Youssef Muhanna Al-Haddad died as a martyr for Christ (44). He bore witness to Him by His labors and sleeplessness, and by His blood and pains. He participated in his suffering and was imitated in his death (Philippians 3:10), so he deserved to be crowned with his glory and dwell in his chambers. He has become an example for us to imitate, a blessing to be acquired, and a fervent intercessor with our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever, Amen.

The church celebrates it for him and his companions on July 10.

Through the prayers of our father, the martyr among the priests, Joseph of Damascus, and his companions, O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us, Amen.

Troparion in the fifth tune
Come, O believers, let us honor the martyr of Christ, the priest of the sale of Antioch. He who baptized the land of the Levant, its churches, and its people with the word of the word and his blood along with his companions, because from childhood he was imbued with the light of the Gospel, so he worked, taught, and preserved the Church of Christ and its sheep. O Joseph of Damascus, be a role model for us, a protector, and a fervent intercessor before the Savior.

Some sunset pieces
O priest of the Most High Joseph, with your preaching and your knowledge you copied many manuscripts to teach in the written letter what you taught by your preaching, and to leave preserved for those who love the Word, the Word of God. Honestly, you collected thousands of volumes in your library that were burned by your martyrdom. So, we, your praisers, are worthy to scoop from the fountain of the Word that does not burn.

Precious in the hands of the Lord is the death of His righteous man
O martyr among the priests, Joseph, when you were known to speak the word and argue with logic and science, your Lord transferred you to His service and called you, saying: O Lamb of Christ, come, O priest. The Most High has come forward! So you came to him as a poor young man full of love, perseverance, knowledge, and steadfastness in the Gospel. So, you who have accepted the gift of Christ, intercede with the merciful God to accept us as well...

God is wonderful in His saints
You created, O Joseph, the martyr, another testimony to divine love, and you built a school in which you taught the love of God theology, so that those who seek the Word might go forth as shepherds and priests who, with the staff of Christ, will shepherd his sheep. The speaker.

God has made His saints on earth a wonder.
Since you, O priest, were building the temples of the human soul with the word of the Gospel, you did not cease building the divine temples, houses for the flock of Christ that speak his name. You built the churches with paper She died and sealed it with the seal of the Trinity, bearing witness to our faith.

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(1) This is how he wrote his lineage in his own handwriting at the end of one of his manuscripts. See footnote (2) of Al-Naama magazine - June 1910 issue - p. 16.

(2) See Al-Naama magazine - July 1910 issue - p. 80.

(3) Other sources place his birth around the year 1780 (see “The Singing Kindergarten in Damascus Al-Fayha” by Numan Effendi Kassatli 1879) or in the year 1791 (see “Al-Arj Al-Zaki fi Congratulations to His Beatitude the Patriarch of Antioch…” by Amin Daher Khairallah 1899).

(4a) (4b) Father Youssef first received his education from the teacher Girgis bin Sarrouf (Seraphim) bin Elian Al-Hamawi, who was well-versed in Arabic and its literature, Greek and Turkish, and who taught at the Patriarchal School in Damascus and then became a clerk to Patriarch Anthimos (1792 - 1812). He was succeeded by the teacher, Girgis Shehadeh, the Damascene dyer. “The Asian March of a Century and a Half,” prepared by Joseph Zeitoun. September 1991. p. 52.

(5) The place of education, as it was known in the past, is a room in which students gather to a teacher who teaches them whatever he can.

(6) Al-Naama 1910 - June - p. 16.

(7a) (7b) From his biography as written by Joseph, his nephew Ibrahim, in 1884.

(8) It is useful to mention here that one of Youssef’s academic companions, in this era, was Father Nicholas of Damascus, who became a doctor and was also martyred in the 1860 massacre (Al-Naama 1910 - June - p. 18).

(9) Al-Naama 1910 - June - p. 21.

(10a) (10b) It was stated in the book “The Singing Kindergarten in Damascus Al-Fayha” by Numan Effendi Kassatli (Beirut 1879) that the Marian Church is ancient and it is believed that its foundations were laid since the days of Arcadius Caesar (395 - 408), and it was great. When the Muslims conquered Damascus, it was part of the section that Khalid bin Al-Walid seized with the sword, so the Muslims took it and neglected it, so it became ruined. When Al-Walid bin Abd al-Malik al-Umayyad assumed the caliphate (705-715), a church named after Saint John was adjacent to the Umayyad Mosque, so he took it from the Christians and attached it to the mosque. When Omar bin Abdul Aziz assumed the caliphate (717-720), he summoned the Christians to him and compensated them, in exchange for what Al-Walid had taken from them, with the Marian Church, so they reconstructed it and made it great. It remained like this until Ramadan 27 of the year 658 AH, when the Muslims rose up against the Christians and destroyed it. Then, after a while, the Christians asked for permission and rebuilt it again as it was. After that, in the year 1400 AD, it was destroyed by Tamerlane, then restored. It was built of large, extremely sturdy stones, and had large underground cellars in which a large number of those who took refuge in it were killed in 1860 AD. It was divided into two churches, the first named after the Lady and containing a beautiful icon that they called the Moskobiyya, and the second was the Church of St. Nicholas. In 1860, the Marian Church burned down and was completely destroyed. In 1861, they began to renovate it and made it into one church, about seventy cubits long and about forty wide. They took care of its construction, and it was intended for the churches of Syria and Egypt (pp. 101-102).

In addition, it is noteworthy that until the nineteenth century, in the vicinity of the Marian Church, there was a small church named after the holy martyrs Cyprian and Justina. Before it burned down in 1860, it was in ruins. Its structure was covered with a roof, and it contained a wonderful iconostasis. Mass was held in it once a year on its feast day. This was also added to the Sage when it was expanded.

(11) The preacher broke up, that is, he did amazing things.

(12) Al-Mashreq Magazine. fifth year. Issue 2. December 1, 1902. p. 1012.

(13a) (13b) Al-Naama 1910 - June - p. 23.

(14) He followed his advice, that is, he adhered to it and followed it.

(15) Same source, p. 20.

(16) Dr. Asad Rustom mentioned it in his history, “The Church of the Great City of God, Antioch,” Part Three, p. 57. He said that there, in the year 1660, the holy chrism was prepared during the time of Patriarch Makarios III, son of the leader, and then during the time of Patriarch Sylvester I, 1766 (p. 151). He said that it was underground and the patriarchs, bishops, and priests were buried there (p. 160).

(17) Joseph Zeitoun reports in his book “Al-Asiyah” (see footnote 4), citing patriarchal documents, that the school was, essentially, “similar to a bookstore, which consisted of a large room divided by a cloth curtain.” [Father Youssef] and his colleague Yeni Papadopoulos were teaching in these two rooms. He specialized in teaching Arabic, mathematics, spiritual sciences, and the principles of Greek, in addition to calligraphy, while Yeni specialized in teaching Greek and its literature. At the same time, he learned Arabic from Father Youssef, p. 54.

(18) Al-Naama 1910 - June - p. 19.

(19a) (19b) Issa Iskandar Al-Maalouf quotes one of the Russian scholars as saying about Father Youssef: “…He is the one who moved Patriarch Methodius to open a school for the people in Damascus. Rather, he was the one who caused its establishment and stability by going around the homes of Christians and urging them to send their children to it. He himself now teaches a group of young men the Arabic language, the Holy Bible, logic, and rhetoric... As for the school, it has two sections, one of which is primary, which teaches reading and writing in the old way, and it has three Arab professors. The second is linguistic, in which Arabic, Turkish, and Greek languages are taught... and it now has three hundred students. The salaries of professors are paid, some by Christians and others by the patriarchy” (Al-Nama 1910 - July - pp. 76-77).

(20) Such as the Chalcis Institute affiliated with the See of Constantinople, Athens, Petersburg, and Moscow (see “Asia” p. 55, citing patriarchal documents).

(21) Al-Naama 1910 - July - p. 83.

(22) “Church of the Great City of God, Antioch” by Asad Rustam. the third part. p. 190.

(23) Al-Naama - June 1910 - p. 19.

(24) His son Fadlallah, according to Issa Iskandar Al-Maalouf, was the mainstay of the house in his business and morals23. He traded in Damascene goods with his brother Jurji in Alexandria, and they established a large store famous for its good management (“Priest Youssef Muhanna Al-Haddad” by Joseph Zaytoun, Custodian of Patriarchal Documents, manuscript article).

(25) According to the report of the English consul in Damascus, the teacher’s salary was one lira per week.

(26) Al-Naama - June 1910 - p. 21.

(27) With the testimony of his student, the late Father Spyridon Sarrouf Al-Dimashqi (Al-Naama 1910 - July - p. 77).

(28) Grace - June - p. 23.

(29) Same source, p. 22.

(30) “The elite of literature to enlighten boys and young men.” Translated by teacher Ioannina Papadopoulos. 1867. p. 2.

(31a) (31b) Al-Naama - July 1910 - p. 75.

(32) Same source, p. 76.

(33) See footnote 26. Regarding Jerji Ilyan, see footnote 4.

(34) Date of moving to a new home.

(35) Al-Naama 1910 - July - p. 80.

(36) Before the year 1724, the year they joined under the banner of the Latin Church.

(37a) (37b) (37c) (37d) “Priest Youssef Muhanna Al-Haddad” by Joseph Zaytoun.

(38) Two incidents are referred to more specifically: the Aleppo Incident in the year 1819, during the days of Patriarch Seraphim (1813 - 1823), and the Qalalis problem, until the year 1847, during the days of Patriarch Methodius (1823 - 1850). As for the Aleppo incident, Gerasimus, the Metropolitan of Aleppo, sought, through his contact with the Ottoman authority, to force Roman Catholic priests to wear common clothing and to restrict them in matters of funerals, baptisms, and wreaths. This was followed by a long controversy, quarreling, and fighting, which resulted in the execution of twelve Roman Catholics by order of the state, the resignation of Bishop Gerasimus, and his transfer to Sidon (“The Eyewitness Scene of the Incidents in Syria and Lebanon” by Mikhail Mashaqa).

As for the problem of the robes, it is that Patriarch Seraphim, then Patriarch Methodius, sought to prevent Roman Catholic priests from wearing the robes of Greek Orthodox priests. The matter remained a debate, and a source of controversy for souls, until a royal decree was issued by Sultan Abdul Majeed, in the year 1847, requiring bishops, priests, and Catholic Melkite monks to wear a “hexagonal hood of the color of violet” and required that the color of the cap above it be violet as well. (“The History of Antioch” by Asad Rustam. Part Three. pp. 184-185).

(39) It was stated in the same source - p. 214 - that, “In the beginning of the year 1857, Clement, the Roman Catholic Patriarch, called for Western reckoning. Some accepted that and others abstained. Among those abstaining were the bishops of Beirut, Zahle, Baalbek and Sidon, Father Youhanna Habib and Father Gabriel Jabbara. The dispute intensified, so the bishops held a council in Ain al-Zouk, above Zahle, and the two priests, Youhanna Habib and Gabriel Jabbara, led a council in Astana. They arrived there in May 1859 and contacted the Council of Patriarchs held there at that time. They negotiated on behalf of their supporters in Syria and Egypt and returned to the fold of the Church by decision of the Council of Patriarchs...”

(40) In the same source, the American missionaries initially limited themselves to primary education and distributing the Gospel. Then they began to include Eastern Christians from the Romans, Maronites, and Armenians, thus forming the nucleus of an evangelical sect in Beirut (1827). They continued their missionary work, and their teachings seeped into the villages. In the year 1832, the bishops of Latakia, Tripoli, Tire and Sidon ordered the burning of Protestant publications, and this was done in public celebrations in churches (p. 192).

(41) Patriarch Methodius personally visited the Hasbaya district, due to the seriousness of the situation. (Rustom - p. 193).

(42) Al-Naama - July 1910 - p. 78.

(43) The account of the martyrdom of Father Youssef, with its details, is drawn from his biography as compiled by Youssef, his nephew Ibrahim, in the year 1884 at the request of the good man Dimitri Shehadeh al-Sabbagh. It is preserved in the Patriarchal Library in Damascus and is known as “Document 264.” It should be noted that the biographer is merely conveying, in his words, what he heard from his father or what he knew personally about the martyr, since he was his student and accompanied him most of the time, throughout his life in school and until the day of the incident.

(44) On October 8, 1993, the Holy Synod of Antioch, meeting in the Patriarchal Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand, took the following decision:

“The Church of Antioch, which lived by the holiness of the saints and bore witness to it, today sees itself thirsting to be renewed by them, and it is aware of itself being “surrounded by a dense cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1).

The Church of Antioch feels itself drawn to one of these witnesses, Father Youssef Muhanna Al-Haddad, who preached, taught, and spread the light of knowledge of theology. He was poor, deep in faith, patient, meek, humble, compassionate, gentle, and crowned his life with the glory of martyrdom in Damascus on the tenth of July 1860. So he came. He gave his blood and the Spirit breathed into him (see Matthew 10:20, Mark 13:10). As we contemplated his biography and “the halo of God’s glory” upon him (Revelation 21:11), “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (Acts 15:8) to declare His Holiness Father Joseph Muhanna Al-Haddad, and we set the date of the tenth of July of every year as a memorial to “the saint, the martyr in... “Priests Joseph of Damascus and his company.”

A booklet had been published that included the saint’s biography and a complete liturgical service for him, some of which we have included in the body of this book. His Beatitude, our father, Mr. Ignatius IV (Hazeem), introduced the biography with a statement that reads as follows:

“Awesome is God in His saints”

The census in the Church is the census of its saints. In the circles of the Holy Church, many words upon words, one generous word upon another, and zeal where is the zeal of Elijah the Prophet. But the church is in its holiness and therefore in its saints, for in them God is glorified and the Lord Jesus Christ is glorified. The quality of holiness and love. Because God is love. Mere words are not love, and mere words are not love. Both are often an expression of love, not love itself. In Christ alone, in the incarnate Word alone, “the word became an act,” and the expression became one with what is expressed, and the word became an existence.

Saint Father Youssef Muhanna Al-Haddad, whose intercession we ask for, is counted among the saints today. He priested for the Lord and no one else. He taught and did not teach about himself. He wrote and did not say who he was, but rather told of the Lord, the Master, before whom every knee in heaven and on earth bows. He is married, but his marriage is in and for the church. The priest, his wife, his children, and the priest of the people were a brother, a father, and a guide, a tireless worker: he was for God and for his church, and the church was not for him. He gave her everything and did not “covet” anything from her, neither for himself, nor for his wife, nor for his children, nor for anyone else. However, he was in everything for the living church and for the people he cared for.

Saint Father Joseph did not leave anything on earth except a dismembered body that was nourished by the offering so that it became an offering.