He was born in 1921 in the city of Mahardah, Hama Governorate, Syria, to a religious Orthodox family. Since his childhood, his love for the church attracted him to it and he was diligent in serving in it. He studied literature in Lebanon and while studying literature he joined the service in the local Orthodox bishopric. At first he served as an assistant to the priest in the Divine Liturgy, then he became a deacon.
In 1945 he traveled to Paris, France, where he studied and graduated from St. Sergius Theological Institute. St. Sergius Orthodox Theological InstituteAfter this time spent in France, he returned not only with a desire to remain steadfast in the faith but also to take Orthodoxy out of its historical minority by discovering and clarifying the living sacred tradition that answers and clarifies the questions and problems of contemporary life.
After his return to Lebanon, he worked to establish the Balamand Theological Institute, where he served for many years as dean of the institute.
As the dean of the institute, he made every effort to make the Patriarch the greatest responsible person, spiritual guide and intellectual supervisor, and we bear witness to his vigilance and depth of faith.
Besides being a native Arabic speaker, he is fluent in English and French. He was one of the founders of Orthodox Youth Movement In Syria and Lebanon in 1942, through which assistance was provided to organize and renew church life in the Patriarchate of Antioch.
The movement worked in the heart of the Church with the help of the bishop to rebuild the human being and social relations, and most importantly the relationship of the believer with the Church and the divine mysteries, especially the practice of receiving the “Holy Eucharist,” which people rarely practiced.
Based on this, in 1953 he helped establish the International Orthodox Youth Association and the Theological School.
In 1961 he was a member of the Holy Synod of Bishops and in 1970 he was elected Metropolitan of Lattakia Governorate in Syria. As Metropolitan of Lattakia he led a renaissance in the Church and restored it to the purity of the early Church, preserving the tradition.
On July 2, 1979, under the name Ignatius IV, he was elected successor to the Apostles Peter and Paul on the throne of the great city of God, Antioch. After his election as Patriarch, he said his famous words:
I know that I will be held accountable if I do not carry the Church and each one of you in my heart. Nor can I address you if I am different from you. There is no difference between us. I am an integral part of you. I am in you and I ask you to be in me. The Lord comes and the spirit of brotherhood that unites the nations in the Eucharist comes with the power of the Holy Spirit.
I know that I will be judged if I do not carry the Church and each one of you in my heart. It is not possible for me to address you as if I were different from you. No difference separates us. I am an integral part of you; I am in you and I ask you to be in me. For the Lord comes, and the Spirit descends upon the brothers gathered, united in communion, as they manifest a diversity of charisms in the unity of the Spirit.
As a patriarch, he sought to give new dynamism to the Holy Synod, looking to ordain bishops who are close to the people and who seek to develop the Church and spiritual life, far from political positions and the fleeting matters of life.
He fell asleep in the Lord on December 5, 2012.
Translated freely from the original article on the website orthodoxwiki
