Talk:Mar Shimun XXI Benyamin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is within the scope of the WikiProject Assyria, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of Assyrian-related topics. If you would like to participate, or visit the project page. |
| Stub | This article has been rated as Stub-Class on the project's quality scale. |
| Top | This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. |
 |
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page. | ||
| Stub | This article has been rated as Stub-Class on the project's quality scale. [FAQ] | ||
 |
An appropriate infobox may need to be added to this article, or the current infobox may need to be updated. Please refer to the list of biography infoboxes for further information. |
 |
This page is within the scope of WikiProject Oriental Orthodoxy, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to articles on the Oriental Orthodox Church on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion. | |
 |
This article may need an appropriate infobox template. | |
| Stub | This article has been rated as Stub-Class on the Project's quality scale. (If you rated the article please give a short summary at comments to explain the ratings and/or to identify the strengths and weaknesses.) |
|
[edit] Copyright
This text can be found for instance at zyworld.com. Apparently, it's from The Progressive Assyrian, as stated, and authored by Moneer Cherie. The edit by 203.194.4.245 claims that this was posted to Wikipedia by the author, so copyright should be ok. Rvollmert 10:58, 2004 Aug 22 (UTC)
The text is very POV, though it might be useful for a neutral article at some point. I've moved it here:
Mar Benyamin Shimon XXI, the Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, was born in 1887 in the village of Quchanis in the district of Hakkari, Turkey. He was consecrated a Metropolitan on March 1, 1903 by the late Mar Rowil Catholicos Patriarch who Passed away on March 16, 1903. He, consequently, succeeded his predecessor at the age of eighteen, and thus, occupied the patriarchal See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon at Quchanis for 15 years. His mother's name was Asyat, the daughter of Kambar of Eyil, an Assyrian Malik (Chief) and also a deacon in the Eastern Church.
His father's name was Eshai (Jesse), a blood member of the patriarchal family. He received his early education under a prominent scholar from Tkhooma, by the name of David, who was a first deacon in the Eastern Church and was later elevated to the office of a bishop and named Bishop Aprim. In addition to his great scholarship, Bishop Aprim was also known for his piety and devotion. No better instructor, therefore, could have educationally and spiritually reared the future Patriarch of the East. He also took advantage of the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury's mission representatives in Quchanis, and gained not a little knowledge from those learned missionaries, his great office, besides its requirements in theological and ecclesiastical training, made it incumbent upon him to make himself familiar with political science and world's diplomacy. He was fortunate in this realm of study, by having able English tutors who were deeply interested in the natural aspirations of his people, as well as in capable men were selected for the office of a bishop, irrespective of their degrees or family affiliations. During his incumbency as a Patriarch, he had prevented one of his own nephews from being dedicated to become his successor, making known his desire that even the Patriarch of the Eastern Church should thereafter be made the choice of the flock, and be selected by the church. the spiritual welfare of his church. It has been conceded that, with the exception of "Mar Shimon the second," known by the distinguishing name of "Bar Sabbaee," and whose incumbency and martyrdom took place during the reign of Shapur the Magi, in the fourth century, a greater man then Mar Benyamin has not occupied the Patriarchal see of the Eastern Church. He possessed a most wonderful personality, which inspired both fear and love at the same time. It was his great magnetism that impelled both reverence and allegiance from all sectarian elements of his people, who had for more than a generation left their former fold, and affiliated themselves with other religious beliefs. His personality thus became a centre, around which all the Assyrians rallied and presented a united front, both in the emergencies of the war, and in the pursuit of their national aspirations. Had he been spared the bullet of the assassin, and had the promises made to the Assyrians by their allies been fulfilled, Mar Benyamin, by common consent of all the people, would have been proclaimed either as a king or as the first president of the Assyrian nation.
All truly great men are humble and meek. Such was the young Patriarch of the East. The Russian generals gave him the homage of a king, and the little children would run to him as to a loving father. He elicited the admiration of the Grand Duke of Russia, who in conversing with his visitor felt as if he was in the presence of a crowned king, and he made himself the idol of his people, by the attention he paid to the poorest and the humblest of his flock. He rode in the imperial carriage and received the welcome given to a Czar, when he visited Tiflis, and he, at sight of the weary refugees of his people, whom he found limping on the roads, took their place by walking afoot and gave them the horse he had mounted. He was considered the most handsome man in the Assyrian nation: and yet, back of those charming features there lay beauty of his character. The constant smile in his face radiated the sunshine of his soul. As a sincere Christian he commanded with authority, and yet his rebukes were fatherly, mingled with kindness and mercy. Undoubtedly, it was the sweet charm of his character that endeared him to all classes and all religious colours of the Assyrian nation. The Roman Catholics and the Protestants revered and loved him for his noble and love inspiring traits, and were forced to acknowledge him as their leader.
He possessed a most liberal mind, with the authority of a Patriarch he could have preserved the ecclesiastical fence, which for centuries had protected his church against intrusion and proselyte efforts; but with his democratic tendencies and broad mindedness he removed the fences, and gave freedom of thought and belief to his flock. One intense desire of his heart was that his people should be educated and enlightened; and with a most generous heart he removed all obstacles in the path of the various missionary bodies. The early custom of the Eastern Church was to select for the office of bishop worthy men from monasteries and theological schools; but with the conquest of Islam, which destroyed both the monasteries and schools, and with the retreat of the Assyrians into the fastnesses of the mountains for self preservation, the ancient custom inevitable ceased. And in order to maintain the religious system and carry on the church work, the existing bishops selected their successors from among their own kin, and dedicated them for the sacred office from their infancy.
Mar Benyamin, however, installed a new system, by which the most worthy and Notwithstanding his youthful age, he towered over all the leaders of his people in wisdom and statesmanship. Ever conscious, however, of his better judgment he never failed to consult his inferiors. He was open to conviction and ready to receive council and advice from others. He was barren of pride, and a living example of unselfishness. By his conduct he taught service and sacrifice. He thought Immeasurably more of the relief and the uplift of his people than of all the honors that were heaped upon him. Human nature is susceptible to the perils of applause, and the greatest of men have often succumbed to the allurements of praise; but Mar Benyamin always emerged like the Hebrew exile from such pits and furnaces, untouched by lions, and unscathed by fire.
His love of humanity gave him the tenderest heart toward his enemies. His constant advise to his officers and men was, to acquit themselves like Christian, and not return evil for evil. In the fearful whirlpool of the Great War he never forgot to demonstrate the reality of the Christian religion, as well as its superiority over all other religions. The great love of his heart made him believe all men; and it was this credulity that led him to his assassination and death.
Thus, the great Patriarch, like his great predecessor, laid down his life upon the alter of his Christian faith, and for the salvation of his afflicted people Mar Shimon Bar Sabbaee, as the first Mar Shimon of the East Church, received his crown of Martyrdom at the hands of Persian Magi, who had sworn to eradicate the name of Christianity from the face of their empire, on the last Friday in the month of March, in the year 340, and in a southern province of Persia; while Mar Shimon Benyamin, as the sixteenth incumbent of the same See, and with the same name, drank the same cup, which was now prepared by the Moslems of Persia, who had likewise sworn to exterminate the followers of the same faith in Persia, on the first Saturday in March, in the year 1918, and in a northern province of Persia. And yet how incomprehensible, even though infallible, the wondrous ways of God!
An ungodly nation still remains like an unbroken rib in the giant body in the wild beast of Islam, while a Christian nation of numberless martyrs, barely retains its national existence. There is but one solution, and only one. It is not the present possessions the count, but rather, the everlasting armies of the redeemed, gathered and prepared for the glorious, and certainly not distant, day when the rightful owner of the earth shall descend with his saints to challenge the authority of Satan, bind the great enemy of God and mankind, and transform a Paradise lost into Paradise regained! Within two months after the death of Mar Benyamin, his brother, Mar Polous, was chosen by the Church, and consecrated to succeed the lamented Patriarch. The elevation of Mar Polous Shimon to the Patriarchal See, took place in the presence of a vast audience in the Church of Marte Maryam, in the city of Urmia, on the 15th day of April, 1918. Thus Urmia, as a Babylon of Islam, witnessed, for the first time in its history, the consecration of successor to the man it had so treacherously betrayed and slain! It was the custom of the Patriarch to keep moving among his people. The impending troubles of Urmia had prolonged the usual period of his stay there. The enemy having been punished and forced to sign the peace treaty, on the Assyrians terms, Mar Shimon made preparation to depart for Salamas and be in the midst of another part of his exiled flock. The news of his intended departure had, of course, preceded him by several days, and had reached the ears of Tabriz authorities.
In Salamas at this time resided a notorious brigand by the name of Simko. He was undoubtedly the most dreaded, by the Persian authorities, of all the Kurdish chieftains of the Eastern Kurdistan, and was regarded as the strongest of them all. Through the game of diplomacy he managed to be alternately now on the Persian side and then again on the Turkish side. At the time of Russian occupation of the State of Azerbaijan, the notorious brigand had surprised his coreligionists, and fought on the side of the Allies as well. He was once captured by the Russian soldiers and taken to Tiflis as a prisoner. But before the collapse of Russia he had succeeded in gaining the favor of the Russian military authorities to secure his freedom, and to bring back with him a considerable supply of arms and ammunition, on the promise that he would use his available force against the Turks. After the Russians had completely withdrawn from Persia, Simko so far as Persia was concerned, because supreme, and since the days of Shah Abbas, no monarch had exercised as great an authority over the boundary lands of the northwest Persia. The Persia government, of which he was a subject, he had defied, as he could always defy; and so far as the Turks were concerned, he knew he could play the game again by telling them that he was forced into the service of Russia against his will. Simko had one fear only, and that had always risen from the Assyrian marksmen of Targawar, even though they were inferior to his men in numbers. But now that the Assyrian warriors of the hills were also present in Persia, he had become a peaceful subject, and had apparently chosen to live out and far from his old nest of lawlessness in the mountains of Bradoost and Somaie. It was this man that the Persian authorities used as a tool in their hands for the assassination of Mar Shimon. And after he had committed the dastardly deed, he was told, if the Turks failed to make their appearance in Persia by that time, he could escape into the interior of the country and remain there unmolested. Mar Shimon and his bodyguard of two hundred horsemen arrived in Salamas during the last week of February 1918.
His own people, and the Armenians welcomed him as well. Even the Moslems of Salamas vied with the Christians in the bestowal of honors upon him. Shortly after his arrival, two emissaries of the Persian authorities of Tabriz visited him. They reminded him of the letter he had written several months before to the Tabriz authorities, expressing his good will toward the Persian government, and requesting the latter that he arid his people be allowed to reside in Persia as their temporary guests. They officially informed the Patriarch of the "deep appreciation" that was felt by the Persian authorities of the contents of his beatitude's letter, and that how those authorities had been "glad to serve a humanitarian cause," by gladly opening the gates of their country, to give the Assyrian Christians a place of refuge. But, the emissaries added, in as much as the Persian authorities desired to see those boundary lands in perfect peace and tranquility, and in as much as they would no longer countenance any local Moslem agitations and uprisings against the Christians, they thought that it would be for the interest of peace, if the only source of trouble that might disturb the tranquility of the country, as eliminated. And that, in as much as the Kurdish chieftain had indicated to the Persian authorities, a strong desire to come to an understanding with the Assyrians, it would absolutely insure the desired end, if his beatitude could like-wise assure Simko and his followers of his friendly attitude toward the latter as well. It is a short distance between Deleman, the capital of Salamas, where Mar Shimon's brothers and sister resided, and Kohna Shahar, where Simko had established his new headquarters. Before the former city attained the dignity of a capital, the latter had the honor of being both the centre of business and the seat of the government, and for that very reason the old municipality still retains the name of "Ancient City". Kohna Shahar had a large Armenian population. The latter had been wise to the setting of the trap for the assassination of Mar Shimon. They had now a common interest with the Assyrians. They were to parish or survive with their Christian co-religionists. They secretly appraised the Patriarch of Islam's plot, and pleaded with him not to meet Simko, unless the latter came to Deleman to meet him. From the viewpoint of political etiquette, it was indeed the place of Simko to have called on Patriarch. But the latter, ever anxious to avoid bloodshed and maintain peace with his Moslem neighbors, and ever ready to exhibit the spirit of his Christian profession, with his characteristic humility declared his decision to visit Simko in his own headquarters. The warnings of the Armenians, the pleading of his on people, and the tears of his nearest relatives could not persuade him to alter his decision. He was as fearless as he was meek and lowly. The Moslem element of Deleman was, of course, aware of the plot, and with satanic interest they were watching the road over which, either Simko was to seal the doom of conspiracy by coming to the commander-in-chief of the Assyrian forces, or the Christian Patriarch, prompted by the high qualities of his Christian profession, was to be led like a lamb to the slaughter. And the Tabriz authorities lost sight for a moment of the gigantic struggle that was going on between the mighty armies of Europe; the result of which might mean to them either the supremacy of the downfall of Islam in Asia, and intently fastened their eyes upon the scene, where the awful tragedy of their own creation and planning was to be enacted. On the 3rd day of March 1918, the Patriarch sat in his carriage, and with a bodyguard of one hundred and fifty horsemen started for the headquarters of the Kurdish chieftain. He went to assure the notorious brigand that he could remain absolutely certain of the peaceful attitude of the Assyrians, provided his own men indulged no longer in deeds of violence and lawlessness, But was not this noble and Christian attitude of a great Patriarch equivalent to the giving of bread to the dogs and the casting of pearls before the swine'?
The news of Mar Shimon's departure preceded him; and before his arrival, the great assassin, who could hardly believe the report, stationed seven hundred of his best marksmen in concealed and commanding position, with the order to shoot simultaneously at the sight of the Patriarch, when he emerged from the house of their chieftain after the visit. No servant could have received his master with a greater honor. The Patriarch was escorted into the house, two of his bodyguard accompanied him within. The others remained outside. The apparent absence of the Kurds from the environs of their chieftain's took the Assyrians off their guards. In the course of the friendly interview between the Patriarch and the Kurdish chief, one of the men who had accompanied Mar Shimon into the house, noticed from the window the presence of the concealed Kurds on the surrounding roofs. Realizing the full import of the situation, the attendant said to the Patriarch, in Assyrian: "My Lord, our end is certain, permit me to kill this man (Simko) just to avenge the blood that will surely be shed, "The Patriarch, with an incredulous smile, bade his attendant be calm. "My lord," repeated the Assyrian guard, they will surely kill us all, let me kill him, perhaps we can save your life!" The Patriarch restrained his attendant again. He arose to depart, accompanied by Simko to the door. The latter shook the hand of the guest, and went back into the house. And just as Mar Shimon was seated in his carriage, surrounded by his bodyguard, the seven hundred Kurds FIRED, all simultaneously, into the group of their unsuspected victims, only six of these men escaped, with wounds in their bodies, to give the news of the tragedy, and tell the story of the Patriarch"s assassination. It has now been decreed by His Holiness Mar Dinakha IV Catholics Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, that a commemoration of Mar Benyamin Shimon shall be observed yearly by the Assyrian Church throughout the world, on the first Sunday that falls before the Sunday entering in, or beginning of the Lent.
from Volume 17 No1.The Progressive Assyrian
