| His Beatitude Mar Ignatius Gabriel I Tappuni |
|
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syrians | |
| Church | Syrian Catholic Church |
| See | Antioch |
| Enthroned | July 15, 1929 |
| Reign ended | January 29, 1968 |
| Predecessor | Ignatius Ephrem II Rahmani |
| Successor | Ignatius Antony II Hayyek |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | Nov 3, 1902 (Priest) |
| Consecration | Jan 19, 1913 (Bishop) by Ephrem II Rahmani |
| Created Cardinal | December 16, 1935 |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Abdul-Ahad Dawood Tappuni |
| Born | November 3, 1879 Mosul, Iraq |
| Died | January 29, 1968 (aged 88) Beirut, Lebanon |
Mar Ignatius Gabriel I Tappuni (Arabic: جبرائيل تبّوني, French: Ignace-Gabriel I Tappouni) (November 3, 1879—January 29, 1968) was a leading prelate of the Syriac Catholic Church. He served as Patriarch of Antioch from 1929 and 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935.
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Born Abdul-Ahad Dawood Tappuni, Baptized as Leo Gabriel, Tappuni was born in Mosul (in modern Iraq) and there studied at the Syro-Chaldean Dominican Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood on November 3, 1902, taking the name Dominic. After teaching at the same seminary until 1908, Tappuni was then made Secretary of the Apostolic Delegation to Mesopotamia.
On September 12, 1912, he was appointed Titular Bishop of Danaba and the Chaldean Apostolic Vicar of Mardin. Tappuni was reassigned to Titular Bishop of Batnae dei Siri on January 19, 1913, which was the same date he received his episcopal consecration from Patriarch Ignatius Ephrem II Rahmani. At his consecration he took the name Theophile Gabriel. During World War I, he was imprisoned by the Ottoman Turks in Aleppo during an Ottoman campaign to slaughter Christians. Many people attempted to interfere and negotiate for Tappuni's release, including Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria.
After his release, he was named Archbishop of Aleppo by Patriarch Rahmani on February 24, 1929. On 24 June of the same year, Tappuni was unanimously chosen by the Syrian Synod to replace the late Rahmani as Patriarch of Antioch and thus leader of the Syriac Catholic Church. Pope Pius XI confirmed his election on the following July 15, and created him Cardinal Priest of Ss. XII Apostoli by Pope Pius XI in the consistory of December 16, 1935. Tappuni, who took the name Ignatius Gabriel, was the first Eastern Rite prelate to be raised to the College of Cardinals since the reign of Pope Pius IX.
Tappuni was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 1939 papal conclave, which selected Pope Pius XII, and again voted in the 1958 conclave, which selected Pope John XXIII. From 1962 to 1965, he attended the Second Vatican Council, and sat on its Board of Presidency. After serving as a cardinal elector in the 1963 conclave, Tappuni resigned his cardinalatial church on February 11, 1965.
He died in Beirut at age 88, and is buried at the Syriac Catholic cathedral there.
Theologically conservative, Tappuni urged Cardinal Giuseppe Siri to put forward his candidacy at the conclave of 1963.