Joseph Estephan

Joseph VI Estephan
(يوسف السادس اسطفان)
Patriarch of Antioch
Church Maronite Church
See Patriarch of Antioch
Elected June 9, 1766
Reign ended April 22, 1793
Predecessor Tobias El Khazen
Successor Michael Fadel
Orders
Consecration August 1754 (Bishop)
by Simon Awad
Personal details
Born 1729
Ghosta, Lebanon
Died April 22, 1793 (aged 63–64)

Joseph VI Estephan (1729–1793), (or Yusuf Istifan, Stephan, Arabic: يوسف السادس اسطفان‎), was the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch from 1766 until his death in 1793.

Life

Joseph Estephan was born in the village of Ghosta, in the Keserwan District, Lebanon in 1729. He studied in Rome in the College of the Propaganda where he remained from 1739 to 1751. Returned in Lebanon, on May 21, 1752 he was ordained priest by his uncle, bishop John Estephan, and in August 1754 he was consecrated bishop of Beirut by Patriarch Simon Awad.[1][2]

His uncle, John Estephan, participated to the 1736 Concil of Mount-Lebanon and in 1742 became bishop of Beirut. In 1754 John Estephan retired in order to let his nephew, Joseph, to be appointed bishop of the same town.[3] Joseph Estephan remained bishop of Beirut till 1762, when he quarreled with Patriarch Tobias El Khazen, because he refused to support the uncanonical arrangement of dioceses decided by Tobias,[4] and also cause he was accused to be ordained bishop at 23 years in place of 25 years as Joseph Estephan always claimed.[2]

After Tobias' death, Joseph Estephan was elected patriarch on June 9, 1766, and confirmed by Pope Clement XIII on April 6, 1767. He summoned a synod in Ghosta in 1768 concerning the distribution of the tithes, issue on which he collided with many bishops who complained with Propaganda Fide.[4] The main complains against him were anyway caused by his strong support to the visionary nun Hindiyya al-'Ujaimi. The Jesuits, as well as some Maronites, became more and more mistrustful of her doctrine and personal cult, and finally obtained from Rome an inspection carried out in 1775 by Pietro Craveri of Moretta (1726–1801). Following the advices of Moretta, on July 17, 1779 Pope Pius VI issued a decree stating that Hindiyya is deluded and her revelations and doctrines false. Moreover the Pope suspended the Joseph Estephan from all functions (apart the episcopal appointments and consecrations) and nominated Michael El Khazen[5] as Vicar.

Joseph Estephan, known the news, tried to travel to Rome, but his health forced him to stop at Mount Carmel. In the meantime Michel Khazen summoned a synod, on July 21, 1780 in which he not even invited Estephan. This situation lasted till the young secretary of Pietro Craveri of Moretta, Joseph Tyan, took it upon himself to travel to Rome, against the will of Craveri, to plead Estephan's case. On September 28, 1784 Propaganda Fide restored Joseph Estephan in all his functions.[6]

Restored as Patriarch, Joseph Estephan summoned other two synods, the first on September 6–11, 1786 at 'Ain-Caqiq, which was not approved by Rome, and the second, approved, at Berke from December 3–18, 1790 under the presidency of Germanos Adam. On January 14, 1789 Joseph Estephan converted the convent of 'Ain-Warqa into a seminary. He died on April 22, 1793.

Notes

  1. ^ Dau, Butros (1984). Religious, cultural and political history of the Maronites. Lebanon. pp. 564–569. http://books.google.com/books?id=7CbZAAAAMAAJ. 
  2. ^ a b Graf, Georg (1960). "107. Joseph Stephan". Geschichte der christlichen arabischen Literatur, Volume 3. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. pp. 459–460. 
  3. ^ de Clercq, Charles (1949). Histoire des conciles d'après les documents originaux, Tome XI Conciles des Orientaux Catholiques. 1. Paris: Letouzey et Ané. p. 279. 
  4. ^ a b Leeuwen, Richard (1994). Notables and Clergy in Mount Lebanon: the Khazin Sheiks and the Maronite Church. Boston: Brill Academic Publishers. p. 134. ISBN 9004099786. 
  5. ^ Michel Khazen was consecrated bishop of Caesarea on Nov 15, 1767 by Estephan, and died on 1786
  6. ^ Dib, Pierre (2001). Histoire des Maronites: L'église maronite du XVIe siècle à nos jours, Volume 3. Libairie Orientale. pp. 205–216. ISBN 9789953170053.