| Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII | |
|---|---|
| His Holiness | |
Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII |
|
| Church | Assyrian Church of the East |
| Diocese | Patriarchal Diocese of the Eastern United States |
| See | Apostolic See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (in exile in San Jose and Chicago) |
| Enthroned | 1920 |
| Reign ended | 5 November 1975 |
| Predecessor | Mar Shimun XXII Paulos (1918–1920) |
| Successor | Mar Dinkha IV (since 1976) |
| Opposed to | Mar Thoma Darmo (1968–1969) and Mar Addai II (1970–1975) (Ancient Church of the East) |
| Orders | |
| Rank | Catholicos-Patriarch |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 February 1908 Konak, Hakkari, Turkey |
| Died | 6 November 1975 (aged 67) San Jose, California, United States |
| Nationality | Assyrian (Iraqi) |
| Denomination | Christian, Assyrian Church of the East |
| Residence | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Spouse | Wife (married 1973) |
| Children | Two |
| Occupation | Cleric |
Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII (born 28 February 1908, Konak, Hakkari, Turkey - assassinated 6 November 1975, San Jose, California, United States), sometimes known as Mar Shimun XXI Ishaya, Mar Shimun Ishai, or Simon Jesse,[1] was Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East from 1920, when he was a youth, until his assassination on 6 November 1975. (The difference in regnal numbers depends on which members of the Shimun family one counts as Patriarchs; Mar Eshai chose to use the regnal number XXIII.)
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Born into the patriarchal family in Qudshanis, in the village of Van, in Ottoman Turkey in 1908, at the age of 11 Mar Eshai was chosen as patriarch after the death of his uncle during the Assyrian Genocide. He was educated in England, studying theology at Canterbury and at Westcott House, University of Cambridge.[1] He was the translator or author of several books on the theology and history of the Church of the East. The volatile political environment and uncertainties for the church caused in 1933 by the independence of Iraq from colonial rule forced the patriarch's relocation to Cyprus. In 1940, he relocated again, to Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Mar Eshai became an American citizen about 1949 and settled in the San Francisco area in 1954.
In 1964, a dispute over hereditary succession and church calendars caused the metropolitan of the Church of the East in India (known there as the Chaldean Syrian Church) to break away. In 1995 Mar Eshai's successor, Mar Dinkha IV, was able to heal the rift. A small group (the Ancient Church of the East) remains separated from the main body of the Church of the East.
Mar Eshai sought to resign as patriarch for health reasons in the late 1960s, but he was persuaded to remain in office. Some activists within the church wanted the patriarch to take a more active role in pushing for a homeland for the Assyrian people, as he had before 1933.
On a separate track, the patriarch became convinced that nothing in the canon law of the Church of the East prohibited the patriarch from marrying. He married in August 1973. Following his marriage, church leaders called for a council to decide the future of the patriarchate. The council was scheduled for 19 November 1975, but was rescheduled for 5 January 1976. On 6 November 1975, the patriarch was shot and killed at the door of his home in San Jose, California, by David Malek Ismail.[2] According to trial records, Ismail said he was upset over the patriarch's marriage; however, the records suggest links between Ismail and church dissidents. According to Deputy District Attorney Brian Madden, the murder of the patriarch Mar Shimun was the outcome of a plot among church dissidents.
When the church council met in London on 17 October 1976, it elected as patriarch Mar Dinkha IV (who had been bishop of Tehran).
| Preceded by Mar Shimun XXII Paulos |
Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East 1920–1975 |
Succeeded by Mar Dinkha IV Khanania |