| Simon VII Awad (سمعان السابع عوّاد) |
|
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch | |
| Church | Maronite Church |
| See | Patriarch of Antioch |
| Appointed | March 16, 1743 |
| Enthroned | October 11, 1743 |
| Reign ended | February 12, 1756 |
| Predecessor | Joseph Dergham El Khazen |
| Successor | Tobias El Khazen |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 10, 1708 (Priest) |
| Consecration | January 27, 1716 (Bishop) by Jacob Awad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1683 Hasroun, Lebanon |
| Died | February 12, 1756 (aged 72–73) |
Simon VII Awad (or Sim'an Awwad, Auwad, Aouad, Arabic: سمعان السابع عوّاد, Latin: Simeon Evodius), 1683–1756, was the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch from 1743 to his death in 1756.
Simon Awad was born in 1683 in Hasroun, Lebanon. From 1696 to 1707 he studied in Rome and at his return in Lebanon, on June 10, 1708, he was ordained priest by his uncle patriarch Jacob Awad, who reigned from 1705 to 1733, and whom he served as secretary.[1] On January 27, 1716 he was consecrated bishop of Damascus, always by his uncle.[2] Simon Awad played a leading role in the 1736 Maronite Synod of Mount-Lebanon.
At the death of Patriarch Joseph Khazen, who died on May 13, 1742, the bishops who attended the funeral met and elected Simon Awad as Patriarch, but Simon refused for humility. The bishops so elected the bishop of Arka, Elias Mohasseb. Bishops Tobias El Khazen and Ignace Chrabai were absent from the meeting, perhaps not invited, and opposed the election of Elias. These two bishops ordained two new bishops and held a new election among themselves, electing Tobias El Khazen as Patriarch and splitting the Church. To keep the Church united, the Pope Benedict XIV took the extraordinary initiative to deal directly into the affairs of the Maronite Church, and on March 16, 1743 he choose Simon Awad in place of the two pretenders. This decision was communicated to a synod of all the Maronite bishops held on October 7, 1743 and was unanimously accepted. Thus Simon Awad was enthroned patriarch on October 11, 1743[3] and he received the pallium from the Pope on July 3, 1744.
Simon Awad summoned a Maronite synod on November 28–30, 1755 at Qannubin Monastery to implement the decrees of the 1736 Maronite Synod of Mount-Lebanon. The synod issued fifteen canons which anyway did not fully implemented the 1736 Maronite Synod. The other main issue of Simon's patriarchate was the visionary nun Hindiyya al-'Ujaimi, which became soon opposed by the Jesuits. Simon ordered initially an internal investigation, and based on its results he sided with Hindiyya. The complains against the nun anyway went on, and on 1752 Pope Benedict XIV ordered an inspection, carried out by a Franciscan, Desiderio da Casabasciana, who, initially hostile, became himself a supporter of Hindiyya.[4] The case of Hindiyya endured under the next two patriarchs.
Simon Awad died on February 12, 1756 in El-Midane (Jezzine District) where he lived most of his life and where he founded the monastery of the Lady of Machmoucheh, in which he was buried.[1]
Simon Awad is rememberer as an Arab writer. His main works are:[2]