Flavianus Michael Malke

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Michael Malke
Bishop of the Diocese of Gazireh
See Diocese of Gazireh
In office 19 Januari 1913—August 28, 1915
Predecessor Julius Behnam Aqrawi
Successor Suppressed
Orders
Ordination 13 May 1883
by Ignatius George V Shelhot
Consecration 19 Januari 1913
by Ignatius Ephrem II Rahmani
Personal details
Born 1856
Qal'at Mara
Died 1915 (aged 55–56)
Cizre

Mar Flavianus Michael Malke (Syriac: ܦܠܒܝܐܢܘܣ ܡܝܟܐܝܠ ܡܠܟܝ, Flabyanus Mekael Malke), (1856–1915) was the Syrian Catholic bishop of Gazarta (modern Cizre).[1]

Biography

Jacob Malke was born in Qal'at Mara, a village to the east of Mardin, to a Syriac Orthodox family which hails from Kharput. In 1868 he joined the Saffron Monastery where he studied Syriac, Arabic and Turkish beside theology. He was consecrated a deacon in 1878 and a secretary of the library and a teacher in the monastery's school.[2]

He leaned towards Catholicism and subsequently joined the Syriac Catholic Charafe Monastery school spending four years. He was ordained a priest in Aleppo in 13 May 1883 and was assigned to various villages in Tur Abdin. His church and house were sacked and burned during the massacres of 1895 which also led to the murder of many members of his parish including his mother.[3] The following years he served as a visiting priest in several sacked villages in Tur Abdin where he helped with the rebuilding efforts. Due to his works, Malke was ordained Chorbishop in 1897 and vice bishop of Mardin and Gazarta. In 19 Januari 1913 he was consecrated a bishop together with the future patriarch Gabriel Tappuni in Beirut.[3]

In the summer of 1915, during the height of the Assyrian Genocide, in the rural region Tur Abdin, Malke, who was in Azakh at the time, returned to Gazarta upon hearing news of an impending massacre against the Christians there and refused to flee despite being advised so by local Muslim leaders. He was arrested by Ottoman authorities in 28 August 1915, alongside the Chaldean bishop of the city, Philippe-Jacques Abraham. According to Muslim eyewitnesses they were given choice between death or conversion to Islam the next day, upon their refusal, Jacques Abraham was immediately shot dead, Michael Malke was beaten until he became unconscious and was afterwards beheaded.[3]

Canonisation

In 2010 the Syriac Catholic Patriarch launched a request for the beatification of Michael Malke. He was declared Servant of God by the Holy See, which is the first step towards sainthood.[4] [5]

On Sunday September 30, 2012. A report was submitted to Rome by the Syriac Catholic Patriarch for Mar Michael Malke's beatification [6]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Bishop Michele Malche †". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved March 29, 2012. 
  2. ↑ "تعيين سيادة المطران مار يوليوس ميخائيل الجميل مدافعا في الفاتيكان في قضية تطويب خادم الله المطران فلابيانوس ميخائيل ملكي". Bakhdida.net. Retrieved March 29, 2012.  (Arabic)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "كرسي أبرشية ماردين". Archbishopric of Syrian Catholic Church in Aleppo. Retrieved March 29, 2012.  (Arabic)
  4. ↑ "افتتاح التحقيق في دعوى تطويب المطران الشهيد ميخائيل ملكي". Syriac Catholic Patriarchy. Retrieved April 21, 2012. 
  5. ↑ "1915". Hagiography Circle. Retrieved April 21, 2012. 
  6. ↑ "الكنيسة السريانية الكاثوليكية تختتم التحقيق الأبرشي في دعوى تطويب المطران الشهيد مار فلابيانوس ميخائيل ملكي". Syriac Catholic Patriarchy. Retrieved February 11, 2013. 
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