Mar Awa Royel

Mar Awa Royel, born David Royel on July 4, 1975 in Chicago, Illinois, is a Bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East, presiding over the Dicoese of California.^[1] As of 2015 he resided in California. Mar Awa also serves as the Secretary of the Holy Synod.

Early life

David Royel was born to Koresh and Flourence Royel in Chicago, Illinois. He was a first-generation Assyrian-American. His involvement in the Assyrian Church of the East began at a very young age. At 16 he was ordained as a sub-deacon, and the following year became a deacon. He was ordained by Mar Dinkha IV. Both ordinations took place at Mar Gewargis Cathedral (St. George Cathedral) in Chicago.

Education

He obtained his bachelor's degree from Loyola University Chicago in 1997, and went on to achieve his second bachelor's degree of Sacred Theology from University of St. Mary of the Lake in 1999. He later received his License of Sacred Theology from Pontifical Oriental University in Rome in 2001.^[2]

Service as Cor-Bishop

David Royel was ordained as cor-bishop in July 2006 by Mar Dinkha IV in Chicago, Illinois, and as Archdeacon by Mar Dinkha IV on November 23, 2008 in Mar Yosip Khnanisho Church in San Jose, California.

Tenure as Bishop

On November 30, 2008, David Royel was elevated to the rank of Bishop, taking the name Mar Awa Royel. In Assyrian, Awa means our father. Mar Awa was again consecrated by the Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV, assisted by Mar Sargis Yousip, Bishop of Iraq, Mar Aprim Khamis, Bishop of the Western United States, and Mar Odisho Oraham, Bishop of Europe. The ordination ceremony took place at St. Zaia Church in Modesto, California, attended by over 2,500 members of the Assyrian Church of the East, and broadcast on Assyrian National Broadcast.

Mar Awa is the first American-born Bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East.

As of 2015 served as the Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East, and is one of five trustees of the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization.^[3] He is also the President of the Commission on Inter-Church Relations and Educational Development (CIRED).^[4]

Advocacy

As Bishop, Mar Awa Royel has made many attempts to raise awareness for the plight of the persecuted Christians of the Middle East. In September 2014, he spoke at the inaugural In Defense of Christians Summit in Washington DC.^[5]

On March 9, 2015, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes met with Mar Awa as well as Mar Paulus Benjamin. Together, the Bishops briefed Rhodes on the dire situation facing Christian communities in both Iraq and Syria. They also discussed the crisis along the Khabour River in northeastern Syria, where ISIL had attacked in late February 2015, which led to thousands of displaced people and a hostage crisis. Rhodes condemned ISIL's targeting of religious minorities, and outlined the Administration's plan to protect and aid the civilians impacted by the terrorist organization.^[6]

Publications

Mar Awa Royel published the book Mysteries of the Kingdom: The Sacraments of the Assyrian Church of the East, a treatise on the theology of the Assyrian Church of the East regarding the seven Holy Sacraments.^[7]

References