New Assyrian Patriarch Elected

On Wednesday 8 September, the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East elected a new patriarch. Patriarch Awa III is the first American-born Assyrian Patriarch.

By ACN Staff

Mar Awa Royel.

On Wednesday 8 September, the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East elected a new patriarch. The Assyrian Church of the East is an Eastern Church with Apostolic succession, but is neither part of the Eastern Orthodox Churches (e.g. the Greek Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church ) or the Oriental Orthodox Churches (e.g. the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church).

The previous Assyrian Patriarch, Mar Gewargis III, had announced his retirement in February 2020 due to poor health. Mar Gewargis had warmly greeted Pope Francis during the Roman Pontiff’s visit to Iraq earlier this year, and had also attended the closing Mass of the Holy Father’s visit to Iraq held in Erbil’s stadium. The Holy Synod was unable to meet until now due to COVID-19.

The Holy Synod was held in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq. Mar Awa Royel was elected as Mar Gewargis’ successor. Mar Awa Royel’s election is historic, as he is the first American-born Assyrian Patriarch, having been born in Chicago in 1975. He is also the first American-born bishop to be consecrated by the Church of the East. Mar Awa Royel is the current bishop of the Assyrian Diocese of California and had served as the secretary of the Assyrian Holy Synod.

Mar Awa had previously studied at Catholic universities both in the United States and at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. He is known to be on friendly terms with Catholic clergy and is committed to greater dialogue with the Catholic Church. Hopefully this will help in developing a closer relationship between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East in the coming years. Let us pray for Patriarch Awa and also for the health of Mar Gewargis.