About Ignatius Zakka I
Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas (Syriac: ܐܝܓܢܐܛܝܘܣ ܙܟܝ ܩܕܡܝܐ ܥܝܘܐܨ; Arabic: إغناطيوس زكا الأول عيواص; Ignatios Zakkà ‘Īwāṣ, born Sanharib Iwas, 21 April 1931 – 21 March 2014) was the 122nd reigning Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and, as such, Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. Also known by his traditional episcopal name, Severios, he was enthroned as patriarch on 14 September 1980 in St. George's Patriarchal Cathedral in Damascus. He succeeded Ignatius Ya`qub III. As is traditional for the head of the church, Mor Severios adopted the name Ignatius. Zakka was known for his involvement in ecumenical dialogue. He was a president of the World Council of Churches and also a prolific author. He was an observer at Second Vatican Council before becoming metropolitan bishop of Mosul. At the time of his election as patriarch, Mor Severios Zakka was serving as the archbishop of Baghdad and Basra. As patriarch, he established a monastic seminary, met with Pope John Paul II during the Roman Pope's visit to Syria in 2001, and installed numerous metropolitans, including Baselios Thomas I as Catholicos of India. He celebrated his Silver Jubilee in 2005. Iwas was admitted to a hospital in Germany for angioplasty on 20 February 2014 and died on 21 March 2014. Being the first patriarch to be named Zakka, his name is often written as Ignatius Zakka I Iwas.
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