Metropolitan Ephraim (secular name Michel Kyriakos; born April 15, 1943) is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tripoli, al-Koura and Dependencies of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. He was the founder and abbot of the Holy Monastery of the Archangel Michael in Biq'aata, Lebanon
Ephraim Kyriakos was born in Beirut, Lebanon on April 15, 1943, the son of Jamil Kyriakos and Alice Manassah. While living with his family in Achrafiyeh (East Beirut), he entered a career in telecommunications. He attended the International College in Beirut before joining the faculty of engineering of the Universite Saint Joseph (Jesuit). He continued his studies in his specialty of electronics and communications in Paris, France before working in his field in the construction of a subway station.
He later pursued a teaching career, returning to St. Joseph University as a teacher. Later he continued teaching in Dekwaneh and at the National Orthodox High School (Mar-Elias)-al-Mina in Tripoli, Lebanon. He also led the Orthodox Youth Movement center in Beirut.
In 1972, Ephraim left his secular career and entered the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology at the University of Balamand. The ongoing civil war in Lebanon in the 1970s caused, in 1975, the transfer of operations of the institute to the Theological Academy of Thessalonica in Greece. While attending the Institute, Ephraim entered holy orders when he was ordained a deacon on August 15, 1974. He was ordained a priest on October 15, 1978. After graduating, Patriarch Elias IV of Antioch asked Ephraim to return and reopen the Institute of Theology in Beirut; Ephraim served as its Dean from 1978 to 1981.
In Greece, Ephraim entered the monastic community when he was tonsured a monk at the Monastery of St. Paul on Mount Athos on October 16, 1983. At his tonsure, he received his name "Ephraim", in honor of Ephraim the Syrian, from the Elder Parthanios under whose spiritual direction Ephraim remained for several years.
After Ephraim returned to Lebanon, he established his own monastery in Nahr Baskinta, near Biq'aata, within the jurisdiction of Metropolitan George (Khodr) of Mount Lebanon. The name of the monastery is the Holy Archangel Michael Monastery.
Ephraim was elevated to archimandrite on November 8, 1991 by Metr. George (Khodr). At the invitation of Bp. Alexander of Ottawa, the Elder Ephraim made an extensive visit to Canada in the autumn of 2005.
On October 6, 2009, Arch. Ephraim (Kyriakos) was elected to be the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tripoli, Koura and Dependencies of the vacant Archdiocese of Tripoli, al-Koura and Dependencies after the repose of Abp. Elias (Kurban). On October 18, 2009 in the Marian Church Damascus he was elevated to archiepiscopacy and was received in Tripoli the following day in festivities at the Saint Georges Cathedral. Ephraim is fluent in Arabic, French, English, and Greek.
Metr. Ephraim is the author of a number of books and articles. Among these are books about Ss. Gregory Palamas, John Climacus, Mary of Egypt, Jacob Brother of the Lord, Barbara, and others. His articles include Words from the Fathers, St. Ephraim the Syrian, and The Gospel of Mark as well as those in the periodical of the Monastery of St. Michael.
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The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Christian jurisdiction originating in the Levant that uses the West Syriac Rite liturgy and has many practices and rites in common with the Syriac Orthodox Church. Being one of the twenty-three Eastern Catholic Churches, the Syriac Catholic Church is a self-governed sui iuris particular church, while it is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the RūmOrthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity that originates from the historical Church of Antioch. Headed by the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch, it considers itself the successor to the Christian community founded in Antioch by the Apostles Peter and Paul. It is one of the largest Christian denominations of the Middle East, alongside the Copts of Egypt and the Maronites of Lebanon.
Christianity in Lebanon has a long and continuous history. Biblical Scriptures show that Peter and Paul evangelized the Phoenicians, whom they affiliated to the ancient Patriarchate of Antioch. Christianity spread slowly in Lebanon due to pagans who resisted conversion, but it ultimately spread throughout the country. Even after centuries of Muslim rule, it remains the dominant faith of the Mount Lebanon region and has substantial communities elsewhere.
Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum was the 120th Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1933 until his death in 1957. He was consecrated as a Metropolitan and as a Patriarch at a very hard time for the Syriac Orthodox church and its people and parishes and he worked very hard to re-establish the church initiations to where his people moved. He researched, wrote, translated, scriped, and published many scholarly works that included books on the saints, tradition, liturgy, music, and history of Syriac Orthodox Church.
The timeline of Eastern Orthodoxy in North America represents a timeline of the historical development of religious communities, institutions and organizations of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in North America.
The University of Balamand is a private institution, secular in its policies and approach to education. It welcomes faculty, students, and staff from all faiths and national or ethnic origins. The university is located in the northern district of El-Koura, Lebanon. It was founded by the Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch in 1988. The university's main campus is adjacent to Balamand Monastery, but it has two other campuses in Beirut: One is in Sin el Fil, which houses the majority of the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts, and the other neighbors Saint George Hospital in Achrafieh, which houses the faculty for medicine and medical sciences. It also has campuses in Akkar and Souk El Gharb.
Metropolitan Elias Audi became Metropolitan bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch for the Archdiocese of Beirut in Lebanon in 1980.
Antoun (Khouri) of Miami and the Southeast was a diocesan bishop of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.
Semaan is a Christian surname mainly found in the Levant area of the Middle East. It is derived from the Semitic root word/verb sema or shema, which means “to hear”; thus, the meaning of Semaan becomes “the one who hears or listens” in both Syriac Aramaic and Arabic. Its equivalent in Hebrew is שִׁמְעוֹן, which also has the same meaning. The Greek transliteration is Σιμων (Simon) or Συμεών (Symeon), and, when Latinized, it becomes Simon or Simeon.
Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians refers to Lebanese people who are adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch in Lebanon, which is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and is the second-largest Christian denomination in Lebanon after the Maronite Christians.
Patriarch John X is primate of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All The East.
Joseph Al-Zehlaoui is a former bishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and was the Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America from July 3, 2014, to his retirement on September 17, 2022.
Patriarch Gregory IV was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 1906 to 1928. He was a recipient of the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky. He was the second Syrian Arabic-speaking patriarch to become Patriarch of Antioch after the position had been held by ethnic Greek bishops for 175 years. In 1913, he was a special guest in St. Petersburg of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia at the three hundredth anniversary of the rise of the Romanov dynasty to power.
Patriarch Theodosius VI was Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 1958 to 1970.
Ghattas Hazim is a Greek Orthodox hierarch. Since 2014, he serves as Metropolitan of Baghdad, Kuwait and Dependencies, under the jurisdiction of Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East.
Constantine Papastephanou was an Eastern Orthodox hierarch and long serving (1969-2014) Metropolitan of Baghdad and Kuwait, under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East.
Metropolitan Rastislav is an Eastern Orthodox bishop and the Primate of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church, holding the rank of Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.
Metropolitan Saba (Esper) (Arabic: سابا (إسبر), born 1959) is the Antiochian Orthodox Metropolitan over the Archdiocese of New York and All North America, formerly the metropolitan archbishop of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal al-Arab in Syria.
