Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Ignatius Zakka I Iwas

Syrian-Orthodox Patriarch

Date of Birth: 21-Apr-1933

Place of Birth: Mosul, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq

Date of Death: 21-Mar-2014

Profession: writer, Orthodox priest

Nationality: Syria

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Ignatius Zakka I Iwas (Syriac: ????????? ??? ????? ??????, Arabic: ???????? ??? ????? ??????, Ignatios Zakkà ‘Iwa?, 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.