Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Elias Shaqour (Hebrew: אליאס שקור) is an Arab Christian bishop who served as the Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop of Acre, Haifa, Nazareth, and All Galilee for the Melkite Greek Catholic Diocese of Acre, Haifa, Nazareth, and All Galilee from February 6, 2006 until accepting his resignation on January 27, 2014.
his life
He was born on 11/29/1939 in the village of Kafr Bir'em in the Upper Galilee of Palestine, to a Palestinian Arab Christian family of the Melkite Roman Catholic sect. Bishop Shaqour is the youngest of his five brothers.
At the age of eight, in 1948, he experienced the tragedy of his people when he was expelled from his home with the people of his village and became a refugee in his homeland, Palestine. He took refuge with his family in the nearby village of Jish, where he continued his studies in primary school.
He moved to study at St. Joseph's seminary in Nazareth, from which he graduated in 1958. He was sent by the church to Paris to study theology and biblical studies at the St. Sulpice Institute and from the Sorbonne University, from which he graduated in 1965. In 1965 he was promoted to the priestly rank to serve the Roman Church. Catholics in Galilee. His first assignment was to serve in a Galilean village called “Abilin” for only one month, but he is still in “Abilin” to this day.
A year later, in 1966, Father Shaqour was sent by his church to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he obtained a master's degree in Torah and Talmud studies. During his studies, he was a spiritual guide for Arab students, and opened the first hostel for Arab students in Jerusalem.
In 1970, he was appointed as an assistant lecturer at the World Council of Churches in Bossy, Switzerland. After his return at the end of the year, Father Shaqour embarked on a long journey of building distinguished relations inside and outside Israel. Since that time, he has contributed as a founder or partner to several institutions and organizations. Including the Mariam Bawadri Center - Abilene, the Kindergarten of Mariam Al-Bawadri's Children - Abilene, the Pastoral Center - Ma'alia and others... In 1982, Father Shaqour inaugurated Mar Elias Secondary School in Abilene, and this is one of the most important projects of the challenge undertaken by Father Shaqour. He started with 89 students and 4 teachers. Since then, the school has developed to become part of Mar Elias educational institutions. By the year 2005, the number of students in the institutions had reached more than 4,000 students, and the number of workers, including teachers, employees and workers, was approximately 300.
In the year 1992, he was appointed as the priest of the Roman Catholic Church as pastor of the parish of Nazareth for a period of six months, but he gave up these tasks to intensify his efforts in developing Mar Elias educational institutions. In 1994, he received an honorary award from the Methodist Church in the United States. Former US President Jimmy Carter and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat won the same award. In the same year, he opened the School of Engineering, after being officially recognized by the Ministries of Education and Labor. More than 450 students study in the school in two tracks, morning and evening. In 1995, the Center for Religious Pluralism was opened at Mar Elias College.
He was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite in the Church in 2001. In 2002 he was nominated to the position of Metropolitan of Jerusalem for the Roman Catholic Church. This year, the Department of Theological Studies was opened in Mar Elias educational institutions, which prepares students to obtain a “diploma” in theology. He was appointed by the Vatican State as an advisor to the Committee on Jewish-Christian Relations.
His writings
“Blood Brothers” (1983 - a selected book) translated into 28 languages. We are the children of this country (1992), translated into 11 languages. And a third book in French entitled "J'ai foi en nous" in 2002.
Achievements and Awards
his prizes
He won the Nyanno Peace Prize on February 19, 2001 in Japan. his prizes
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- Years in active
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