OBITUARY
[1] On the
morning of July 7, 2003, Mar Raphael Bidawid, Patriarch of the
Chaldean Church passed away in Beirut, Lebanon. The 81-year old
Patriarch had been suffering for a few months from an acute
health problem. The news of his death was first announced to
the Syriac studies community two days later during the opening
session of the North American Syriac Symposium in Princeton,
NJ. The gathered scholars recalled Mar Raphael's various
scholarly contributions.
[2] Raphael
Yousif Warda was born on April 17, 1922 in Mosul, Iraq. His
parents enrolled him at the very young age of 11 in the
Chaldean seminary. Shortly thereafter, in 1936, he was sent to
Rome where he studied for 10 years. He was ordained a priest in
1944 and received his doctorate in 1946. The following year Fr.
Raphael went back to Iraq where he served as a priest in the
Chaldean Church. In 1957, he was consecrated bishop for the
Amadia district, and in 1966 he was transferred to Beirut,
Lebanon.
[3] On May
21, 1989, Mar Raphael succeeded Mar Paulos Chekho II to the
Patriarchate of the Chaldean Church, and received the Pallium
from Pope John Paul II on November 9 of the same year. Mar
Raphael was instrumental in the ecumenical movement, especially
with relations with the Assyrian Church of the East. During his
Patriarchate, he established Babylon College which became an
instrumental educational institution for the Chaldean
Church.
[4] Mar
Raphael has been succeeded by Mar Emmanuel Delly at a Synod of
the Chaldean bishops in the Vatican on December 2-3, 2003.