Estephan El Douaihy
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| Estephan Boutros El Douaihy | |
 Patriarch Estephan El Douaihy
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| Born | Aug. 2, 1630 Ehden, Lebanon |
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| Died | May 3, 1704 Qannoubine, Lebanon |
| Occupation | Patriarch, Professor and Historian |
| Parents | Father: Mikhayil Moussa El Douaihy, Mother: Mariam El Douaihy. |
Patriarch Estephane Boutros El Douaihy (also Al Douaihi, Duwayhy, Arabic: أسطفان الدويهي ) was born in Ehden, Lebanon on August 2, 1630. He was the Maronite Patriarch from 1670 to 1704. He is considered one of the major Arab Historians of the 17th century. He was known as “The Saint Patriarch”, “The Saint of the Patriarchs”, “The Father of Maronite History”, “Pillar of the Maronite Church”, “The Second Chrysostom”, “Splendor of the Maronite Nation”, “The Glory of Lebanon and the Maronites”... He was declared Servant of God by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints under Protocol number 2145[1]. His cause for Beatification is underway[2].
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
El Douaihy was born at a time when the Maronites were suffering badly from Ottoman oppression. In Lebanon and Syria the Ottoman empire was not benefiting from the expansion of world commerce, and so the Ottoman rulers, and the local Muslim and Druze chiefs who ruled with Ottoman consent (something which could be withdrawn) enriched themselves by taxing the Maronite peasantry. At the age of sixteen, recognized as a brilliant young talent, he was sent to the Maronite College (Seminary) in Rome. [3] He studied there for nine years, being cured of a serious condition which almost led to blindness. El Douaihy believed that the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary was repsonsible for his cure. While in Italy, he traveled as widely as possible seeking manuscripts dealing with Maronite history and liturgy. When he returned to Lebanon at the age of 25, he continued his research.
[edit] Expanded description
As bishop, and later as Patriarch, he undertook reforms of the Maronite Church and its monks. Douaihy was elected Patriarch in 1670, when he was only 40 years old. This is universally seen as an acknowledgement of his personal moral qualities, his extraordinary learning, and his keen appreciation of the issues the Maronites faced. He paid particular attention to the traditions of the Maronite Church, and favoured a de-Latinisation of rites and ceremonies. He was hounded - there is no better word - by Ottoman authorities, who resented his principled appeals for justice for the Maronites. In particular, they were frustrated by his resistance to their oppressive taxation policies: policies which saw the abandonment of many villages by peasants unable to pay their taxes. It was also a period when Maronites and, in particular, their clergy, were liable to sudden arrest, assault and murder. The Patriarch was not exempt, being assaulted himself. He was accordingly obliged to move from place to place. Yet, he maintained his writing, and without him, we would be very much poorer in our knowledge of Maronite matters.
Douaihy traveled throughout the Maronite world, including Cyprus and Aleppo, which were even more important centers of the Maronite faith then, although they are still important now. This is partly because Aleppo was at that time a focus for the international overland trade, the only trade where the Ottoman empire had any opening, given the European domination of the sea routes.
[edit] Death and afterward
Almost immediately after his death, he was considered by many Maronites of Lebanon, but particularly in North Lebanon and in Zgharta, Ehden to have been a saint. The Congregation of the Causes of Saints issued the decree of nulla osta for his beatification cause on December 5, 1996. The Patriarchate of Antioch of the Maronites proceeded with the diocesan investigation and, at its culmination, submitted the results to congregation, which validated the proceedings with a decree dated on November 8, 2002. The Positio for the beatification cause was published in 2005 and it received the approval of the Historical Commission of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints on January 24, 2006. Some of the miracles attributed to him have been collected by M.S. El Douaihy.[4]
[edit] Religious, philosophical and/or political views
Douaihy strongly believed in the social importance of education and science (being an amateur scientist himself). Given the importance of learning, and his experience in how far European educatation exceeded Oriental, he pursued a successful policy of sending as many Maronites to Rome as possible, to become capable of returning to the villages in which the Maronite peasantry lived, and raising the level of general education. Douaihy established a college in Aleppo, which became the base for the development of renewed monastic orders. As with his educational policy, his monastic renewal was a success, and still bears fruit today.
Some of Douaihy's historical theories (e.g. of the perpetual orthodoxy of the Maronites) is controversial. But as a whole, with one or two exceptions, his general account of Maronite history is accepted as trustworthy. It is certainly the most satisfying general account of Maronite realities into the eigteenth century.
[edit] Works
Of the many works of Patriarch Douaihy, the vast bulk are still available only in Arabic. A selection has been translated into French by Youakim Moubarac in Pentalogie antiochenne/domaine Maronite[5]. That selection focusses upon his discussion of the rites and cermonies of the Maronite Church. However, his major work is a general history book, Tarikh Al Azminah, available in several versions.
[edit] Published works
- Duwayhī, I., & Fahd, B. (1976). Tārīkh al-azminah. Dar Lahd Khatir, Lebanon. OCLC 41272562
- Duwayhī, I., & Tawtal, F. (1951). Tārīkh al-azminah, 1095-1699. Bayrūt: al-Matbaaah al-Kāthūlīkīyah. OCLC 23523055
- Duwayhī, I., & Hage, L. (1987). The Syriac model strophes and their poetic meters, by the Maronite Patriarch Stephen Douayhi an introduction, translation, commentary and critical edition. Kaslik, Lebanon: University of the Holy Spirit. OCLC 30610816
- Duwayhī, I., & Shartūnī, R. a.-K. (1980). Manārat al-aqdās. Rābitat al-Batrīark Istīfān al-Duwayhī al-Thaqāfīyah, Zgharta, Lebanon. OCLC 30043985
- Duwayhī, I., & Fahd, B. (1974). Kitāb al-sharh al-mukhtassar fī asl al-Mawārinah wa-thabātihim fī al-amānah wa-ṣiyānatihim min kull bidaah wa-kihānah. [Bayrūt]: Butrus Fahd. OCLC 17213148
- Duwayhī, I., & Daww, A. (1973). Asl al-Mawārinah. Manshūrāt Muaassasat al-Turāth al-Ihdinī, 1. Ihdan, Lebanon: [Muaassasat al-Turāth al-Ihdinī]. OCLC 43236202
- Duwayhī, I., & Hage, L. (1986). Les strophes-types syriaques et leurs mètres poétiques du patriarche maronite Etienne Douayhi. Bibliothèque de l'Université Saint-Esprit, 13. Kaslik, Liban: Bibliothèque de l'Université Saint-Esprit. OCLC 31052160
- Duwayhī, I., & Shartūnī, R. a.-K. (1890). Tārīkh al-tāifah al-Mārūnīyah. Bayrūt: al-Matbaah al-Kāthūlīkīyah. OCLC 25520233
- Duwayhī, I., & Fahd, B. (1974). Liber brevis explicationis de Maronitarum origine eorumque perpetua orthodoxia et salute ab omni haeresi et superstitione. S.l: s.n.]. OCLC 37682271
[edit] Notes
- ^ Hagiography Circle, Last reviewed on 07 November 2007.
- ^ Patriarch Estephan El Douaihy Foundation, Last reviewed on 07 November 2007.
- ^ Hitti, Philip K. Hitti (2004), History of Syria, including Lebanon and Palestine, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2004 reprint of 1951 original, p.675
- ^ EL Douaihy, Mikhael S. El Douaihy (20074), Patriarch Estefan El Douaihy, Lebanon? Cultural Committee of Patriarch El Douaihy, 2007, pp.15-6
- ^ * Moubarac, Y. (1984)- Pentalogie Antiochienne / Domaine Maronite, Volume 1, Part 1, éditions Cénacle Libanais, Beirut. OCLC 58616233 (French)
[edit] References
- Jumayyil, N., & Duwayhī, I. (1991). al-Batrīyark Istifānūs al-Duwayhī hayātuhu wa-muaallafātuhu. Bayrūt: N. al-Jumayyil. OCLC 33498319
- Shiblī, B. (1970). Tarjamat abīnā al-maghbūt Istifānūs Butrus al-Duwayhī batriyark Antākyah, 1630-1704. Jūniyah, Lubnān: [al-Hikmah]. OCLC 32291094
- Hārūn, J. (1981). Istifān al-Duwayhī. Beirut: s.n.]. OCLC 17765474
- Nūjaym, T. F. (1990). La maronité chez Estéfān Dūwayhī. Kaslik, Liban: Université Saint-Esprit. OCLC 40527178
- Maroun, S.-G. (1988). Stephan Ad-Doueihy a Maronite splendor. Washington, D.C. OCLC 61104374
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Estephan El Douaihy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Estephane El Doueihi, Stephen El Duwayhi, Estephan Boutros El Douaihy |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Maronite Patriarch, Historian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | Aug. 2, 1630 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ehden, Lebanon |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 3, 1704 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Qannoubine, Lebanon |
