Mar Benyamin Shimon XXI
Encyclopedia
Mar Shimun XXI Benyamin was a Catholicos
Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East
.
in the Hakkari Province
, Ottoman Empire
(modern-day southeastern Turkey
). He was consecrated a Metropolitan
on March 1, 1903 by Mar Shimun XVIII of Rubil
, the Catholicos Patriarch who died on March 16, 1903. He succeeded his predecessor at the age of eighteen and occupied the patriarchal See
of Seleucia-Ctesiphon at Qudchanis for 15 years. In March, 1918, Mar Benyamin along with 150 of his bodyguards were assassinated
by Simko Shikak
(Ismail Agha Shikak), a Kurdish agha, in the town of Salmas
(Persia) under a truce flag (see Assyrian Genocide
).
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East
Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East ʻIttā Qaddishtā w-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi d-Madnĕkhā d-Āturāyē), is a Syriac Church historically centered in Mesopotamia. It is one of the churches that claim continuity with the historical...
.
Life
He was born in 1887 in the village of QochanisQochanis
Qodchanis was the capital of Hakkari and the seat of the Assyrian bishops before 1915.Its ruins are currently north of Hakkâri Province, near the borders of Iran and Iraq, and about 20 km north-east of the provincial capital Hakkâri, in the southeastern of modern Turkey.The town was inhabited by...
in the Hakkari Province
Hakkari Province
Hakkâri Province is a province in the south east corner of Turkey. The administrative centre is located in the city of Hakkâri . The province covers an area of 7,121 km² and has a population of 251,302 . The province had a population of 236,581 in 2000.The province was created in 1936 out of...
, Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
(modern-day southeastern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
). He was consecrated a Metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
on March 1, 1903 by Mar Shimun XVIII of Rubil
Shimun XVIII Rubil
Mar Shimun XVIII Rubil was Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East from 1860 to 1903 succeeding Shimun XVII Abraham. He led the church from Qodshanis, in southeastern Turkey....
, the Catholicos Patriarch who died on March 16, 1903. He succeeded his predecessor at the age of eighteen and occupied the patriarchal See
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of Seleucia-Ctesiphon at Qudchanis for 15 years. In March, 1918, Mar Benyamin along with 150 of his bodyguards were assassinated
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
by Simko Shikak
Simko Shikak
Simko Shikak also Ismail Agha Shikak ) was a Kurdish chieftain of the Shakak tribe...
(Ismail Agha Shikak), a Kurdish agha, in the town of Salmas
Salmas
Salmas is a city in and the capital of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 79,560, in 19,806 families....
(Persia) under a truce flag (see Assyrian Genocide
Assyrian genocide
The Assyrian Genocide refers to the mass slaughter of the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac population of the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s, the First World War, and the period of 1922-1925...
).
Quotes
- "It is impossible for me and my people to surrender after seeing the atrocities done to my Assyrian people by your government; therefore my brother is one, my people are many, I would rather lose my brother but not my nation."
External links
- http://www.marshimun.com
- "Patriarchs of the East" at friesian.com
- The Invitation of the Patriarch Mar Binyamin at www.aina.org (First-hand account by Malik Daniel Bar Malik Ismail of Mar Benyamin's assassination)