Christianity: Details about 'Mar Dinkha Iv'
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Mar Dinkha IV, was born on September 15, 1935, in the province of Darbandoki, Assyria. He was baptized in the church of Mar Qaryaqos. He is the fourth in the line of succession to the Bishopric See of Urmia bearing the sanctimonious title of Mar Dinkha. He gained his elementary education under the wise tutorship of his grandfather, Rev. Benyamin Soro. In 1947, at the age of twelve, he was entrusted to the care of His Beatitude, the late Mar Yousip Khnanisho, Metropolitan and the Patriarchal representative for all of Iraq. After two years of very strict study, he gathered the basic knowledge in theology to qualify him to undertake an active role in the service of the Church. Thus, on September 12, 1949, he was ordained deacon in the church of Mar Youkhana in Harir by the second highest ranking ecclesiastic of The Assyrian Church of the East. Eight years later, on August 15, 1957, deacon Khananya was ordained to priesthood, once again, by no other than his mentor and religious scholar Mar Yousip Khnanisho. Due to the political upheavals during and after World War I, a large number of the clergy lost their lives. The Church was on the threshold of disintegrating for lack of viable Church organization or priesthood. His Beatitude Mar Yousip Khnanisho was aware of the dire circumstances prevalent in that country. This deplorable situation was on his mind when he carefully selected young priest Khananya and trained him for the difficult task ahead as he was assigned as a priest in Teheran, Iran, in 1957. This young priest in no time built a very viable, well organized and progressive institution that attracted its strayed adherents by the thousands. Consenting to overwhelming popular demand, Rev. Khananya was consecrated as bishop by His Holiness, the late Mar Benyamin Shimon XXI on Sunday, October 17, 1968, in the church of Martyr Mar Gewargis, in Teheran. After the unexpected death of His Holiness, Mar Benyamin Shimon XXI, the Church of the East had an urgent need to restore the leadership. In 1976 the prelates of the church convened in London to elect a new Catholicos Patriarch. At this historic meeting, the consentaneous choice of all the prelates in session was His Holiness Mar Dinkha as the most qualified candidate to fill this sublime post. After his consecration, His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV became the 120th successor in this line to the Apostolic See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, Babylon. In 1994 he agreed to a Joint Christological Declaration with the Vatican. In 1996 he signed an agreement of cooperation with Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad, Raphael I Bidawid, in Southfield, Michigan. In 1997, he entered into negotiations with the Syrian Orthodox Church and the two stopped anathemizing each other. See also
Dinkha IV Mar Dinkha IV
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