His Beatitude JOHN X was born in the city of Latakia, Syria, in the year 1955. He was raised in a home known for education, virtue and faith. His father, Manah Yazigi, a Syrian, was a teacher of Arabic and a poet. His mother, Rozah Moussi, is of Lebanese origin. His Beatitude has three siblings, one of whom is a Metropolitan and another a nun.
His Beatitude was ordained deacon in 1979 and then priest in 1983 in the Archdiocese of Latakia by His Eminence Metropolitan Youhanna Mansour. His Beatitude was elected by the Holy Antiochian Synod Bishop of Al Husun, Wadi Al-Nadarah in the Archdiocese of Akkar in the year 1995. He served in this position until 2008, when the Holy Synod elected him Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Europe.
His Beatitude is famed for the clarity of his views and his strict adherence to all that is true and just in human relations. He has excelled in bringing people together, through dialogue and conciliatory approaches to people of differing views. He is known for his compassion, friendliness, generosity, social concern and, last but not least, readiness both to listen and to offer help.
Read his entire biography HERE.
Metropolitan Saba was born in Latakia, Syria in 1959. His Eminence was ordained a priest in 1988 and elevated to the dignity of archimandrite in 1994. He pastored St. Michael the Archangel Church in the Archdiocese of Latakia until 1998. During that time, Metropolitan Saba edited and published the Orthodox Christian magazine Farah geared toward children and families.
In 1998, Metropolitan Saba was elected and consecrated as an auxiliary bishop to His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV of thrice-blessed memory. In 1999, His Beatitude and the Holy Synod of Antioch elected him as metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab in Syria.
Simultaneously with his pastoral and episcopal duties, from 1995-2006, His Eminence served as instructor of Pastoral Care and Introduction to the Old Testament at the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Balamand.
His Eminence established a publishing house in the Bosra Archdiocese, the Al-Arabiya magazine for adults, and continued issuing Farah for children. An English version has been produced since 2010. Metropolitan Saba authors weekly articles on his Facebook page and has written on various topics in Al-Noor, Patriarchal and Al Arabiya magazines. He has authored a number of books in pastoral life and theology.
Metropolitan Saba has also translated a number of titles from English to Arabic, including works by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev and Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko
Read his biography HERE.
Fr. Philip was born and raised in New Mexico. From 2003-2008, he served in the Middle East as an Evangelical missionary. He was received into the Orthodox Church in 2010. In 2015, Fr. Philip obtained a Master of Theological Studies, with a concentration in Biblical Studies, from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana . Discerning a call to the Holy Priesthood, he studied at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, New York, receiving a Master of Divinity in 2021. In 2022, he was ordained a deacon by His Grace Bishop Basil, and he and his family served as Orthodox missionaries in the Asia/Pacific region that year. Fr. Philip was ordained a priest by His Grace Bishop John in 2023, and began serving as pastor of St. Athanasius Orthodox Church soon afterwards. He enjoys reading, hiking, and kayaking. Fr. Philip and Kh. Kristiana have three children.