Ignatius Gregory Peter VI Shahbaddin
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Mar Ignatius Gregory Peter VI Shahbaddin |
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|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch | |
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| Church | Syriac Catholic Church |
| See | Patriarch of Antioch |
| Installed | 2 April 1678 |
| Term ended | 4 March 1702 |
| Predecessor | Ignatius Andrew Akijan |
| Successor | in 1783, Ignatius Michael III Jarweh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1641 |
| Died | 4 March 1702 Adana |
Mar Ignatius Gregory Peter VI Shahbaddin (1641–1702) was the Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church from 1678 to 1702. His death in tragic circumstances marked the end of the first attempt of union between the Syriac Church and the Catholic Church.
Gregory Peter Shahbaddin, possibly born about 1641, was the nephew of Ignatius Abdul Masih I (later Patriarch) and he became the Syrian Archbishop of Jerusalem in 1662.
Abdul Masih was the leader of the Orthodox faction and since 1662 opposed the pro-Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Andrew Akijan. At the death of Andrew Akijan, in July 1677, Abdul Masih mislead the pro-Catholic faction professing himself in communion with the Catholic Church in order to be elected as Patriarch, but as soon as he obtained the firman of appointment by the Ottoman Sultan, he did a complete about-face. Thus the pro-Catholic faction in Aleppo elected in his place his nephew, Shahbaddin, who had become a supporter of Andrew Akijan.
After election, Shahbaddin obtained, also thanks to the French Consul, the confirmation as Patriarch from the Sultan, and he was enthroned on 2 April 1678. He was later confirmed also by Pope Innocent XI who granted him the Pallium, the sign of patriarchal authority, on 12 June 1679.
The next years were deeply marked by the clashes between the opposite factions, the pro-Catholic and the pro-Orthodox, who both tried to win over to their side the Ottoman authorities. This resulted in five depositions and re-instalment of Shahbaddin. Year after year the Ottoman authorities took a stand in favour of the pro-Orthodox faction, and the clashes soon degraded in a true persecution from the Orthodox Syrians towards the pro-Catholic party.
In 1696 Shahbaddin, with Archbishop Gregory Isho (Josue) of Jerusalem, traveled to Rome to raise funds. In Rome they met Pope Innocent XII and they remained there till 1700 when, through the support of Leopold I, Emperor of Austria and of Louis XIV of France, they could reach Istanbul. Shahbaddin was thus re-installed on 1 March 1701 for the fifth time as Syrian Patriarch in Aleppo.
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