Ignatius III Atiyah
| Ignatius III Atiyah | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch | |
| Church | Melkite Church |
| See | Patriarch of Antioch |
| Installed | 24 April 1619 |
| Term ended | 1634 |
| Predecessor | Athanasius II Dabbas |
| Successor | Euthymius II Karmah |
Patriarch Ignatius III Atiyah (died 1634) was Melkite Patriarch of Antioch from 1619 to 1634. The first years of his patriarchate were marked by the split of the Melkite Church in two factions, a situation that lasted till the Synod of Ras-Baalbek held in 1628 which confirmed Ignatius Atiyah as the only Patriarch and ruled about the independence of the Melchite Church.
After the death of Athanasius II Dabbas, the Melkite Church split between two claiming Patriarchs, Ignatius III Atiyah and Cyril IV Dabbas, who both were consecrated on the same day, April 24, 1619 but in different places.
Ignatius Atiyah started his career as secretary of the Emir Fakhr-al-Din II and in 1605 he became metropolitan of Saida. The Christian people of Damascus, unhappy with the leadership of Dabbas, chose Ignatius and sent him to be consecrated Patriarch of Antioch in Constantinople, where, on April 24, 1619, the Ecumenical Patriarch Timothy II celebrated the ordination.
Cyril Dabbas was the brother of the previous Patriarch Athanasius Dabbas and he himself metropolitan of Bosra. He was strongly supported by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, Cyril Lucaris. His consecration as Patriarch was held on April 24, 1619 in Amioun, Lebanon, by the hands of metropolitans Simeon of Hama, Lazaros of Homs and Dionysios of Hosn, under the political influence of the Pasha of Tripoli, Ibn Sifa.
The Melkite Church was thus split in two factions: the area of central Syria, including Hama, Homs, Paneas, and politically under the authority of Tripoli, recognized the authority of Cyril Dabbas, while the region of Mount Lebanon, under the Emir Fakhr-al-Din II, as well as the Northern region Aleppo, were faithful to Ignatius Atiyah. This split of the Church not only created discord, but also caused a huge expenditure of money, because both part asked for the formal recognition by the Ottoman sultan who granted it successively to the party who paid more.
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