Joseph Raya
| Joseph Raya | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Haifa | |
| Church | Melkite Greek Catholic |
| See | Eparchate of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee |
| In office | October 20, 1968 – July 13, 1974 |
| Predecessor | Archbishop George Hakim |
| Successor | Archbishop Maximos Salloum |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | July 20, 1941 |
| Consecration | Patriarch Maximos V Hakim |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 15, 1916 Zahlé, Lebanon |
| Died | June 10, 2005 Barry’s Bay, Ontario, Canada |
Joseph Raya (August 15, 1916 – June 10, 2005), born in Zahlé, Lebanon, was a prominent Melkite Greek Catholic archbishop, theologian, civil rights advocate and author. He served as metropolitan of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee from 1968 until 1974 and was particularly known for his commitment to seeking reconciliation between Christians, Jews and Muslims. He was also a leading advocate of celebrating the Divine Liturgy in vernacular languages.
Joseph-Marie Raya was born to Almez and Mikhail Raya of Zahle and was the seventh of eight children. After finishing his elementary education at the Oriental College he studied in Paris before entering St. Anne's seminary in Jerusalem in 1937. He was ordained a priest of the Melkite Catholic Church on July 20, 1941. He later taught at the Patriarchal College on Queen Nazli Street in Cairo. Raya was expelled from Egypt in 1948 by King Farouk for defending the rights of women. He emigrated to the United States in 1949.
After serving as assistant pastor of St. Ann's Melkite Catholic Church in Woodland Park, New Jersey he was appointed pastor of St. George Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Birmingham, Alabama in 1952. His championship of civil rights brought him into close friendship with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Raya marched several times at King's side and suffered three times at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, including one occasion when he was kidnapped and severely beaten by three Klansmen. Defying the threat of excommunication issued by Roman Catholic Archbishop Thomas Toolen, Raya helped King and other civil rights demonstrators organize protests and marches throughout Alabama during the 1960s. Raya went on to found Saint Moses the Black Mission, the first Eastern Catholic mission for African Americans, located in downtown Birmingham.
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