Patriarch Gewargis III Sliwa to resign because of health condition

Ankawa – In a press release the Catholicos-Patriach of the Assyrian Church of the East Gewargis Sliwa III said his health condition forces him to stop his duties as patriarch and has called for a Holy Synod to convene to elect a new patriarch. The Synod will take place 22-29 April at the patriarchal headquarters in the majority Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian town of Ankawa, Erbil.

The press release states that His Holiness Gewargis III Sliwa is still recuperating from an illness suffered during a sojourn in Germany in December 2019, but that the state of his illness has brought him to the conclusion that he, after deep reflection, can not perform the heavy burden of his duties anymore. Patriarch Gewargis III Sliwa has led the Assyrian Church of the East since September 2015.

The Assyrian Church of the East is an Eastern Christian church of the Syriac rite and uses eastern Syriac in its liturgy. It is one of the churches of the Syriac people, the other ones being a.o. the Chaldean, Syriac Catholic, Syriac Maronite and Syriac Orthodox church. The Assyrian Church of the East has several hundred of thousands followers with a big diaspora outside the Middle East in e.g. Sydney, San Diego and Chicago.