Syriac Melkite Church mourns Archbishop of Tyre Eparchy Youhanna Haddad

BEIRUT — The Melkite Greek Catholic Church mourned the 22 January passing of Archbishop Youhanna (John) Haddad, former Metropolitan of Tyre Eparchy and its Environs.

Archbishop Haddad was born in the Beit Shabab area in 1926. He joined St. Hanna’s seminary in Jerusalem where he continued his philosophical and theological studies and was ordained as a priest of the Diocese of Beirut in 1950. Archbishop Haddad continued studying Ecclesiastical Law at St. Joseph University in Beirut.

The Holy Synod elected him as Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Tyre in 1988 where he worked towards the providing the needs of the diocese, organizing it, and restoring its churches. He also launched a workshop for social, urban, and spiritual development.

In 1989, Pope John Paul II appointed him as an advisor to the Vatican’s Secretariat for non-Christians as he always encouraged Muslim–Christian coexistence and a defended the land of Lebanon.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Church declared that the funeral service and the Holy Liturgy will be limited to the headquarters of the Tyre Patriarchate without the participation of the general public.