A Publication of Saint Andrews Assyrian Church of the East-

SPECIAL EDITION

Copyright 2015 by Assyrian Church of the East

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 1

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HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST

The Late Mar

Dinkha IV
His
Holiness
Mar Dinkha IV
was born to his
parents, Andrew
and
Panna
Khananya
on
September 15, 1935 in Darbandokeh, Iraq. Panna, a well devoted Christian abstained from eating meat to offer her first son as a
lamb for the Holy Church. His Holiness received the Sacrament of
the Holy Baptism in the church of
Mar Qaryqos by his grandfather,
the late Rev. Benjamin Soro which
whom also was his elementary
education teacher. At the age of
twelve years old he was entrusted
under the care of His Beatitude,
the late Mar Yousip Khananisho,
Metropolitan of Iraq to continue
his studies in the Aramaic language and the faith of the Holy
Apostolic
Catholic
Assyrian
Church of the East. As His Holiness' grandfather, Rev. Fr. Benjamin held the hand of Khanania as
he entrusted His Beatuide Mar
Yousip he said, "...Your Beautide,
I am now offering to you this
young lamb, in order to work for
the Holy Church. Thus from this
moment forward, he does not belong to us, he belongs to the Holy
Church." After twelve years of
rich education by His Beatuide
Mar Yousip, His Holiness was
ready to be ordained to the rank
of Deacon through the Apostolic
laying of hands by His Beatitude
Mar Yousip on September 12,
1949. His Holiness continued his
studies with His Beatitude Mar
Yousip and was able to accept the
Holy Order of Priesthood on July
15, 1957 just eight years after becoming a deacon. As the faithful of
Iran desperately needed a bishop
to ordain priests and guide the
diocese, His Beatitude Mar Yousip

Khananisho , with the approval of

His Holiness Mar Esahi Shimun,
the late Catholicos-Patirarch,
chose a well educated twenty-two
year old, Rev. Fr. Khanania to fulfil
the post. Rev. Fr. Khanania was
raised to the rank of Bishop of Iran
on February 11, 1962 taking his
family name of Mar Dinkha. He
served as the faithful bishop of
Iran until October 17, 1976 where
he was unanimously elected by
the prelates of the Holy Church to
the highest ecclesiastical rank,
the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian
Church of the East after the assassination of His Holiness, the late
Mar Eshai Shimun in San Jose,
California. His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV established the patriarchal
residence in Chicago, Illinois because of the instabilty of the IraqIran War. His Holiness has received many recognitions but in
2008, His Holiness was awarded
with a honorary degree from the
University of Chicago because he
only appointed Bishops with doctoral degrees. Through the power
of the Holy Spirit, His Holiness
was able to expand our church
and create many relationships
with our sister Apostolic churches. His Holiness has also tremendously helped our Assyrian nation
by establishing the Assyrian
Church of the East Relief Organization (ACERO) to provide necessary resources for our people in
the Middle East. In conclusion, His
Holiness has worked tirelessly for
the benefit of our Church and our
Assyrian nation; I plead that prayers are continued for the health
and wealth fare of our Holy Father.
Works Cited:"Dinkha IV." Wikipedia.
Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 Mar.
2015. Mooken, Aprem. Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV: The Man and His Message. Trichur,
Kerala:

By: Peter Azzo

Copyright 2015 by Assyrian Church of the East

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HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST

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Copyright 2015 by Assyrian Church of the East

HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST

The Passing
of the Ninevite Patriarch
The Mar
Dinkha Legacy and the
Future of the
Assyrian
Church of the East
By any account, he was an extraordinary man. He had to be.
His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the
East, Baban Malya (Our Exalted
Father) as he was endearinglyreferred to by the members of the
Church of the East, was a man
who followed in the footsteps of
legendary figures whose deeds
and martyrdoms have fueled a
mythic history, one unique to the
Church of the East. He reconciled
the differences of East and West,
like his people, and pressed them
to be loyal citizens of countries
they resided in, but true to their
heritage, language, and Assyrian
identity. The position of Patriarch
among the Assyrians holds a certain divine mystique and it was so
with the late Patriarch Mar Dinkha
IV. Born in 1935 in the tiny village
of Darbandoke, in the hills of Assyria, Mar Dinkha developed to
learn the heritage of his Church
under the old priests and bishops
in the traditional ways of the elders. He was a student of his
grandfather, Benyamin Soro, and
later of the late Mar Yousip
Khnanisho, the saintly figure of
the Church of the East. Having
given of himself for nearly 70
years to the priesthood, he was
entirely loyal to the liturgy and
traditions of his Church and nation
and refused to change one iota
of the customs of his ancient
Church, as he himself declared
once in Mar Gewargis Cathedral

in Chicago. His life was personified by his tenacious allegiance to

the ways of his Church and people, and no matter how cosmopolitan he seemed to some, no matter
how diplomatic his ways, no one
was able to bend him from the
faith and ways of the Awahate (the
fathers). He was a loyalist to the
core to a Church and people
strengthened from centuries of
persecution. The Church of the
East has a glorious history and
had expanded its jurisdiction all
over Asia, and had churches and
monuments in China. In time,
however, it came under severe
oppression. At the end of the
reign of Timur, or Tamerlane, the
Mongol conqueror, the Church of
the East had been virtually eradicated. In two locations, however,
the Church survived; in the provinces of Assyria, which had retained its name in Christian times,
(in the districts of Beth Garme,
Adiabene, Arbil, Karkh dlbeth
Seluq [Kirkuk], Nuhadra [Dohuk],
Nineveh [Mosul], etc.), where the
church had acquired much of its
nourishment, and in the Hakkari
mountains of Southeastern Turkey, where the Assyrians lived
largely an isolated existence until
being expelled from their villages
and homes by Kurds and Turkish
troops during the First World
War. Additionally, a number of
Indians remained faithful to the
Church in the Malabar district in
southern India. All of the other
dioceses of the Church of the East
were lost forever. In the Sixteenth
century, a split occurred within
the Church of the East that led to
one side seeking union with
Rome, a side that became the
Chaldean Church, now under the
leadership of His Beatitude Mar
Louis Raphael Sako. In addition, a
factional split within the Church in
the 1960s led to the Ancient
Copyright 2015 by Assyrian Church of the East

Church of the East, now headed

by His Holiness Mar Addai II. The
Late Patriarch did his best to
bring about healing. In assessing
the Christianity of the Church of
the East, historians Patricia Croan
and Michael Cook found both a
provincial local Church of Assyria, and a cosmopolitan one which
shared its Christianity and customs with the world; a cosmopolitan assertion of a gentile truth.
Croan and Cook conclude that the
history conclude that the history
of one Assyrian city begins with
the Assyrian kings and ends with
the Assyrian martyrs Sargon
founded it and the martyrs made
it 'a blessed field for Christianity'.
Likewise in the seventh century
before Christ all the world stood
in awe of Sardana, and in the seventh century after Christ the saints
took his place as the 'sun of Athor'
and the 'glory of Ninive'. (Hagarism, by Patricia Crone
and Michael Cook, Cambridge
University Press, 1980)
To his people, scattered and dispersed all over the world, Mar
Dinkha brought a sense of comfort and stability as a leader who
upheld their ethnic identity heritage and collectivity, threatened
by assimilation in the West and
violence and persecution in the
East. He was to most members of
his Church, the Ninevite Patriarch. He was charismatic, physically fit, and handsome. Those
who met him were taken by his
friendly manners and his everpresent smile. Having taken over
the patriarchy from the late Mar
Eshai Shimun XXIII in 1976, Mar
Dinkha IV faced the challenges of
factionalism with grace and dignity.
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HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST

Among his people, to the consternation of some, he was kind, compassionate, and diplomatic rather
than harsh and swift in judgement.
He sought counsel and mulled
over issues carefully and reflectively, and steered clear of controversy. In the West, he once
told me, it is easy to lose people
whom we anger so we must be
careful His followers revered
him as if he were a prophet or
prince from ancient times. Their
sorrow is profound and will be for
some time to come. With tears in
her eyes, one Church member
remarked we have lost everything; our villages in Nineveh, our
villages in Khabour, and now our
Patriarch.
The late Patriarch leaves and people and Church at the fork of the
road; losing their homeland
through violence and displacement, but facing greater opportunities for success as well as having the risk of assimilation in the
West. The challenges of the modern world will no doubt fatigue
the mind and body of he who will
inherit the duties, responsibilities
and privileges of one of the most
honored positions in Christendom. Like his predecessor before
him, he must be one who understands and absorbs the duality of
East and West. He must challenge
his people and Church to both
modernize and keep their ancient
faith. He must keep up with the
times, but be loyal to his ancient
faith as he attempts to steer the
Church through the uncertain
times ahead, and keep its unique
provincial and cosmopolitan
natures intact. He must not be ordinary in any sense. The salvation
of the Church of the East and the
Assyrians require it.

Make His
Memory
Blessed
When I first
heard news of
the passing of
His Holiness
Mar Dinkha IV, I was shocked.
Like most of us, I knew hed been
ill, and had been hospitalized off
and on. But he was such a strong
and vibrant man so energetic in
his late 70s, so vital that I did not
believe simple flu complications
could be deadly for him. Besides,
he had much work to do. With the
plight of our brethren in the Middle East under the onslaught of
Daesh, and his tireless efforts to
bring their suffering to light and
to do all in his power to alleviate
it, God would not take him so
soon. Not when his people needed him. I was comforted in my
fantasy of Gods plan, showing
none of the humility that Qessi
demonstrated in his daily life and
teachings. I was wrong.
I dont think any of us will ever
forget where we were in that moment - our Kennedy moment, as
devastating as when the world
learned of President Kennedys
assassination. I was at my desk at
work. My brother sent me a single line email, According to the
Church's Facebook page, he just
passed away. This is so sad. A
frantic exchange of emails followed, and then I called my dad.
He was on his way to Minnesota. I
knew instantly from the way he
could not speak, and I could not
speak, that it was true. Then I
called my mom. Can you believe it? She asked. What can
you do?

By: Robert w. DeKelaita

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Copyright 2015 by Assyrian Church of the East

When it is our time, it is our time.

I am reminded of a line from Marilyn Robinson novel Gilead in
which her narrator ruminates on
the treatment of children like
Isaac and Ishmael in the Old Testament. Isaac was spared death at
the final moment when an angel
stopped the sacrificial knife of his
father. Ismael and his mother are
spared death in the desert when
an angel strikes a rock and brings
forth water. But we know it is not
always so. That despite fervent
and devoted prayers of millions,
even children die. But Robinson
reminds us that the child is within the providential care of God.
And this is no less true ... if the
angel carries her home to her
faithful and loving Father than if
He opens the spring or stops the
knife and lets the child live out
her sum of earthly years. And so
it is now with Qessi, as it is with all
of us: always in the providential
care of our faithful and loving Father. I must admit that I am
shocked by the ferocity and allencompassing nature of this grief.
I knew and loved Qessi, as did we
all. I was very fortunate to have
him come to my childhood home,
to have dinner prepared by my
mothers hands. I spoke with him,
laughed with him. He always
asked what I was doing. He was
so interested in my education.
When I was accepted into the University of Chicago, he was one of
few voices encouraging me to attend, and to do everything necessary to succeed. When I was accepted into Yale Law School, he
again urged me to attend, to do
well. For me, he was a respite
from what often felt like stifling
and parochial cultural restrictions

on gender roles. Qessi, I felt,

wanted all of us to be our best
selves to go forward, succeed,
and serve our people. Why cant
I celebrate the legacy of this incredible, humble, compassionate
and fiercely intelligent Holy Man?
Why cant I take comfort in the
knowledge that he is having his
reward for life time of toil at the

What can you do? My mother

had asked me as we grieved together on the phone. I can do
this: I can use his memory and the
example of his life as inspiration
to finally try to use any talent I
have for my People. For me, it is
the gift of the word the power of
persuasion, of argument.
And this is what I will do: I will
write an opinion piece reminding
readers that if We Are All Charlie
Hebdo, the rallying cry for free (if
blasphemous) speech defiantly
proclaimed when a dozen people
were tragically murdered,
then surely We Are All Khabour
and remember that hundreds of
innocent men, women and children our People - are still in the
perilous clutches of Daesh and
have been for over weeks. And I
will send it to every major newspaper and blog that I think might
run it. And maybe nobody will
run it, and so nobody reads it. But
I will try. I will try to be a voice
table of Our Lord? I cant! It was for the voiceless, and to use
too soon! (Even now, I cannot
Qessis commitment to our People
demonstrate the humility he
to commit myself for his Chrisurged us to show.) Why this dev- tian humility, for his Christ-like
astating grief? I think it is, ulticompassion, and for our People. I
mately, because I failed him. He wont stop there, but it is a start.
was too kind to say it, and too for- What can you do?
giving to do anything but give
comfort, but I have not used my
By Riva Khoshaba Parker
gifts, such as they are, for my People. All people are my people, I
John 14:15 If you love me,
used to say with the arrogance
keep my commands
and certainty of youth (but not to
him, I hope.) I moved away. I
failed to teach my children our
Two things we will never comlanguage. I kept my church mem- promise, our faith as Christians
bership, married and baptized all and our nationality as Assyrithree children in our Church, and ans
occasionally made donations to
H.H Mar Dinkha IV Sept 1935
the Church, but that is the sum
Mar 2015
total of my contribution.

Copyright 2015 by Assyrian Church of the East

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