Abdallah Qara'ali

The Most Reverend

Abdallah Qara'ali, OLM
Archeparch of Beirut
ChurchSyriac Maronite Church of Antioch
Installed17 September 1716
Term ended6 January 1742
PredecessorGeorges Khairallah Istifan
SuccessorYouhanna Estephan
Orders
Ordination1696
Consecration17 September 1716
by Patriarch Jacob IV Awad
Personal details
Born8 September 1672
Mount Lebanon Emirate, Ottoman Empire
Died6 January 1742
OccupationJurist, religious founder, eparch

Abdallah Qara'ali, OLM (8 September 1672 – 6 January 1742) was a Lebanese renowned jurist and prelate of the Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch, better known as the Maronite Catholic Church. He served as Archeparch of Beirut from 1716 until his death in 1742, but is also known as a cofounder of the Lebanese Maronite Order.

Biography

Early life and priesthood

Qara'ali was born on 8 September 1672 in the Mount Lebanon Emirate, an autonomous subdivision of the Ottoman Empire covering roughly what is now the modern state of Lebanon.[1] He was ordained a priest in 1696.[2]

In 1694, he, along with two other men, established the Lebanese Maronite Order.[2] He served as the order's Superior General from 1699 to 1716.[2]

Episcopacy

On 17 September 1716, Qara'ali was consecrated Archeparch of Beirut, making him the first member of the Lebanese Maronites to ascend to the prelature.[1][3] Patriarch Jacob IV Awad, Patriarch of Antioch served as the principal consecrator.[1]

As archeparch, he played an important role in the Synod of Maronite Bishops of Mount Lebanon in 1736. This synod canonically established the Maronite episcopal sees, including even that of Beirut.

Qara'ali was a renowned jurist in his time, and is noted in legal circles for his significant work Mukhtasar al-shari'a, a nomocanon in the Maronite Catholic tradition.[4] While its contents are not radical for its time period, and in fact were in line with common Middle Eastern legal practices, it is noted for its unique combination of Roman, Islamic, and Christian influences.[4]

Episcopal lineage

Writings

  • Mukhtasar al-shari'a (in Arabic). Beirut, Lebanon. 1720.

Written in 1720, Qara'ali's Mukhtasar is a Maronite Catholic nomocanon, or collection of ecclesiastical laws. While modeled after a Syro-Roman nomocanon compounded by Ibn al-'Assal, it was also highly influenced by Sunni Islamic sharia law and did not stray far from the general legal patterns of the Middle East at that time.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Cheney, David M. "Bishop Abdallah Qaraali [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  2. ^ a b c "Archdiocese of Beirut, Lebanon (Maronite Rite)". www.gcatholic.org. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  3. ^ "Growing diversity: the Khazin sheiks and the clergy in the first decades of the 18th century". khazen.org. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  4. ^ a b c Mallat, Chibli (2007-01-01). Introduction to Middle Eastern Law. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199230495.