MOR CYRIL APHREM KARIM is the 123 rd patriarch of Universal Syriac Orthodox Church.
Vinod Kuriakose
Born in Kamishly, Syria on May 3, 1965, the youngest son of Mr. & Mrs. Issa Karim, His Eminence Metropolitan Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim lost his father at an early age and was raised ,with the rest of his family, by his late and loving mother Khanema. He entered St. Ephrem’s Theological Seminary in Atchaneh, Lebanon in 1977, following his primary schooling in Kamishly.
In 1985, Metropolitan Karim took the vows of a monk, and put himself in the service of the Church. He was ordained to the diaconate in Egypt, and later the same year, to the sacred priesthood in Kamishly. From 1988 to 1989, Mor Cyril served as both, the secretary of His Holiness, Moran Mor Zakka I Iwas, Syrian Orhtodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, and as a teacher at St. Ephrem’s Theological Seminary in Damascus, Syria. In 1991, His Eminence entered St. Patrick’s College in Maynooth, Ireland, where he received a License of Sacred Theology Degree, in 1992, and his Doctor of Divinity Degree in 1994, following a defense of his doctoral thesis on The Symbolism of the cross in early Syriac Christianity.
On Sunday, January 28, 1996, His Eminence was consecrated as Metropolitan and Patriarchal Vicar to the Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church for the Eastern United States, by His Holiness Patriarch Zakka I Iwas, at St. Mary ‘s Syriac Orthodox Church in Kamishly. Archbishop Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim arrived in The United States on March 2, 1996, and was officially installed to his position at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Teaneck, New Jersey.
In recent years, His Eminence has been instrumental in the establishment of a new and promising ecumenical body, Christian Churches Together in the USA, of which the Syriac Orthodox Church is a founding member. In all his ecumenical activities, Archbishop Karim has most capably represented the Holy Church and has won the admiration and respect of his colleagues and confreres.
Among the most important accomplishments of His Eminence, over the recent years, was the purchase of two very valuable properties in New Jersey:
· The Beth Antioch property in Wantage, which is a large piece of land, with many options, including building units or malls, whose revenues will help support all future plans and programs of the Archdiocese.
· The New Archdiocese Center on Midland Avenue, Paramus, which will fulfill many dreams and plans the Archdiocese needs to serve the Community appropriately: Church, clergy center, Syriac School, youth center, library, elderly facilities, spiritual retreats center and a hostel to receive out-of-town Suryoye. This center will hopefully become a reality in the near future, to help preserve the Orthodox faith and spiritual and social heritage of our Church for the years to come.