Moran Mor Ignatius Elias III

Moran Mor Ignatius Elias III was the 119th legitimate successor to St. Peter on the Holy Patriarchal See of Antioch. H.H. Moran Mor Elias III was a holy man, a saint in every sense. Moran Mor Elias III accompanied by Mor Clemis Yuhanon Abbachi, Mor Ostathios Quryaqos, Mor Athanasius Samuel and his secretary Zkaryo Shakir and translator Adv. Elias Ghaduri set sail to India on 28 February 1931 from Basra on the ship 'Warsova’. The patriarch arrived at Madras on 14 March 1931 and stayed as a guest of the British Governor Sir George Staly. They arrived at Thrikkunathu seminary in Alwaye on 21 March and offered the Divine Liturgy on 22 March.

Mor Elias III attended many church delegates meetings in Alwaye, Karingachira, Panampady and Kuruppumpady. His Holiness struggled tirelessly to bring about peace in the Syrian Orthodox Church in Malankara. to bring peace and harmony in Malankara Church, Moran had to face resistance and non-cooperation from parts of the Church. Because of this His Holiness was very much disappointed and became very much physically weak. On 11 February 1932 at the invitation of Qashisho Kuriakose Elavinamannil (father of our diocesan Metropolitan H.G. Mor Militheose Yuhannon), the Patriarch arrived at Manjinikara. as the 119th legitimate successor to St. Peter on the Holy Patriarchal See of Antioch. H.H. Moran Mor Elias III was a holy man, a saint in every sense.

Moran Mor Elias III accompanied by Mor Clemis Yuhanon Abbachi, Mor Ostathios Quryaqos, Mor Athanasius Samuel and his secretary Zkaryo Shakir and translator Adv. Elias Ghaduri set sail to India on 28 February 1931 from Basra on the ship 'Warsova’. The patriarch arrived at Madras on 14 March 1931 and stayed as a guest of the British Governor Sir George Staly. They arrived at Thrikkunathu seminary in Alwaye on 21 March and offered the Divine Liturgy on 22 March.

On 12 February, His Holiness requested the priests who visited him not to leave for a couple of days and in the evening, the Patriarch recited and taught them many prayers contemplating on the departed. On 13 February Mor Clemis Yuhanon Abbachi offered the Holy Qurbana. After the noon prayers His Holiness felt pain in the head. Soon after, he fainted in the presence of the monks and slipped into eternal rest at 2:30 in the afternoon.

The memory of the holy Patriarch is revered throughout the Syriac Orthodox Church and especially in Malankara. His Holiness loved the people in Malankara so much which is very evident in His Holiness words "Death is inevitable whether here or in India; I would rather sacrifice my life for the sake of our children in Malankara." On October 20, 1987, Patriarch Mor Zakka I through encyclical E265/87, permitted the Church in Malankara to remember his name in the fifth diptych. (For more info on Mor Ignatius III Bava, please visit the web site copy and pasting

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