Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch and All The East dies
MOSCOW. Dec 5 (Interfax) - Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch and All The East has died at the age of 91, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, deputy head of the department of external church relations of the Moscow patriarchate, told Interfax-Religion on Wednesday.
The Antioch church is one of the 15 local Orthodox churches in the world. It comprises parishes located on the territory of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Kuwait.
Patriarch Ignatius was born in 1921. In 1942, he was among the organizers of an Orthodox young people's movement, which developed in Lebanon and Syria during WW II. That movement gave new energy to the entire Antioch church and drew young people to the church, the Moscow patriarchate said on its website.
Patriarch Ignatius was elected the 166th patriarch of Antioch on July 2, 1979. His enthronement took place on July 8, 1979.
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