His Grace, The Most Reverend

John Adel Elya, B.S.O.
Eparchial Bishop of Newton
ChurchMelkite Greek Catholic Church
DioceseMelkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton
InstalledJanuary 25, 1994
Term endedJune 22, 2004
PredecessorIgnatius Ghattas
SuccessorCyril Salim Bustros
Orders
OrdinationFebruary 17, 1952
ConsecrationJune 29, 1986
by Maximos V Hakim, Joseph Tawil and Michel Hakim
Personal details
Born16 September 1928
Maghdouché, Lebanon
Died19 July 2019(2019-07-19) (aged 90)
Joun, Lebanon
Previous post(s)Auxiliary Eparch of Newton
Titular Bishop of Abila Lysaniae
MottoThat all may be one
Styles of
John Adel Elya, B.S.O.
Reference style
Spoken styleHis Grace
Religious styleEparch

John Adel Elya (16 September 1928 – 19 July 2019) was a bishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.[1] From 1993 to 2004, he served as Eparch of Newton, with jurisdiction over Melkite churches in the United States.

Biography

Elya, a native of Maghdouché, Lebanon, entered the Melkite Basilian Salvatorian Order, where he professed his solemn vows in 1949. After completing his philosophical and theological studies, Elya was ordained a priest on 17 February 1952. He later obtained a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and taught moral theology and philosophy in the Monastery of Saint Savior in Lebanon and served as rector of the seminary of Saint Basil in Methuen, Massachusetts.

Elya went on to serve as a parish priest in Zerka, Jordan. He also served as the pastor of churches in Manchester, New Hampshire, Toronto, Ontario, and Lawrence, Massachusetts, and as rector of the Annunciation Melkite Catholic Cathedral in Roslindale, Massachusetts. While a priest in the United States he earned a master's degree from Boston College.

In 1977 Elya was named an archimandrite. He was appointed titular Bishop of Abilene of Lysanias and auxiliary to the Eparch of Newton. On 25 November 1993 he was appointed Eparch of Newton, succeeding the deceased Bishop Ignatius Ghattas. Elya was installed 25 January 1994, serving as eparch until his retirement on 22 June 2004. He was succeeded as eparch by Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros.

In 1996, Bishop Elya took the notable action of ordaining a married man to the priesthood.[2] The Vatican had taken a restrictive view of ordaining married men to the priesthood in the Eastern Catholic churches of North America. Previously, North American married Melkites had gone overseas for ordination and returned as parish priests. Elya was the first to ordain a married man in the United States. In 2011 the Melkite Eparchy formally announced it was not observing the Vatican restriction of married men in the priesthood and in 2014, Pope Francis ended the prohibition.

Distinctions

See also

References

  1. ↑ Greek-Melkite Diocese of Newton
  2. ↑ https://orthocath.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/a_quiet_revolution.pdf
  3. ↑ "His Excellency Cyrille Salim Boustros Mission Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos Monastery Organization of Commandry". Archived from the original on 2016-06-04. Retrieved 2016-05-05.

Episcopal succession

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