Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas was the 122nd reigning Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and, as such, Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. Also known by his traditional episcopal name, Severios, he was enthroned as patriarch onSeptember 1980 in St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral in Damascus. He succeeded Ignatius Yaqub III. As is traditional for the head of the church, Mor Severios adopted the name Ignatius.
Sanharib Iwas was born onApril 1933 in Mosul, Iraq. His parents named him after Sennacherib, the legendary king of Assyria and father of St. Behnam. He completed his elementary studies at the school of Our Ladys Parish and was transferred to St. Thomas Syriac Orthodox Church School, both in Mosul. In 1946, he began his theological studies in the citys Mor Ephrem seminary. At the seminary, his birth name was replaced by the name Zakka. There, in 1948, he was ordained as a deacon with the rank of Reader. In the year 1953, he was promoted to the rank of subdeacon. The following year saw Iwas take monastic vows. He left Mosul at that time to become secretary to the patriarchs, Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum and then Ignatius Jacob III. In 1955 he was promoted to the rank of full deacon.
Source: Wikipedia