Damascus History Foundation documents the biography of Patriarch Gregory IV on Wikipedia
Gregory IV ( Haddad ) of Antioch was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 1906 to 1928. He was famous for his national and human stances , especially during an era which was full of events including the struggle against the Ottoman and French occupations , the First World War and the famines that affected the Levant as a result of the wars on its lands.
Damascus History Foundation sought to preserve the autobiography of Patriarch Gregory IV and published a detailed study on his career on the Wikipedia Arabic International Encyclopedia in accordance with the agreement signed between the two parties last month.
Patriarch Gregory IV has occupied several religious positions during which he realized remarkable achievements, including participating in the establishment of the Antioch Arab Front and “Al-Hadiya” newspaper.
Gregory IV was elected Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch on August the 6th , 1906 in the Marian Cathedral in Damascus to be the second Arab figure to occupy the seat of the Patriarchate of Antioch.
Gregory IV played a key role in establishing many schools and colleges in Lebanon and Homs and launched the “Al-Neama” magazine, which became the official publication of the Patriarchate of Antioch..
Historians shed light on Gregory IV ‘s key role in supporting the people of the Levant during the famine that became worse in the country during the years of the First World War, where he opened the door of the patriarchal headquarters of the Marian Church before those in need of all religions and borrowed more than twenty thousand gold pounds to help the affected people and to secure the price of wheat needed to feed the hungry as he sold his Golden cross donated by the Russian Tsar Nicholas II.
As for the national struggle, Patriarch Gregory IV was characterized by his stances of supporting independence and rejecting foreign occupation. He supported the Arab state that was established in Syria after its liberation from the Ottoman occupation in October 1918 and called for Faisal bin Al-Hussein as king of Syria.
He also backed the demands of the first Syrian General Conference for the territorial integrity of Syria Including Palestine, its independence, and the rejection of the Mandate system.
In view of his stances rejecting the French occupation, he was subjected to a lot of restrictions and limiting his freedom and powers, and he was forced to leave Damascus and live in a remote village in rural Lebanon until he passed away on December the 12th , 1928.
Gregory IV’s funeral at Marian Cathedral in Damascus was attended by fifty thousand residents of Damascus to pay heartfelt tributes to a remarkable man who stood with them in their ordeals and crises..
Rawaa Ghanam