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Son of Melkon and Faridé Maloyan, Bld Ignatius was born 8 April 1869 in Mardin, Ottoman Empire.. He studied for the Priesthood at at the convent of Bzommar-Lebanon where he was ordained Priest on 6 August 1896. He was a member of the Bzommar Institute. He took as his monastic name Ignatius, in remembrance of Saint Ignatius of Antioch. He was a Parish Priest in Alexandria and Cairo, Eyalet of Egypt, Ottoman Empire, between 1897 to 1910. He became an assistant to Patriarch Boghos Bedros XII in 1904, but respiratory health problems forced his return to Egypt. Dispatched to the diocese of Mardin to restore order and discipline, he was appointed Archbishop of Mardin on 22 October 1911, working with the Armenian Catholic minority. He strongly encouraged devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
At the outbreak of World War I, Armenians in Turkey, especially Christians, became the target of persecutions. On 30 April 1915 a group of Turkish soldiers surrounded the Armenian Catholic Bishopric and church in Mardin, claiming it was used to hide weapons. On 3 June 1915, Turkish soldiers arrested Bld Ignatius along with many other Armenian Catholic priests and laymen. In court, chief of the police Mamdooh Bek ordered the Bishop to convert to Islam; he refused, and was beaten, tortured, chained, and imprisoned. On 10 June 1915, Bld Ignatius and over 400 other Christians, including fourteen priests, were force marched into the desert. When they stopped, Bld Ignatius celebrated an impromptu Divine Liturgy with scraps of bread; the group was then murdered. The Bishop was the last to die. At the last minute, Mamdooh Bek again demanded that Bld Ignatius convert to Islam; when the bishop refused, Bek shot him.
Born
At the outbreak of World War I, Armenians in Turkey, especially Christians, became the target of persecutions. On 30 April 1915 a group of Turkish soldiers surrounded the Armenian Catholic Bishopric and church in Mardin, claiming it was used to hide weapons. On 3 June 1915, Turkish soldiers arrested Bld Ignatius along with many other Armenian Catholic priests and laymen. In court, chief of the police Mamdooh Bek ordered the Bishop to convert to Islam; he refused, and was beaten, tortured, chained, and imprisoned. On 10 June 1915, Bld Ignatius and over 400 other Christians, including fourteen priests, were force marched into the desert. When they stopped, Bld Ignatius celebrated an impromptu Divine Liturgy with scraps of bread; the group was then murdered. The Bishop was the last to die. At the last minute, Mamdooh Bek again demanded that Bld Ignatius convert to Islam; when the bishop refused, Bek shot him.
Born
- 18 April 1869 at Mardin, Ottoman Empire
Died
- Shot to death on 11 June 1915 by Mamdooh Bek at Zerzevan Castle, Çinar, Diyarbakir, Ottoman Empire
- His body is reported to have radiated light for three days after his death
- 24 April 2001 by Pope John Paul II (decree of martyrdom)
- 7 October 2001 by Pope John Paul II
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