Addai Scher
| Addai Scher | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Senior posting | |
| See | Archeparchy of Siirt |
| Title | Archbishop of the Eparchy of Siirt |
| Period in office | 13 November 1902—21 June 1915 |
| Predecessor | Yousef VI Emmanuel II Thomas |
| Successor | Ceased to exist |
| Religious career | |
| Priestly ordination | 15 August 1889 |
| Previous post | Priest |
| Personal | |
| Date of birth | 3 March 1867 |
| Place of birth | Shaqlawa |
| Date of death | 21 June 1915 aoremovetag(aged 48) |
| Place of death | Siirt |
Addai Scher (Syriac: ܐܕܝ ܫܝܪ, IPA: ) Also written Addai Sher, Addaï Scher and Addai Sheir (3 March, 1867 - 21 June, 1915), was the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Siirt. He was killed by the Ottomans during the Assyrian Genocide.
Early life
Addai was born in Shaqlawa to Chaldean Christian parents in 3 March, 1867. His father was the local priest of the village, and he helped him at teaching Syriac at a young age. The early death of his mother made him concentrate on ascetic life and he joined the Domenican Seminar in Mosul in 1880 where he studied Syriac, Arabic, French, Latin and Turkish as well as theology and philosophy. and after nine years he was appointed a priest and sent to his hometown Shaqlawa where he once more worked as a teacher in the Church's school.
Priest and Bishop
He was later appointed as a bishopric assistant in Kirkuk and he spent his time learning Hebrew, Greek, Persian, Kurdish and he authored as well in German and English.
In 13 November, 1902 he was elected as the next bishop of Siirt, a position that was vacant for two year. In 1908 he journeyed to Istanbul were he met the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II. From there he took off to Rome and met pope Pius X, and during his stay in Paris he managed to make contacts with French orientalists and print some of his works.
Death
In 1915, the Ottoman Army was initially defeated in the Caucasus during the Great War, and fearing an internal uprising from its Christian population orders were given to exterminate the Armenian and Assyrian population of Anatolia. Initially Addai Sher managed to bribe the governor of Siirt with 500 pounds of gold in order to save his congregation. This enabled some of the Christians of the City to flee. The bishop himself was helped by a Kurdish Agha who hid him in his house.
The Archbishop remained hidden for several days but Kurdish band discovered his hideout. rev. Joseph Naayem cites a witness of the last hours of Addai Scher's life:
See also
References
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addai_Scher
