Mor Ignatius Aphrem II (born 3 May 1965 as Sa'id Karim; Arabic: سعيد كريم, romanized: Saʿīd Karīm) is a Syrian–American Christian prelate who has served as the Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church since 29 May 2014.
Born and raised in Qamishili, Syria, Karim became a monk in 1985 and was later ordained as a deacon and then as a priest. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Divinity from the Coptic Theological Seminary in Cairo in 1988. In 1992, he received a Licentiate of Sacred Theology and in 1994, a Doctor of Divinity from St Patrick's College, Ireland. In 1996, Aphrem Karim was consecrated as the patriarchal vicar and metropolitan archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Eastern United States by Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas. As an archbishop, he established 11 new parishes, bringing the number of parishes in the archdiocese to 20. He also created Syriac Orthodox Archdiocesan Youth Organization, an initiative to coordinate youth activities across parishes in the archdiocese.
Upon his accession to the throne as patriarch, Aphrem II took the patriarchal name Ignatius, becoming the second patriarch to bear the monastic name Aphrem after Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem Barsoum. Unlike his immediate predecessors, Aphrem II chose not to use Karim, his family name, in his official title. As a patriarch, he had made several apostolic visits to churches in the Middle East and also to churches in several countries. Aphrem II has been particularly vocal about his support for Syria and its people.
Saʿid Karim was born on May 3, 1965, in Qamishli, located in northeastern Syria. He was the youngest son of Issa and Khanema Karim. His family belonged to the Syriac Orthodox Christian Assyrian community who originally hailed from the village Ëḥwo (Turkish: Güzelsu) in the Tur Abdin region of Mardin Province, Turkey. Karim's father died early in his life, so he was primarily raised by his mother.
Karim completed his primary education in Qamishli in 1977. He then pursued religious secondary studies at St. Ephrem's Theological Seminary in Atchaneh, Lebanon. After graduating in 1982, he served as an assistant to Archbishop Mor Gregorios Yuhanna Ibrahim in Aleppo, Syria. Between 1984 and 1988, he attended the Coptic Theological Seminary in Cairo, Egypt, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Divinity.
In 1985, Saʿid Karim was ordained as a monk, and adopted the name Aphrem to honor the legacy of the Syriac poet-theologian Ephrem the Syrian and former patriarch Aphrem I Barsoum. He was ordained a deacon in Egypt and then elevated to priesthood later that year. From 1988 to 1989, he worked as the secretary to the former patriarch, Ignatius Zakka I Iwas. During this period, he also taught at St. Ephrem's Theological Seminary in Damascus, Syria.
In 1991, he entered St. Patrick's College in Maynooth, Ireland and received a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (1992) and a Doctor of Divinity (1994). His doctoral thesis was titled The Symbolism of the Cross in Early Syriac Christianity.
Metropolitan archbishop of the Eastern United States
After the death of Archbishop Mor Athanasius Yeshue Samuel in 1995, who had established the Archdiocese of the United States and Canada, it was decided to reorganize the existing archdiocese into three distinct archdioceses: the Eastern United States, Los Angeles, and Canada.
On 28 January 1996, Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas consecrated Aphrem Karim as the patriarchal vicar and metropolitan archbishop of the Eastern United States at St. Virgin Mary's Syriac Orthodox church in his home town of Qamishli. He assumed the episcopal name Cyril, arrived in the United States on 2 March 1996, and was formally installed at St. Mark's Syriac Orthodox Cathedral in Teaneck, New Jersey, as Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim.
During his time as metropolitan archbishop, Cyril Aphrem Karim oversaw the creation of 11 new parishes, bringing the total parishes in the archdiocese to 20. He created an advisory council to aid in oversight and administration of the archdiocese. He created the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocesan Youth Organization to coordinate youth activities across the archdiocese's parishes, and oversaw a number of youth conferences as he sought to grow the church. He organized a special youth liturgy in the New York and New Jersey area and created a choral society.
Cyril Aphrem Karim oversaw the creation of the Archdiocesan Sunday School Committee to unite lesson plans across the archdiocese. He created a pre-marriage counseling program which afforded couples-to-be the chance to meet with him personally. He also established an annual liturgy service to recognize and appreciate the elderly members of the community. He worked for inter-church unity, serving on the World Council of Churches. Cyril Aphrem Karim played a significant role in founding Christian Churches Together.
On 21 March 2014, Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas died following a prolonged illness. After his death, the Holy Synod of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch was convened to elect a successor. The synod was convened at St. Jacob Baradeus Monastery in Atchaneh, Lebanon.
Mor Baselios Thomas I, the then-Catholicos of India—along with Mor Severius Jamil Hawa, Archbishop of Baghdad and Basra and the patriarchal locum tenens—presided over the synod. Cyril Aphrem Karim was elected by the synod to be the 123rd successor of St. Peter in the Apostolic See of Antioch on 31 March 2014. Cyril Aphrem Karim was enthroned on 29 May 2014, at St. Ephrem's Monastery, Maarat Saidnaya, near Damascus, Syria. Baselios Thomas I oversaw the ceremony of consecration.
Aphrem adopted the patriarchal name Ignatius, replacing his episcopal name Cyril, and became the second patriarch to bear the monastic name Aphrem. Aphrem II decided not to include his family name, Karim, in his official title unlike his immediate predecessors.
General Secretary Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit of the World Council of Churches congratulated Patriarch Aphrem II, highlighting his longstanding commitment to ecumenism. Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church extended congratulations and prayed that the Patriarch would be "a spiritual father for your people and an untiring builder of peace and justice". He was also congratulated by Karekin II of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Shortly after his election, Ignatius Aphrem II paid an official visit to the Holy See of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon to participate in a meeting to discuss higher levels of collaboration between the Syriac Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic Churches, as well as other Oriental Orthodox churches. In May 2015, Aphrem II was received by Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden as he visited the country's Syriac Orthodox parishes.
Since his enthronement, he has made apostolic visits to Iraq and Syria to assist Christians displaced by the advance of ISIS and the general turmoil caused by the Syrian civil war. The patriarch also visited displaced Christians and refugee camps in Shaqlawa.