Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Nicholas Samra of the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton in Massachusetts and confirmed the election of his successor, Father François Beyrouti, a priest of the eparchy who is currently pastor of Holy Cross Melkite Catholic Church in Placentia, California….
Bishop-elect Beyrouti, 51, was born in Lebanon and raised in British Columbia. He was ordained a priest Oct. 4, 1998….
“We pray for Bishop-Elect François that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, will give him continued good health and long life, and ‘give him a spirit of courage and right judgment, a spirit of knowledge and love,” said the eparchy in a statement, quoting a “Prayer for a Bishop.”
The Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton has about 50 parishes and missions, which are spread between New England, the South and Southern California.
Bishop-elect Beyrouti was born July 3, 1971, to Elias and Maggy Beyrouti in Hadeth-Beirut, Lebanon. His brother Joseph died in 2004. He has another brother named Anthony.
The family emigrated to Canada in 1976, settling in North Vancouver, British Columbia….
He was incardinated into the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton Dec. 2, 2011, and was assigned to Holy Cross Church in Placentia in November 2012. Prior to that, he completed a doctorate on Origen of Alexandria’s commentary on the Samaritan woman in the Gospel of John, chapter 4. Origen was an early Christian scholar, ascetic and theologian….
Bishop-elect Beyrouti has focused on building up pastoral programs and worked closely with the youth and young adults throughout his ministry. He also has taught courses on the synoptic Gospels, early church history and icons, and a university class on the early interpretation of the Bible….
The above comes from an August 22 posting on Angelus News.
May the Bishop-designate continue to be blessed in his ministry, and may God be glorified in his flock.
May God grant Bishop-Elect François many years of health and happiness. I have heard and seen good things about this man. And, may God bless all of our Melkite Greek Catholic brothers and sisters. His election is encouraging. And, their eparchy (diocese) covers the entire U.S., including a couple of parishes in northern California. “Axios!” (Greek ἄξιος)
Awesome! Speaking of bishops, I just saw that Rembert Weakland passed away two days ago.
Why did they name a city Placenta? That’s like naming a city Uterus.
You are confusing “placenta” with “Placentia”. Placentia is from the Latin word placeo, I please, or placet, it is pleasing. Placentia should mean pleasant, satisfying or something that gives pleasure.
Btw, there are online Latin to English, Spanish to English, etc. websites where you can translate words or simple phrases for free. Just put “Latin to English” in your search bar, and some will pop up.
Don’t give politicians any ideas. They’ve already got Colon, Michigan and Bald Head, Maine. At least it’s not sectarian like Santa Barbara or Los Angeles. They already named a planet Uranus.
Uranus is big and gassy
Okay boys, no more toilet talk.
You’re right. Point well taken.
But, how’d you know we’re cis-gendered males?
I have been on a lot of playgrounds in my lifetime and know it is the little boys that usually like toilet talk. It is the little girls that usually say, “Ewww, you pig” when they hear it. Of course, there are rare exceptions.