1935 – 2006
He was a chanter, a singer and a musician. He was born in Alqush and studied in the primary school there. He joined Shimon Safa Institute of priesthood in Mosul in 1951. He was ordained a priest in 1961. He was appointed a teacher in Institute of priesthood in Baghdad for a year then he was transferred to his hometown Alqush to work as a lecturer of Christian Education and the Syriac language. In 1975 he moved to priestly service in the church of St. Isaiah in Mosul, where he stayed until the day of his death.Some of his famous lyric poems include ‘the Story of Genevieve’ and ‘the Story of the Noble Arbilian Yazdandokht’. He also composed a tune for ‘the story of the righteous prophet Joseph’, which was versified by Astifan Raees. Besides, he wrote other poems, composed emotional tunes for them, and had them recorded on audiotapes that spread to the people’s homes and social occasiona; so he became very famous for his outstanding performance and melodious voice. He mastered the liturgical musical scales and translated many of them to the Surath (spoken Syriac). He also recorded several of them with a number of priests and bishops. He participated in the musical events of the ‘Baghdad International Music Conference’, particularly in the field of liturgical chanting. He worked in the theatrical field as a writer and a director. His most famous work is the play Shitla Bqima’ (the growing transplant), which he wrote and directed.
