Patriarch of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church
The 123rd successor of St. Peter in the Apostolic See of Antioch. H.H. enthroned on May 29, 2014, at St Ephrem’s Monastery, Maarat Saidnaya, near Damascus, Syria. H.B. Baselios Thomas I oversaw the ceremony.
Known as Saʿid Karim was born in Qamishli, north-eastern Syria, on 3 May 1965, the youngest son of Issa and Khanema Karim. In 1985, Saʿid Karim took the vows of a monk, and changed his name to Aphrem. He was ordained deacon, and, later that year, was elevated to the sacred priesthood. From 1988 to 1989, he served as both the secretary to his patriarchal predecessor, Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, and as a teacher at St Ephrem’s Theological Seminary in Damascus. Between 1991 – 1995 served as a priest to the Syriac Orthodox Community in the United Kingdom. From 1995 – 2014 served as a Metropolitan Archbishop of the Eastern United State.