Joseph Jules Zerey
Egyptian-born Melkite Catholic hierarch (1941–2026)
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Joseph Jules Zerey (Arabic: چوزيف جول زيرى; 9 June 1941 – 8 July 2026) was an Egyptian-born Melkite Greek Catholic hierarch who served as a protosyncellus of Egypt, Sudan and South Sudan (2001–2008) and Jerusalem (2008–2018) with the title of a titular archbishop of Damiata (2001–2026).[1]
Joseph Jules Zerey | |
|---|---|
| Vicar Apostolic of Jerusalem | |
Zerey in 2009 | |
| Church | Melkite Greek Catholic Church |
| See | Jerusalem |
| Appointed | 4 June 2008 |
| Term ended | 9 February 2018 |
| Predecessor | Georges Michel Bakar |
| Successor | Yasser Ayyash |
| Other post | Titular Archbishop of Damiata dei Greco-Melkiti (2001–2026) |
| Previous post | Auxiliary Bishop of Antioch (2001–2008) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 5 May 1967 |
| Consecration | 9 November 2001 by Gregory III Laham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 June 1941 Alexandria, Egypt |
| Died | 8 July 2026 (aged 85) Jerusalem, Israel |
| Denomination | Catholicism |
Biography
Zerey was ordained a priest on 5 May 1967 and started to serve at the Patriarchal College School in Cairo in 1967. In 1972 he was appointed director of the Patriarchal College School in Heliopolis. He was a patron of the Church of St. Joseph in Al Zaytoon-Cairo from 1985 to 2001, and president of the second-degree spiritual Court.
On 22 June 2001, he was appointed titular Archbishop of Damietta and Auxiliary Bishop of Antioch. He was consecrated bishop on 9 November 2001 by Patriarch Gregory III Laham, assisted by co-consecrators Archbishops Elias Zoghby and Paul Antaki. On 22 June 2001 Zerey was appointed Patriarchal Vicar of Alexandria and protosyncellus for the Melkite Church in Egypt and Sudan.
On 4 June 2008, Zerey was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Jerusalem. During 2010 Zerey was a participant in the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East in Rome. At the synod he published an intervention discussing the need to re-evangelize Christians living in the Holy Land and announcing the creation of a new international center for family spirituality in Nazareth.[2]
On 9 February 2018, Zerey was replaced as protosyncellus of Jerusalem by the Melkite Synod, due to his age. He was succeeded by Archbishop Yasser Ayyash.[3]
Zarey died in Jerusalem on 8 July 2026, at the age of 85.[1]
Distinctions
Gallery
Archbishop Zerey in Caravaggio, Italy, September 2008.
