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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
COMMEMORATING THE EXCEPTIONAL LIFE AND LEGACY OF HIS HOLINESS KHANANIA MAR DINKHA IV CATHOLICOS-PATRIARCH OF THE ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST
WHEREAS, beloved humanitarian, cleric and theologian Patriarch Khanania Mar Dinkha IV, who was the 111th Catholicos-Patriarch of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, died in exile from Assyria on March 26, 2015. His Holiness spent his last days as a citizen of Morton Grove and in exile was the spiritual leader of nearly half a million adherents from throughout parts of India, Iran, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Georgia, Oceania; and
WHEREAS, Patriarch Khanania Mar Dinkha IV devoted himself to keeping the Assyrian faith community alive throughout the world and tirelessly worked to protect the customs and language of the world's first Christians; and
WHEREAS, Patriarch Khanania Mar Dinkha IV was consecrated as Patriarch on October 17, 1976, and served nearly 39 years as Patriarch; the tenth longest in church history. He moved the Holy See of the Church of the East to Morton Grove, shortly after his consecration because of political instability in Iraq; and
WHEREAS, Patriarch Dinkha promoted closer relations with the Catholic Church, both with the Vatican and the Chaldean Catholic Church; he first met Pope John Paul II immediately after the Pope's election in 1978 and made his first visit to the Vatican in 1984. The two continued to meet informally over the next decade. After a decision by the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East to have better relations with the Roman Catholic Church in 1994, Dinkha agreed to a Joint Christological Declaration with the Holy See; and
WHEREAS, Patriarch Dinkha is credited with rebuilding the church, which had neared the brink of destruction after the assassination of his predecessor. He translated portions of the liturgy from classical Assyrian to modern Assyrian and brought stability and peace to a church in turmoil; and
WHEREAS, Khanania Mar Dinkha IV was born and baptized in the Church of Mar Qaryaqos which is located in the village of his birth, Darbandokeh, Assyria; and
WHEREAS, on July, 15, 2007, Patriarch Khanania Mar Dinkha celebrated Fifty years of his priesthood. A ceremony was held at Saint George Cathedral in Chicago. In his honor a portion of Ashland Avenue was renamed "His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV Blvd." Later, in 2008, he received an honorary degree from the University of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Patriarch Khanania Mar Dinkha IV's funeral service was held on April 8, 2015 at Saint George Church in Chicago; hundreds of thousands of the Assyrian diaspora throughout the world participated through a live broadcast by Assyrian National Broadcasting; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Commissioners of Cook County, on behalf of the 5.2 million residents of Cook County commemorates the extraordinary life of His Holiness Khanania Mar Dinkha IV, and herewith expresses its sincere gratitude for the invaluable and innumerable contributions he has made to the Citizens of Cook County, Illinois; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be spread upon the official proceedings of this honorable body and that an official copy of the same be tendered to the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East to commemorate the extraordinary life and legacy of his Holiness Khanania Mar Dinkha IV.end