Smart Syrian

Wearing a black gown and a black-veiled mitre, there arrived in Manhattan last autumn His Grace the Most Reverend Theodosios Abourjaily, Archbishop of Tyre & Sidon, Metropolitan of Judadeh and personal delegate of Alexander III, Patriarch of Antioch in the Syrian branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Syrian Antiochian Orthodox Church of North America, with 60,0000 members, had been without a head since 1934, when Archbishop Victor and his two immediate subordinates died. To select a successor, Archbishop Theodosios was dispatched to the U. S. by the Patriarch to supervise an election in which all male Syrians over 20 might take part. The voting took place last November. Apparent winner was a onetime professor at the American College in Beirut named Rev. Antony Bashir, who had meanwhile served as provisional Patriarchal representative.

In St. George's Syrian Orthodox Church at Toledo, Ohio last week bells pealed, peppery incense swirled, the congregation shouted "Oxiose, Oxiose!" ["Son of the Church!"], and Orthodox U. S. Syrians had a new spiritual leader. But the man who was thus consecrated Archbishop of the Syrian Church of North America was not Professor Bashir. He was the priest of St. George's, a heavy-faced, black-bearded Archimandrite named Samuel David.

Between election and consecration had occurred several slips whose full import was understood only by U. S. Syrians. Samuel David, 43, emigrated from Syria to Toledo 15 years ago. He smokes costly Turkish cigarets, drives a big Packard, and when the votes were counted in Manhattan after last autumn's stormy election, Samuel David was at hand. When Samuel David failed to win the contest, he promptly charged that it had been uncanonically conducted. Archbishop Theodosios offered to compromise by elevating both Bashir and David, then withdrew that offer. Feeling he had been double-crossed, Samuel David marshaled Syrian followers about him. By last week he was ready to declare himself Syrian Archbishop of North America.

Though he could find no high Syrian prelates willing to dabble with him in muddied church waters, Archimandrite David lined up three sympathetic Russian bishops whose spiritual powers were, after all, as efficacious as those of any other Orthodox churchmen. In St. George's Church last week these, with the aid of four Orthodox priests, consecrated Samuel David. With his gilt-&-scarlet crown firmly on his swart head, Archbishop David thereupon waited for the Patriarch of Antioch to grant him jurisdiction, to which he felt canonically entitled. Failing that, a schism was forecast among confused U. S. Syrians.

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