Archbishop Mar Severios Hawathe of Baghdad and Basra elected as Locum Tenens to the Patriarchal throne of Antioch

Archbishop Mar Severios Hawathe 
of Baghdad and Basra with the late Patriarch
 Ignatius Zakka Iwas. photo- Suryoyo Online

Beirut, March 27, 2014: The Synod of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch which held on 26th of March 2014 held at St. Aphrem Cathedral in Beirut elected Archbishop Mar Severios Hawathe of Baghdad and Basra as the Qaymaqām (Locum Tenens) to the Patriarchal throne of Antioch.

As per Article 29 of the Constitution of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. The locum tenens means “the place holder” (in Arabic Qa`im Maqām, in colloquial Qaymaqām). The election of the locum tenens has to take place within seven (7) days by majority vote of the bishops. The locum tenens is not permitted to leave the Patriarchate. He is not permitted to make any changes to the Patriarchate, nor can he ordain or take part in financial transactions (Article 32). His main function is to act as a place holder and to convene a Synod to elect the Patriarch“.
Prakash Varghese (OCP Delegate of UAE, Gulf and Levant Region)
Source: OCP New Service