Nicholas I Zaya - Succession To The Patriarchate

Succession To The Patriarchate

On 13 October 1837, conscious that he had not long to live, Yohannan Hormizd designated as coadjutor and 'guardian of the throne' Gregory Peter di Natale, metropolitan of Gazarta, presumably with the intention of excluding his nephew Eliya from the patriarchal dignity. However, he did not promise the succession to his coadjutor, and in a bull of 25 September 1838 the Vatican appointed Nicholas Zayʿa Yohannan's coadjutor, with the right of succession. The main reason for the Vatican's intervention was to ensure that the hereditary principle, first introduced into the Church of the East in the fifteenth century, would play no part in the selection of the next patriarch. The bull mentioned Yohannan Hormizd's growing infirmity and the desirability of avoiding inconvenience and harm should the patriarchate suddenly become vacant. As a Persian by birth, Zayʿa could lay claim to the protection of the foreign consuls in Turkey. He had also been educated at the Propaganda, and it was hoped that after Yohannan's death he would loyally implement Vatican policy. The bull of appointment arrived in Mosul after the death of Yohannan Hormizd, thus Nicholas Zayʿa became patriarch in 1839 and was confirmed by the pope on April 27, 1840.

The Chaldean metropolitans Lawrent Shoʿa of Kirkuk, Basil Asmar of Amid, Joseph Audo of ʿAmadiya and Mikha'il Kattula of Seert, angered that they had not been consulted in the choice of Yohannan Hormizd's successor, met in the spring of 1839 in an attempt to elect one of their number patriarch, but were unable to agree. Meanwhile, Zayʿa retained the support of the Vatican's apostolic vicar, Laurent Trioche, and the metropolitan Gregory Peter di Natale, who wrote to the Vatican denouncing the conduct of the other bishops and requesting an unequivocal show of support for the new patriarch. The Vatican confirmed Zayʿa's succession on 27 April 1840, and directed the Chaldean bishops to obey him.