Archbishop Yulian Yaacoub MRAD
the biography
Born in Aleppo – Syria, on June 28, 1968.
His parents are the late Edward Murad and the late Imelda Hasroni.
He is the eldest son of a family of five children, with two brothers and two sisters, his sister Victoria is a nun of the monastery of holy hearts
He received elementary classes in Aleppo at the “Friendship School ” of the Holy Hearts Sisters , then moved to the “Al-Iman School “in Aleppo where he completed the intermediate and secondary levels.
He entered the Grand seminary at the Monastery of Our Lady of Deliverance – Al-Shorfa (1986). Sent by the Tri-Mercy Bishop Mar Dionysius Philip Belloni.
He obtained a degree in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical College of Theology at the University of the Holy Spirit – Kaslik – 1991-
During his school years, he used to go on vacations to the Monastery of Saint Musa al-Habashi in Nabek.To participate in the restoration work that Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, a Jesuit, had begun in ancient Syriac monastery.
In July 1989, after a retreat in the mountain, he chose to devote himself to monastic life in the aforementioned monastery.
It was at the direction of the Bishop of Aleppo that he requested affiliation to the Diocese of Homs, Hama, Al-Nabk and its environs.
He was received by the tri-Merc Bishop Mar Ioannis Youhanna Dahi.
He was ordained an evangelical deacon on June 2, 1991, by the laying on of the hand of Patriarch Mar Ignatius Antoun II Hayek in the Church of Deir Al-Shorfa. Lebanon
Then he accompanied Father Paolo Dall’Oglio in re-establishing monastic life in the Monastery of Mar Musa Al-Habashi in the Nabek wilderness.
To be the first monk to contribute to restoring monastic life in our Syriac Catholic Church.
On July 20, 1993, he joined forces with Father Paolo to devote themselves to God in monastic life in the Monastery of Saint Musa al-Habashi
He was ordained a priest on August 28, 1993, by the laying on of the hand of His Excellency Bishop Mar Raboula Antoine Belloni, in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Aleppo.
To be a priest to serve the monastic altars, he took care of the choirs of the Diocese of Homs.
In 1996, he returned to Lebanon to specialize in liturgical sciences at the Holy Spirit University – Kaslik.
He moved between the university and the Monastery of Saint Musa until 1999
Appointed by the tri- Merciful, Mar Theophilus Girgis Kassab, as a priest of the parish of Mar Elian in Al-Qaryatayn – Homs (2000)
0He focused on rehabilitating the Monastery of Saint Elian Sheikh in the city of Al-Qaryatayn
Where it once again received visitors, pilgrims, tourists, and those seeking silence and prayer in the wilderness
In 2015, he was captured by the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) for five months.
Then he was able to escape with the help of a Muslim friend
In 2016, he moved to the Monastery of the Virgin Mary in the city of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
To help Father yens, the head of the monastery there, serve the displaced Christians coming to Sulaymaniyah from Qaraqosh
Between 2016-2020, he moved between his monastery in Sulaymaniyah and Europe to give life testimonies about monastic life, the conditions of Christians in Syria and Iraq, and
the experience of captivity.
In 2020, he returned to the Monastery of Mar Musa Al-Habashi and is still staying there
He published a book in French entitled “A Monk in Captivity” (2018).
He has many articles in local and international magazines and newspapers in several languages.
His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Ignatius Youssef III Younan appointed him as a member of the Patriarchal Liturgical Committee.
Proficient in the following languages: Syriac, Arabic, French, Italian, English.