4:3 FILE of Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Zakka Iwas, who has died at age 80

(21 Mar 2014) The Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church Ignatius Zakka Iwas, the leader of one of world's oldest Christian sects, has died aged 80. Syrian state news agency SANA said Iwas was admitted into a German hospital for treatment on 20 February. He died on Friday in Germany after a long illness, the official news service said. Church officials on Friday said the patriarch's remains would be brought from Germany to Lebanon. From there they were to be transferred to Syria by land for burial. Iwas' official title was the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. His church, known as the Syrian Orthodox Church, was founded in the year 452 after a schism with the bulk of the world's Christians. There are more than four (M) million members, living in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, although there are also significant communities in Germany, Sweden and in the United States, where immigrants from the Near East introduced the faith in the late 19th century. Iwas was born in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. He was enthroned as patriarch in 1980 in St. George's Patriarchal Cathedral in Damascus. Before that he served as metropolitan bishop of Mosul. He was the archbishop of Baghdad and Basra when he became patriarch. Since then, he has lived and worked in Damascus, the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...