Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa

Who was Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa?

Mar Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa was the first Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, from 1553 to 1555.

Yohannan Sulaqa's ascension as Patriarch was part of the 1552 schism in the Church of the East which resulted in the establishment of rival patriarchates and ultimately a permanent rift in the Church. He was elected by those who opposed the hereditary patriarchal succession and he took an unprecedented step in the Church of the East: he traveled to Rome, accepted the Catholic creed and was consecrated as Patriarch in 1553. His reign did not last long though: Upon his return, due to strong opposition by the opposing patriarch, Sulaqa was imprisoned by the Ottoman leader of Amadiyah, tortured, and executed in January 1555. He is considered a martyr of the Catholic Church.