Nicholas Samra

Bishop Nicholas Samra
Eparch of Newton
Church	Melkite Greek Catholic
See	Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton
In Office	August 23, 2011 —
Predecessor	Cyril Salim Bustros
Orders
Ordination	May 10, 1970 by Archbishop Joseph Elias Tawil
Consecration	July 6, 1989 by Archbishop Joseph Elias Tawil and Co-Consecraters Archbishop Michel Hakim, B.S. and Archbishop Boutros (Pierre) Raï, B.A.
Personal details
Born	August 15, 1944 Paterson, New Jersey

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Nicholas Samra (born August 15, 1944) is the eparch of the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton in the United States, elected in 2011. He has written extensively on the subject of ecumenism and the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Biography

Early life and priesthood

Samra was born in Paterson, New Jersey to George H. Samra and Elizabeth Balady Samra. His grandparents and his father were immigrants to the United States from Aleppo, Syria. He was ordained a priest for the Eparchy of Newton on May 10, 1970 and served as a pastor in Melkite parishes in Los Angeles, Chicago and New Jersey. Bishop Samra earned the B.A. at Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH, and a B.D. from St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts.

Episcopate

On April 21, 1989, Pope John Paul II appointed Samra Auxiliary Bishop of the Eparchy of Newton and Titular Bishop of Gerasa. Archbishop Joseph Tawil consecrated and installed him on July 6 of that year. Samra served as Auxiliary Bishop and Protosyncellus until he retired on January 11, 2005 to devote himself to scholarly work.^[1]

In June 2011, the Synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church nominated him as Eparch of Newton to succeed Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros, and Pope Benedict XVI appointed him to the position on June 15, 2011.^[2][3]

An active speaker and author, Samra has written extensively on the subject of ecumenism, Christian leadership and stewardship. He has also published a multi-volume history of the Melkite Church and a book on the legacy of Archbishop Joseph Tawil. He is the past president of the Eastern Catholic Association of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

References

1. ^ Catholic News Service (January 13, 2005). "Melkite Bishop Nicholas Samra retires". The Georgia Bulletin. http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2005/01/13/US-2/. 
2. ^ Robert M. O'Grady (June 24, 2011). "New bishop named for Melkite Catholics". The Boston Pilot. http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=13484. 
3. ^ "Bishop Nicholas James Samra". catholic-hierarchy.org. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bsamra.html. 

External links

• Official Website of the Melkite Church in the US.

Persondata
Name	Samra, Nicholas
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 15, 1944
Place of birth	Paterson, New Jersey
Date of death
Place of death