Vatican Approves Chaldean Church Request to Drop Babylon From Patriarch’s Title

The Synod of Chaldean Bishops met in Baghdad in mid-August under the chairmanship of Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako and voted unanimously to drop the description “Patriarch of Babylon” from the patriarch’s title. The Patriarchate said the title lacked a historical basis. The synod adopted a simpler designation for the title, “Chaldäische Patriarchate” (Chaldean Patriarchate).

Not everyone welcomed the change. The Chaldean Writers Association expressed regret about the synod’s decision in an online appeal. A reply from the Patriarchate said that many of the critical comments came from Chaldean diaspora circles, while no one in Iraq had opposed the decision.

The Patriarchate’s account of the title’s history placed the word “Babylon” in its present form in 1724, when Patriarch Youssef III added it while he was residing in Diyarbakir. Reckoning honestly with the historical record, as the Patriarchate described it, is a matter of truthfulness (Ephesians 4:15).

Pope Francis then granted a request from Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako, made in the name of the Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Church, to change the patriarchate’s title. The Holy See’s press office announced the change on a Saturday. The reports do not give the date of the announcement.

The Chaldean Church is organized in 20 eparchies, and its Patriarchate is based in Baghdad, Iraq. Most Chaldeans live in Iraq, where most Chaldean Christians belong to the Chaldean Church. After Arabs and Kurds, Chaldeans form the third-largest ethnic group in Iraq.