Qoro, Elias Malke (1881–1962) [Syr. Orth.]

Patr. delegate to Malankara.

Patr. delegate to Malankara. He was born in Mardin in Aug. 1881 and studied at the school of the Church of the Forty Martyrs there. He joined Dayr al-Zaʿfarān in 1902 and became a monk on 16 June 1905. Elias was appointed secretary to Patr. ʿAbdullāh Ṣaṭṭūf in 1906 and was ordained priest in 1908. He accompanied the patr. on a trip to Jerusalem , Istanbul, London, Paris, Egypt, and India, from 1908 till 1911. In London, he met King Edward VI twice and dined at his table. He became abbot of Dayr al-Zaʿfarān in 1911 and was appointed director of its printing press. Elias was consecrated bp. on 23 Sept. 1923 in the Church of the Forty Martyrs, with the honorific title Yulios, and was appointed to serve in Malankara. He became a Patriarchal Delegate to Malankara in 1927. In 1932, he established Dayro d-Mor Ignatius on the burial site of Patr. Eliya III . He also oversaw the establishment of a few monasteries and churches in Malankara. He died in 1962 while serving in India and was buried at Dayro d-Mor Ignatius.

Elias was one of the foremost masters of the Beth Gazo melodies. His student Patr. Ignatius Yaʿqub III later produced audio recordings of the Beth Gazo that remain an important learning resource for the clergy.