Death of Bishop Stephen Hector Doueihi Bishop Stephen Hector Doueihi, Bishop Emeritus of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, passed away this morning, December 17, 2014. Bishop Doueihi was born to Youssef and Hassiba Zakhia Doueihi on June 25, 1927 in Zgharta, Lebanon. He attended the Patriarchal Seminary of Saint Maron in Ghazir, Lebanon, from 1941 to 1945; the Major Seminary at the University of Saint Joseph in Beirut, from 1946 to 1949; and the Pontifical College of Propaganda Fide in Rome, from 1952 to 1956. He was ordained a priest for the Patriarchal Eparchy in Lebanon, on August 14, 1955, at the Chapel of the Patriarchal Summer Residence in Dimane, by His Beatitude, Paul Peter Cardinal Meouchi, the late Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. After ordination, Father Doueihi returned to Rome to earn a Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, which he received in 1959. His Doctoral dissertation was entitled: Ibn AI-QaIoi, moine Franciscan et eveque Maronite +1516. Upon his return to Lebanon, he was appointed Pastor of the Parish of Zgharta which he served from 1959 to 1969, simultaneously serving as Administrator of the Wakfs of Zgharta from 19671969. In October of 1969, he was assigned as Pastor of the Maronite Parish of Our Lady of Bethlehem in Puebla, Mexico. In 1972, Father Doueihi was received into the Maronite Diocese of the United States by Archbishop Francis M. Zayek. In August of 1973, he was appointed Pastor to the Maronite faithful in Peoria, Illinois, and later, he was assigned as Administrator of Saint George Church in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. In 1977, Father Doueihi was appointed Vice Rector of Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Seminary in Washington, D.C. and Assistant Pastor at the Parish of Our Lady of Lebanon in the same city. In 1978, he was appointed as the Director of the Office of Liturgy for the Diocese. During his tenure in that position, he provided vital leadership in the implementation of reforms to the Maronite Liturgy in the United States, and he was responsible for the many English texts of the liturgical reforms of the Maronite Divine Liturgy and Mysteries published by Saint Marons Publications. In 1979 he was appointed Pastor of Our Lady of Lebanon Parish in Washington, D.C. where he served until 1989. He was then named Rector of Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Brooklyn, N.Y. That same year, he was ordained a Chorbishop, and he was appointed by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir as a member of the Patriarchal Liturgical Commission. Chorbishop Doueihi has also served the Diocese as a Protopresbyter, a member of the Presbyteral Council and of the College of Consultors. On November 23, 1996, Pope John Paul II appointed Chorbishop Doueihi as the second Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, and he was enthroned on February 5, 1997 at Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY. Bishop Doueihi is well-known as a teacher. In addition to his teaching at the Seminary of Our Lady of Lebanon in Washington, D.C., he was a professor of Theology at the University of Saint Joseph in Beirut; at the Seminary of Karmsaddeh in the Diocese of Tripoli in Lebanon; at the University of the Holy Spirit at Kaslik in Lebanon; and at the Seminary of the Diocese of Puebla in Mexico where he also served as a professor of French Language. He was fluent in seven languages: Arabic, French, English, Italian, Spanish, Syriac and Latin. His scholarly publications include: Notre Eglise en question (Beirut, 1969); A Priest Among Us (in Arabic); Un Theologien Maronite, GebraiI Ibn evéque et moine Franciscain, 145D1516 (Kaslik, Lebanon, 1993); an Arabic Translation of Priéres by Father Michel Quoist; The Church of Stone and the Church of People (in Arabic, Almawakif, N.15, 1969, Lebanon); and The Maronite Pontifical (1995). Bishop Stephen Hector Doueihi will be waked at Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, (109 Remsen Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201) on Saturday, December 20, from 4:00 - 8:00 PM, and on Sunday, December 21, from 2:00 - 8:00 PM. On both days, the Ginnaz will be celebrated at 5:00 PM. The Funeral Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at the Cathedral on Monday at 12:00 PM. A Mercy Meal will follow in the Cathedral Parish Hall. (Bishop Gregory will accompany Bishop Doueihis body to Lebanon for burial.) On behalf of Bishop Gregory, all of the clergy, religious, and laity of the Eparchy, our sincere expressions of sympathy are extended to Bishop Doueihis family and friends. May he rest in peace.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 03:45:34 +0000