BURBANK : Archbishop Wants Tomb at St. Ephraim

To be buried at the resting place of his choosing, a Syrian Orthodox Church archbishop has to get a stamp of approval from City Hall.

The Burbank City Council will hold a hearing today on changing zoning laws that prohibit burials except in a cemetery. The hearing is in response to a request by the St. Ephraim Syrian Orthodox Church on Glenoaks Boulevard.

“Our archbishop, according to our tradition, should always be buried in a church sanctuary,” said the Rev. Joseph Tarzi, pastor of the church.

Tarzi said Archbishop Athanasius Y. Samuel, the Syrian Orthodox Church’s American archbishop, has chosen the Burbank church as his final resting place because it has the largest single congregation among Syrian Orthodox Churches in the United States, and because of a special affinity for the church.

“He’s visited us several times,” Tarzi said. “He liked the facility.”

Samuel, who lives in New Jersey, is best known for his role in discovering a portion of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Samuel had once been the Syrian Orthodox Church’s archbishop of Jerusalem, Tarzi said.

If the council approves the zoning change, St. Ephraim’s--and any other Burbank church--would be able to apply for a conditional use permit to have a burial on the premises. Tarzi said that Samuel, who is 86 and in good health, would be buried in a simple tomb behind the altar.

The Burbank church has almost 650 families as members. Nationwide there are about 25,000 to 30,000 members of the Syrian Orthodox Church.

“Church burials are commonplace in some places,” Burbank City Planner Rick Pruetz said. “They are more pervasive in eastern parts of the country than they are here.”

The city planning board has already voted in favor of the zoning change, but it must be approved by the council as well.

For now, St. Ephraim’s is the only Burbank church requesting the permission from the city. “I’m aware of no other churches that are interested,” Pruetz said.

The City Council’s final approval on the action would come next week.