Syrian Archbishop to Be Buried in Holland

A top Syrian Orthodox Church leader, who had been denied the opportunity to be buried in Burbank, died of a stroke in New Jersey over the weekend and will instead be interred in Holland, a church official said Wednesday.

Followers of Archbishop Mar Athanasius Yeshue Samuel tried unsuccessfully for years to get permission to bury him in a vault behind an altar at St. Ephraim Syrian Orthodox Church in Burbank, located outside the city’s only cemetery zone.

But the Burbank City Council, fearful of setting a precedent that would allow burials just about anywhere in the city, denied the requests.

“It’s caused us a lot of pain and disappointment,” said Pastor Joseph Tarzi of St. Ephraim, which has the denomination’s largest congregation in the United States. “An archbishop has to be buried within his sanctuary. We’ve done it for 2,000 years. We can’t just stop doing this.”

The 87-year-old Samuel was best known for acquiring portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem in 1947 and bringing them to the United States. He served as the Syrian Orthodox Church’s second-ranking leader in the world, and was the church’s top leader in North America.

The Syrian Orthodox Church, known among members as the mother church of Christianity, has an estimated following of 35,000 to 40,000 nationwide, with about 5,000 who belong to St. Ephraim.

Samuel died at his home Sunday as he was preparing for an evening church service, said George Shammas, a spokesman at the cathedral in Teaneck, N.J., where Samuel was based.

After being rejected by the Burbank City Council last year, Samuel reportedly changed his will and asked that he be buried at St. Aphrem Syrian Orthodox Monastery in Holland.

“He always loved California,” Shammas said, “but he was accepted there.”