Timothaus Shallita
Timothaus Mar Shallita Youwala (born July 14, 1936) is the Archbishop of the Ancient Holy Apostolic Catholic Church of the East for Germany and all Europe, based in Mainz-Kastel, Germany.
He was born in Barwari Bala, Iraq, in the village of Galja, into the Mar Youalla family, which has served the Church of the East for centuries. He was ordained a deacon in 1954 by Metropolitan Mar Yosip Khnanisho.
After the death of Bishop Mar Yalda Yawallaha, a succession dispute arose between Shallita and his younger cousin Andreos. In 1957 Andreos was made bishop; Shallita and his supporters left and joined the Syriac Orthodox Church. In Beirut, on October 23, 1958, he was consecrated Archbishop by Patriarch Ignatius Ya`qub III. He joined communion with the Syriac Orthodox Church but did not become a member of their Holy Synod. He returned to Iraq later that year.
Back home, political turmoil followed: the monarchy fell after King Faisal II was killed in 1958. In 1963, Kurdish conflicts forced him to move to Mosul, then to Damascus, where he met Ignatius Ya`qub III, who referred him to the World Council of Churches.
Representatives of the Evangelical Church in Germany invited him to Darmstadt, and he moved there in 1967 to study German. In 1969 he left the Syriac Orthodox Church and joined the Ancient Church of the East in Baghdad. He did not join its Holy Synod until 1995, when he was recognized as Metropolitan of Germany and Europe.
As a church leader, he helped establish new Assyrian communities in Europe, for example opening St. Georges Church in Joenkoping, Sweden. He also consecrated clergy in London, Denmark and Marseilles, and a church in Los Angeles was established in 1997.
Two patriarchs now claim leadership of the Assyrian Church, but Shallita has worked to unite the communities by negotiating with both. He speaks Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Arabic, Kurdish, German and English. He has long aided Assyrian refugees, including efforts in Greece (1978), Italy (1983) and Turkey (1991) with the UNHCR. In Turkey he helped reorganize refugee camps and helped thousands of Assyrians find safety in Europe.
He remains dedicated to serving Assyrian communities across Europe and beyond.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:39 (CET).