Public lifeבוטרוס מועלם

Boutros Mouallem

Boutros Mouallem was a Melkite Greek Catholic archbishop who served as Archbishop of Akko, Haifa and the Galilee from 1998 to 2003.

1928 to 2026Melkite Archbishop of the GalileeInterfaith reconciliation work1998 dispute over his election

Born: 10 May 1928, Eilabun
Died: 13 May 2026, Eilabun
Occupation: Catholic priest, Catholic bishop

Boutros Mouallem was born in 1928 in Eilabun

Mouallem was born in Eilabun in the Galilee in 1928. He studied at the Minor and Major Seminaries of the St. Paul Missionaries in Harissa, Lebanon. He was ordained a priest in 1955 for the Missionary Society of St Paul.

From 1955 to 1975 he taught literature and classical languages at the seminary in Harissa. He also taught philosophy and sociology at St. Anne in Jerusalem, and later theology and Islamology at St. Paul's High Institute in Harissa. From 1975 to 1987 he led St. Paul's Society as superior general.

In 1990 he was consecrated bishop of the Melkite eparchy in São Paulo, Brazil. In 1998 the Melkite Synod elected him Archbishop of Galilee. The Israeli government opposed the choice, saying he favored the PLO, and this led to a dispute with the Holy See.

He worked for interfaith reconciliation and for the rights of Palestinians. In 2002 Israeli airport guards stopped him from traveling to an interfaith meeting in London. He resigned in 2003 because of his age and died in Eilabun in 2026.