Joseph II (Chaldean Patriarch)

Mar Joseph II (* 1667 in Tel Keppe, † June 2, 1712 in Diyarbakir ) was a patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church ( Patriarchate of Diyarbakir ).

Sliba ( Saliba ) of the family Mar'uf was born near Mosul as a child of Christian parents in Tel Keppe (Tell Kefe ). He learned his theological training evident in Latin missionaries. At the age of 22, he was ordained in Diyarbakir by the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Joseph I as a priest and in 1691 the Metropolitan of Diyarbakir. Already in 1694 appointed him Joseph I († 1707 in Rome) as his successor in the patriarchate. Only as such, he learned the Arabic language. On May 21, 1696 Joseph II received by Pope Innocent XII. Confirmation and pallium as " Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans " ( Patriarche Babylonensis Chaldaeorum ), also called himself " Patriarch of Mesopotamia ". Next to the church office, he worked as a copyist, translator and author. Joseph II died as victims of raging in the region since 1708 plague, shortly after he had received permission to move to Rome. As Pestkranker he was not buried in his cathedral Mar Pethion, but outside the city.

Mar Joseph II wrote numerous works, both in Syriac as in Arabic. He also translated many Roman Catholic art of the West in these languages.