Nathanael Semaan

{{Short description|Iraqi Syriac Catholic bishop (born 1965)}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Archbishop-Bishop
| honorific_prefix = [[The Most Reverend]]
| name = Nathanael Nizar Wadih Semaan
| title = [[Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Adiabene|Eparch of Adiabene]]
| church = [[Syriac Catholic Church]]
| province = [[Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul|Mosul]]
| see = Adiabene
| appointed = 28 June 2019
| enthroned =
| term_end =
| predecessor = ''(See established)''
| successor =
| other_post = Coadjutor Archbishop of Mosul (2019)
| ordination = 1 November 1991
| ordained_by = [[Jules Mikhael Al-Jamil]]
| consecration = 7 June 2019
| consecrated_by = [[Ignatius Joseph III Yonan]]
| birth_name = Nizar Wadih Semaan
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|1|1|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Qaraqosh]], [[Iraq]]
| education = {{unbulleted list|[[Holy Spirit University of Kaslik]],|[[Pontifical Oriental Institute]]}}
}}

'''Nathanael Nizar Wadih Semaan''' (born 1 January 1965) is an Iraqi [[Syriac Catholic Church|Syriac Catholic]] hierarch, who has served as the first eparch of the [[Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Adiabene]] since its creation in June 2019. He previously served as the Coadjutor Archbishop of the [[Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul]] (2019).

== Early life and education ==
Nizar Semaan was born in [[Qaraqosh]] (Bakhdida), Iraq, in 1965. After primary and secondary studies he entered the patriarchal seminary of Charfet, Lebanon, where, from 1986 to 1991, he completed his education by studying at the [[Holy Spirit University of Kaslik]]. Following his ordination, he later moved to [[Rome]] to continue his higher education, where he obtained a doctorate in liturgical sciences from the [[Pontifical Oriental Institute]].{{cite web |url=https://www.syr-cath.org/news/display/3448 |title=استحداث أبرشية سريانية كاثوليكية جديدة في العراق باسم "أبرشية حدياب – أربيل وسائر إقليم كوردستان" وتسمية سيادة المطران مار نثنائيل نزار سمعان أسقفاً عليها |publisher=Syriac Catholic Patriarchate |language=ar |access-date=21 April 2026}}

== Priesthood ==
He was ordained to the priesthood on 1 November 1991 for the Archeparchy of Mosul. Following his studies in Rome, he served the Syriac Catholic diaspora in [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] starting in 2005, providing pastoral care for the community there until his appointment to the [[episcopate]].

== Episcopate ==
On 27 March 2019, [[Pope Francis]] confirmed his election by the Synod of the Syriac Catholic Church as the Coadjutor Archbishop of Mosul.{{cite web |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2019/03/27/0251/00509.html |title=Dalle Chiese Orientali, 27.03.2019 |date=27 March 2019 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |language=it |access-date=21 April 2026}} He was consecrated as a bishop on 7 June 2019 by Patriarch [[Ignatius Joseph III Yonan]].{{cite web |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bsemaan.html |title=Bishop Nathanael Nizar Wadih Semaan |publisher=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |access-date=21 April 2026}}

Only a few months later, on 28 June 2019, the Synod of the Syriac Catholic Church, with the approval of Pope Francis, established the new [[Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Adiabene]] with its see in [[Erbil]]. Semaan was named its first eparchial bishop.{{cite web |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2019/08/30/0645/01337.html#erez |title=Erezione dell’Eparchia Adiabene per i Siri (Iraq) e nomina del primo Vescovo |date=30 August 2019 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |language=it |access-date=21 April 2026}}

As eparch, he has been a vocal advocate for the Christian community in the [[Kurdistan Region]] of Iraq, focusing on the pastoral needs of those displaced from the [[Nineveh Plains]] following the occupation by [[ISIS]].

== See also ==
* [[Syriac Catholic Church]]
* [[Catholic Church in Iraq]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bsemaan.html Bishop Nathanael Nizar Wadih Semaan] at Catholic-Hierarchy.org

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Semaan, Nathanael}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Holy Spirit University of Kaslik alumni]]
[[Category:Pontifical Oriental Institute alumni]]
[[Category:Iraqi Eastern Catholics]]
[[Category:Syriac Catholic bishops]]
[[Category:21st-century Eastern Catholic archbishops]]
[[Category:People from Nineveh Governorate]]
[[Category:Bishops appointed by Pope Francis]]