Eliya VII
Eliya VII was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 1558 to 1591, with residence in Rabban Hormizd Monastery, near Alqosh, in modern Iraq.Biography
Eliya was younger nephew of patriarch Shemon VII Ishoyahb, who originally designated Eliya's older brother Hnanishoʿ as his successor. Several years later, probably because Hnanishoʿ had died in the interim, patriarch Shemon VII transferred the succession to his other nephew, fifteen-year-old Eliya. Thus he became natar kursya of the Patriarchal Throne. In 1545, Eliya was made Metropolitan. His uncle, patriarch Shemon VII, died on 1 November 1558, and was succeeded by Eliya who became new Patriarch of All the East. During his patriarchal tenure, from 1558 to 1591, Church of the East preserved its traditional christology and ecclesiastical independence. He died on May 16, 1591, and was buried in the Rabban Hormizd Monastery.
