Metropolitan Saba (Esber)

Metropolitan Saba (Esber) (1959-____)

Saba may be spelt Sava, Sabbas.

Esber may be spelt Esper, Isper.

"The Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East" is sometimes called "The Antiochian Orthodox Church" ; "The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East".

Early life of Saba Esber

In 1959, Saba Esber was born in Latakia, Syria, to an Orthodox Chrisian family.

Latakia, a port city on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, was formerly known as Laodicea in Syria, or “Laodicea ad Mare” in the time of the Roman Empire, and as “Lazkiye” in the Ottoman Empire.

The birth of Saba Esber took place only a little more than a decade after the end of the French Mandate which regulated Syrian life after World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and with it the beginning of the independence of Syria.

Saba Esber was raised to be an Orthodox Christian, and he grew up in the bosom of the Orthodox Church of Antioch. He received his primary and secondary education in his home city.

Higher education

Saba Esber entered the Tishreen University in Latakia, where he studied civil engineering. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1984.

Diaconal ordination, 1984

In 1984, Saba Esber was ordained to the Holy Diaconate.

Diaconal service

After his diaconal ordination, Deacon Saba Esber studied theology at the Saint John of Damascus Institute, University of Balamand, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Theology degree in 1990.

Presbyteral ordination, 1988

In 1988, Deacon Saba Esber was ordained to the Holy Priesthood.

Pastoral service

While he continued his studies, Priest Saba Esber was assigned also to serve at the Church of the Archangel Michael in Latakia.

While he was a priest, he initiated the publication of the Orthodox magazine “Farah” for children in 1993, and the magazine “Farah” for the family in 1994. From 2010, he began publishing in the English language.

In 1994, Priest Saba Esber was elevated to the dignity of archimandrite.

Election to the Holy Episcopate, 1997

In 1997, Archimandrite Saba (Esber) was elected by the Holy Synod of the Church of Antioch to become a bishop.

Episcopal ordination, 1997

On 20 December, 1997, Archimandrite Saba (Esber) was ordained to the Holy Episcopate in the Mariamite Holy Dormition Cathedral in Damascus, Syria. He was ordained by Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) of Antioch, together with other bishops of the Church of Antioch.

Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim)

Episcopal service

Bishop Saba (Esber) was assigned to serve as a Vicar-Bishop to Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hakim).

Then he was assigned to serve as a Vicar-Bishop in the Diocese of Latakia and the Exarchate of Theodorias. He served under Metropolitan Youhanna (Mansour).

In 1999, he was elected by the Holy Synod of Antioch to be the Metropolitan of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Araba and Golan.

Metropolitan of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab and Golan, 1999

Bishop Saba (Esber) was enthroned to be Metropolitan of the Diocese of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab and Golan in As-Suwaydā.

Church of Saint George in As-Suwaydā

Bosra is an ancient city with a very long history, and it began as a Nabataean city in the 2nd century BC. It is currently within the Daraa District of the Daraa Governorate in southern Syria, in the Hauran Region. The archdiocese itself includes officially the Golan Region, an area claimed by Israel since 1967, and the area known as Jabal al-Arab. The centre of the diocese is in the city As-Suwaydā, in the southernmost area of Syria. Long ago a part of what was known as Arabia Petraea in the time of the Roman Empire, this region was evangelised by the Holy Apostle Timon as Bishop of Bosra.

Holy Table, and High Place iconography, Saint George Church

Metropolitan Saba's episcopal service in the Hauran Diocese was exercised largely in the midst of extremely difficult circumstances, since the region over which he had presided had been particularly badly damaged and materially impoverished by the Syrian civil war which began in about 2014 (and which was preceded by the so-called “Arab Spring” uprisings which had begun in 2011 under foreign influence).

During the course of his archpastoral labours in the Archdiocese of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab, from 1995 to 2006, Metropolitan Saba taught Pastoral Care and Introduction to the Old Testament at the Saint John of Damascus Institute at the University of Balamand at Tripoli, Lebanon.

Earlier, Sayidna Saba had established a publishing house in the diocese. Further, he established the “Al-Arabiya” magazine for adults, and he continued issuing the “Farah” magazine for children.

He has been writing a weekly article every Monday on his Facebook page. He has also written on many topics in the magazines "Al-Nour" and "Patriarchy" and "Arab".

In the context of developing the resources and endowments of the diocese, Sayidna Saba established :

• 'Bread for All' project
• A charitable clinic in his diocese (Suwayda)
• A house for university students in As-Suwayda and Daraa (150 students)
• The House of Love for retirees with 48 studios
• Several agricultural projects in the diocese
• House of Spiritual Retreat (Beitanya) 
• The Good Samaritan, a multifaceted charitable organisation for members of the Archdiocese displaced or otherwise affected by the recent wars
• A list of the most important books written in and translated from English for a living church

“Twinning” the diocese of Hauran with the Diocese of Wichita in the USA

Metropolitan Saba (Esber)

As part of his friendship with Bishop Basil (Essey) of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, Metropolitan Saba supervised a programme of "twinning" between parishes of the North American archdiocese and his own archdiocese of Hauran as part of a "sister diocese" relationship. Through this relationship (specifically with the Diocese of Wichita, Wichita, Kansas), support was provided to the ancient diocese of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab so that it could have better resources for nurturing the Orthodox Christian Faith in the Faithful. The Faithful of the Hauran diocese have long struggled to persevere despite Ottoman Islamic oppression ; but more recent warring increased the difficulty and deprived the diocese of some of its traditional territory through invasion.

Nomination to the North American Archdiocese, 2022

In 2022, Metropolitan Saba was included among the names on the nominating ballot for consideration for election by the Holy Synod of Antioch to be the next metropolitan-archbishop of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.

Metropolitan Archbishop of New York and the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, 2023

On 23 February, 2023, the Holy Synod of the Church of Antioch elected Metropolitan Saba to be transferred to the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America in order to fill the vacancy of metropolitan archbishop of North America.

Session of election, January, 2023

 Decision of the Holy Synod, 23 February, 2023
 
 Whereas the 'Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America',
 which constitutes one of the Archdioceses of the See of Antioch, became vacant
 after the resignation of His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph Zahlaoui ;
 And whereas His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X, by virtue of the Basic Statute and the
 Internal  Regulations of the  See of Antioch,  had appointed His  Eminence
 Metropolitan Antonios (Al Souri) of Zahleh, Baalbek, and Dependencies as
 Patriarchal Vicar for this Archdiocese ;
 And whereas His Eminence Metropolitan Antonios (Al Souri) had called for a Special
 Convention of the Archdiocese, which nominated, according to the Vicar’s official
 correspondence of 14 January, 2023, three candidates listed as follows, in
 alphabetical order by first name : Bishop John Abdalah, Bishop Nicholas Ozone, and
 Metropolitan Saba Isper ;
 And whereas His Eminence the Patriarchal Vicar has submitted a report to the Holy
 Synod in which he presented the current situation of the Archdiocese and the
 expectations of her Faithful, based on his pastoral visits throughout the Archdiocese
 and the deliberations of the Special Convention ;
 
 And whereas the Holy Synod has taken note of the petition submitted by the 'Legal
 Committee' in the name of the Special Convention of the Archdiocese, considering
 Metropolitan Antonios (Al Souri), Metropolitan of Zahleh, Baalbek, and
 Dependencies, and Patriarchal Vicar for the Archdiocese of New York and All North America, 
 an 'eligible candidate', as received by His Beatitude on 16 January, 2023 ;
 
 Be it resolved by the Antiochian Holy Synod Fathers to :
 
 ⁃ Commend the efforts made by the Patriarchal Vicar, Metropolitan Antonios 
 (Al Souri), which had a positive resonance among the faithful of the
 Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in North America ;
 ⁃ Express thankfulness to the Auxiliary Bishops, Clergy, Board of Trustees, and the
 Archdiocesan Special Convention for their openness and co-operation with the
 Patriarchal Vicar during the period in which the Archdiocese was vacant ;
  ⁃ Acknowledge the leading role played by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian
 Archdiocese in North America, and the bonds formed by her Faithful with their
 Mother Church ;
 ⁃ Establish a Joint Committee to articulate a future vision for the role of this
 Archdiocese and her witness, and to examine her administrative structure and
 internal  regulations, in order to harmonise her legal, organisational, and
 administrative status, being an Archdiocese as all the Archdioceses of the See of
 Antioch, with the provisions of the Basic Statute of the See of Antioch and its
 internal regulations, and with the decisions of the Holy Synod of Antioch which
 oversees the work of the Archdioceses of the See of Antioch.  The conclusions and
 recommendations reached by the Joint Committee shall be submitted to the Holy
 Synod of Antioch in order to take the appropriate decisions thereon.
 
 ‐Accept and confirm the names of the three candidates nominated by the Special
 Convention of the Archdiocese held on 13 January, 2023, and take note of the
 position of Metropolitan Antonios who thanked the Special Convention for
 nominating him while appealing not to be considered a candidate, having been the
 Patriarchal Vicar who oversaw the nomination procedure.

Holy Synod of the Church of Antioch, February, 2023

On 23 February, 2023, Patriarch John X (Yazigi) sent an official letter to the Antiochian Archdiocese in North America in order to inform them of the decision.

On 24 February, 2023, Metropolitan Saba (Esber) wrote his first archpastoral letter to the Antiochian Archdiocese in North America.

On Sunday afternoon, 12 March, 2023, the clergy of the Diocese of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab and Golan prepared a farewell dinner and programme of gratitude for their beloved archpastor.

Service in North America

By mid-March, 2023, Metropolitan Saba (Esber) had arrived in New York, and he had begun to familiarise himself with the operation of the archdiocese at its headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey.

Very quickly after the announcement of the election, such items as the 2 following appeared on the internet :

2025

Even before the arrival of Metropolitan Saba in North America, a phenomenon had begun, which was the noticeable increase of people (primarly, but far from exclusively, males) embracing the Orthodox Christian Faith. This approach to the Church was not experienced only in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, but it was experienced amongst most of the other Orthodox Christian dioceses, including the Oriental Orthodox.

By 2025, the number of such people had become so great that the existing parish communities were being affected. In July, 2025, Metropolitan Saba published his opinion (on "Facebook") about how to cope responsibly with the many new-arrivals :

 One of our priests described the influx of converts as a 'surge'.  This requires us to be very 
 discerning and thorough in our receiving inquirers.   Let us be cautious not to rejoice merely in 
 numbers at the expense of spiritual quality (and the health of our parishes). 
 
 We also look forward to soon establishing a special ministry for the newly illumined.  After their 
 baptism or chrismation, they must be accompanied spiritually and pastorally for an extended 
 period so that they may integrate into Church life with a pure Orthodox spirit.  They must 
 experience the parish as a Eucharistic community, a true fellowship, a genuine family of Christ, 
 and acquire the Orthodox mindset and conscience.  
 
 Orthodoxy, beloved, is not an ideology ; it is a way of life, founded on faith that has been 
 articulated in doctrine so that it may be preserved and passed down by the faithful.  There is a 
 vast difference between doctrinal faith and ideological thinking.

– Vicar-Bishop to Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) 1997.

– Vicar-Bishop in the Metropolis of Latakia 1998.

– Metropolitan of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab and Golan 1999-2023. Preceded by : ____. Succeeded by : ____.

– Metropolitan of New York and the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of America 2023-____. Preceded by : Metropolitan Joseph (Al-Zehlaoui). Succeeded by : ____.

Reflections

During the more than 20 years of his archpastoral service in the Metropolis of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab and Golan, Metropolitan Saba (Esber) was diligent in his paternal and pastoral care for the spiritual flock under his omophor. He was for the rational sheep a careful guide on the path of the True Faith, and he used both education and practical social care to help them keep on the straight path, and to nurture and strengthen them. He was a very clear guide, whose diligent labours bore fruit in the Faithful.

Writings

Metropolitan Saba (Esber) has translated numerous books and articles into Arabic, and he has served as author and editor of many other articles. Many of these can be found in English (automatic translation) on the web-site of the Archdiocese of Bosra, Hauran, Jabal al Arab and Golan under the title “Bishop’s Words”.

He is the author of the following publications (which may be read in translation on the web-site) :

• "Words from the Heart"

• "For the Sake of a living Church"

• "Contemporary Christian Reading of the Old Testament"

• "Condolences, my People"

• "Beware of Idols"

• "His Path to Him"

• "On the Way to Salvation", 4 volumes

• "Orthodox Spirituality"

He is the translator (from English into Arabic) of the following :

• "Saint Raphael of Brooklyn"

• "The Mystery of Faith" (Hilarion Alfeyev)