vatican.va - 16.07.2025 - The Synod of Bishops of the Patriarchal Church of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Baalbek of the Greek-Melkites, presented by Archbishop Elias Youssef Rahal, S.M.S.P., and has elected the Reverend Fr. Makhoul Farha, O.C.D., as archbishop of the same circumscription, to which the Holy Father had granted his assent.
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Archbishop-elect Makhoul Farha was born in Ras-Baalbek, Lebanon, on 28 December 1959. He entered the Carmelite family in 1974 and gave his solemn vows in 1983. He was ordained a priest on 14 July 1984.
He obtained a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Urbaniana University of Rome (1988), and has held various offices in his Order in Lebanon, including: rector of the studentate (1989-2002), provincial counsellor (1996-1999), superior of the Notre Dame du Mont Carmel Monastery in Hazmieh and first provincial counsellor (1999-2002), and provincial superior (2002-2008 and 2011-2017). He has also served as judicial vicar of the apostolic vicariate of Beirut of the Latins (2012-2020), responsible in Lebanon for the Ecclesiastical Tribunal for faithful of Latin Rite (1989-2002) and president of the Ecclesiastical Appeals Tribunal for the Latins (1992-2012), the Chaldeans (1992-2020) and the Syriac Catholics (2000-2002), judicial vicar and president of the Tribunal for the faithful of Syriac Rite (2002-2017), and judicial vicar and president of the Tribunal for faithful of Armenian Rite (2000-2020).
He has been a member of the Committees for the Liturgy, the Family, and Canonical Affairs, and the Ecclesiastical Tribunals of the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops of Lebanon (1995-2020). Since 2020 he has been the delegate of the Superior General of the Carmelites for Egypt.