Bishop François Beyrouti

Bishop François Beyrouti received episcopal consecration on October 12, 2022, and, on October 19, 2022, was installed as the diocesan bishop. We pray for Bishop François that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, will give him continued good health and long life, and “give him a spirit of courage and right judgment, a spirit of knowledge and love”.

Bishop François was born July 3, 1971, to Elias and Maggy Beyrouti in Hadeth-Beirut, Lebanon. The family emigrated to Canada in 1976, settling in North Vancouver, British Columbia. He attended primary and secondary Catholic schools in North Vancouver. He then entered the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission, British Columbia in 1989 where he completed a B.A. in 1993. He then moved to Ottawa, Ontario, and in 1996 completed a Civil and Ecclesiastical Baccalaureate in Theology in Eastern Christian Studies at the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at Saint Paul University. In 1997, he completed a Master of Arts in Theology, Biblical Studies concentration, and in 1998, a Licentiate in Theology, Biblical Studies concentration, both at Saint Paul University (Ottawa, Ontario). He has also completed workshops in Conflict Resolution and Youth Ministry.

On October 4, 1998, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Sleiman appointed as assistant pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Melkite Catholic Church in Ottawa where he ministered until January 31, 2010. There he focused on building up pastoral programs, developing strong children, youth, and young adult ministries, leading marriage preparation programs, media work with newspapers, radio, and TV stations, and engaged political leaders on religious topics. On the occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the accession of Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth to the Throne, he was awarded the Golden Jubilee Medal in a ceremony at the Parliament of Canada on November 1, 2002.

In 2013, he received a PhD (The University of Ottawa) and DTh (Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Ontario) for his thesis on Origen of Alexandria’s Commentary on the Gospel of John. During these studies, he attended and presented at Academic conferences and published articles and book reviews in academic journals. He was later incardinated into the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton, USA and, on November 2012, appointed as pastor of Holy Cross Melkite Catholic Church in Placentia, California. He has taught the following courses: “Christianity in the Middle East” (2000), “Hermeneutics and Exegesis in Eastern Christianity” (2000, 2003, & 2015), “The Synoptic Gospels” (2008), “The Eastern Catholic Churches at Vatican II” (2014), and online courses on the Gospel of Saint Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, the Bible in the Divine Liturgy, the Old Testament Prophecies of Jesus, and Foundational Bible resources.

Bishop Franois Beyrouti received episcopal consecration on October 12, 2022, and, on October 19, 2022, was installed as the diocesan bishop. We pray for Bishop François that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, will give him continued good health and long life, and “give him a spirit of courage and right judgment, a spirit of knowledge and love”.