Education
- Doctorate of Oriental Ecclesiastical Sciences (E.O.D.), Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome (2007)
- Concentration: Eastern Liturgies
- Dissertation: “The Lenten Liturgy of the Hours in the Assyrian Church of the East: A Historico‐Liturgical Study,” defended with honours magna cum laude.
- Licentiate of Sacred Theology (T.L.), Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome (2001)
- Concentration: Eastern Liturgy
- Master’s Thesis: “The Commentary of Mar Abraham bar Lipheh (VIIIth century) on the Liturgy and Hours: Syriac Text, English Translation and Liturgical Study.”
- Baccalaureate of Sacred Theology (T.B.), University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein (1999)
- Concentration: Systematic Theology
- Bachelor’s Degree, Loyola University of Chicago (1997)
- Major: Theology
- Minor: Philosophy
Academic Experience
- Supervisor for Higher Degrees by Research, Australian University College of Divinity (since 2025)
- Faculty member, Nisibis Assyrian Theological College
- Accreditation: Teacher (AUCD ID 647) of Biblical Studies (AQF 8) and Theology (AQF 9)
- 2021 T7232 The Sacraments, Nisibis Assyrian Theological College
Recent Publications
- The Book of Union of Babai the Great. English Translation with Edited Syriac Text. Edited by Mar Awa III Royel. Translated by Michael J. Birnie. Texts and Studies in Eastern Christianity 32. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2025.
- Royel, Mar Awa. “The Contribution of Mar ‘Abdīšō‘ of Nisibis in the Formation of the Sacramental Theology of the Assyrian Church of the East.” In Christianity, Islam and the Syriac Renaissance: The Impact of ‘Abdīshō‘ Bar Brīkha. Papers Collected on his 700th Anniversary (1318-2018). Ed. S. Rassi and Ž. Paša. Orientalia Christiana Analecta 316. Rome: Pontifical Oriental Institute, 2024: 105-137.
- Royel, Mar Awa. “The Theology of Synodality in the Assyrian Church of the East.” In Listening to the East: Synodality in Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Church Traditions. Ed. Institute for Ecumenical Studies of the Angelicum & Pro Oriente Foundation. Collana Ut Unum Sint 4. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2023: 421-434.
- Royel, Mar Awa. “The Memra of Patriarch Mar ‘Īšō’yahb I of Arzōn (581-595): The Cause of the ‘Holy God.’” Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 25:1 (2022): 85-136.
- Royel, Mar Awa. “From Mosul to Turfan: The Hūdrā in the Liturgy of the Assyrian Church of the East. A Survey of Its Historical Development and Its Liturgical Anomalies at Turfan.” Ex Fonte: Journal of Ecumenical Studies in Liturgy 1 (2022): 31-57.
- Royel, Mar Awa. “The Effects of the Recent COVID-19 Pandemic on the Eucharistic Practice of the Assyrian Church of the East.” In Gottesdienst auf eigene Gefahr? Die Feier der Liturgie in der Zeit von Covid-19. Ed. H.-J. Feulner and E. Haslwanter. Münster: Aschendorff, 2020: 723-734.
- Royel, Mar Awa. Mysteries of the Kingdom: The Sacraments of the Assyrian Church of the East. San Jose, CA: Edessa Publications, 2011 (second revised edition 2012; third revised edition 2019).
Ecclesiastical Appointments
- Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East (December 2008 – Present)
- President of the Commission on Inter‐Church Relations and Educational Development (CIRED) (December 2008 – Present)
- Consultant in Syriac and East Syrian Liturgy to the Christian Library from Turfan Research Project (Sponsored by the AHRC and SOAS of the University of London) (December 2011 – Present)
- Member of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East (October 2014)
- Co‐chair of the Commission for Bi‐Lateral Dialogue Between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Church of the East (July 2015)
Ecclesiastical Ordinations/Assignments
- Ordained deacon on January 19, 1992, by His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos‐Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Chicago (USA)
- Appointed to the “Literary Committee” of the Assyrian Church of the East, Chicago (USA) (1992‐1999)
- Ordained priest on May 23, 1999, by His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos‐Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Chicago (USA)
- Associate Pastor and Parish School Chaplain at St. Mary’s Parish, Los Angeles, California (July 2005 – May 2006)
- Assigned Parish Priest to Mar Yosip Parish, San Jose, California (May 2006)
- Ordained Cor‐bishop on July 15, 2007, by His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos‐Patriarch, Chicago (USA)
- Elected Bishop by the Holy Synod for the newly erected Diocese of California on October 30, 2008, Dohuk, Iraq
- Ordained Archdeacon on November 23, 2008, by His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos‐Patriarch, San Jose, California
- Consecrated Bishop for the Diocese of California on November 30, 2008, by His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos‐Patriarch, Modesto, California
- Consecrated Catholicos-Patriarch of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East on September 13, 2021, on the Feast of the Holy Cross, in the Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist in Erbil, Iraq
