enthroned ended consecrated_by predecessor successor patriarch_of birth_name birth_place death_date death_place consecration article_title see birth_date image ordination name church
september 29 , 1864 july 13 , 1897 clement bahouth clement bahouth peter iv geraigiry patriarch of antioch hanna youssef-sayour near alexandria , egypt 13 july 1897 damascus nov 13 , 1856 -lrb- bishop -rrb- gregory ii youssef
 patriarch of antioch october 17 , 1823 gregory ii youssef.jpg june 11 , 1854 -lrb- priest -rrb- gregory ii youssef melkite greek catholic church
gregory ii youssef

patriarch gregory ii youssef , also known as gregory ii hanna youssef-sayour -lrb- october 17 , 1823 -- july 13 , 1897 -rrb- , was patriarch of the melkite greek catholic church from 1864 to 1897 .
gregory expanded and modernized the church and its institutions and participated in the first vatican council , where he championed the rights of the eastern catholic churches .
gregory is remembered as a particularly dynamic patriarch of the melkite church .
he is recognized as one of the forerunners of interconfessional dialogue and as an advocate for preserving the traditions and autonomy of the melkites .
