Metropolitan Saba Esper – Locum Tenens of Patriarch of Antioch

Metropolitan Saba (Esper) was elected Locum Tenens of the throne of the patriarchs of Antioch. The appointment came on Friday, 7 December 2012, during a meeting at Balamand monastery, some 85 kilometers north of Beirut. Metropolitan Saba has jurisdiction over the south areas of Syria. Lebanese leaders announced Sunday as an official day of mourning over the patriarch’s death and described Hazim’s death as a loss for Lebanon and the region.