Yousif Mary, Deacon, Author, and Teacher

By Adhid Yousif Miri, PhD

Generation after generation, locale after locale, it is true when people get educated, they get life lessons, advance intellect, and join the modern world. This is a glimpse into the history and contributions of the renowned Chaldean deacon, author, teacher, and educator Yousif Mansour Mary (Miri).

Father Michael Jajo Bazzi in his book (Tel Keppe Past and Present) printed in Mosul in 1969, p. 140. Mentions that the late Yousif Mansour Fransi Gorgis Yousif Francis is from the Mary (Miri/Mari/Mary) family. The author relied on the baptism register in the Church of Tel Kaif in 1901 AD. looking closely at the family tree sequence, we find that the sixth grandfather bears a French name (Faransi or Francis), which is a modern name that entered the region with the arrival of Catholicism less than two centuries ago, and it seems that the family was among the first to embrace the new theology.

Family Name Origin

According to the family elders, it is believed that the first ancestor of the family came from the village of (Mari) located in the far west of northern Iraq, between the Turkish Syrian Iraqi triangle, and from them branched out the (Dali), the (Gasso), and the (Gamsho) families.

Some other sources refer to a village in northern Iraq near Tal Afar, called (Abu Maria). The name Tal Afar is Chaldean, consisting of a compound word (Tal and Afar) Afra then - Obra, which means soil, i.e. (the hill of dirt), and in the town, there is a large, high, flat, ancient earthen mound that still stands to this day.

The village (Abu Maria) may have been called (Abu Mary), (Maria) or (Beit Maryam), (Beit Mari), and it was changed to (Abu Maria), as happened in the names of many sites in Iraq. Tal Afar is a city in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, located 63 km west of Mosul, 52 km east of Sinjar and 200 km northwest of Kirkuk. Its local inhabitants today are exclusively Turkmen

The city of Tal Afar and its surroundings were Christian settlements until four centuries ago, and the Christian population was forcibly displaced from those areas, to settle the Turkmen in the area separating the alluvial plains and the mountainous region, which is characterized by fertile plains and abundant water, and to form a human barrier between the Arabs and the Kurds, starting from the Iraqi-Iranian border and ending with Tal Afar.

Christians were forced to flee and seek refuge in nearby Christian villages and towns such as Tel Kaif (Tel-Keppe), Alqosh, Batnaya, Telesqif, Qaraqosh, and others. It is said that perhaps some of them converted to Islam by force, oppression, and tyranny.

Another opinion regarding the origin of the family name comes from one of the family members, the son of the deacon, Professor Malik Yousif Mary, , quoting his father and the elderly people of the village. The first story says, “The family migrated to Tel Kaif from the ancient village of (Mari), which was an Aramaic settlement located near the Syrian border in northwestern Iraq.

A second less likely theory, says that a Bedouin family settled near Tel Kaif, and a Christian family honored them by hosting them. In return for their kindness and to strengthen the ties between them, the Bedouin family gave one of their daughters, named (Marwa), to the Tel kaif family, and people began to refer to that family by the name of Beit (Mary), a distortion of the name (Marwa). We may find this situation strange at present, but in the past, it was more normal.

Birthplace

Tel-Keppe was the birthplace of Deacon Yousif Mary, in 1895. He grew up in a small house located within the Asmar neighborhood (Mahala). He had four brothers: Butros, Jajjo, Hanna and Gorkies.

His mother was Wardia Brikho, his father, Mansour, was a prominent deacon in the village and worked in writing letters for villagers, mailing and exchanging them between Tel- Kaif and Baghdad, calligraphy, and Knitting. Tel-Kaif was famous for the spinning and weaving profession, as there was a popular market near it called (Shouqa Dezala), meaning the yarn market, where buying and selling took place. This place still bears the same name to this day, and there is an old counterpart to it in the center of the capital, Baghdad.

The knitting profession was widely spread in all Christian villages due to its rewarding financial returns. It required skill, patience, discipline, knowing colors, dealing well, and having family members participate in completing the work.

Weaving was of various types: some specialized in weaving soft wool and silk (Muslin - to reference from Mosul) such as Kurdish clothes and bright women's cloaks, a section specialized in weaving cotton fabrics, usually beige, called (Maqta'a), some were specialized in weaving coarse wool to make Sacks, Hegba, Qira'a, and Saddlebags, which were replaced by large sacks called (Gawani). Mosul and Aleppo were on the ancient Silk Road and therefore, silk was available to the weavers.

The Town of Tel- Keppe (Tel-Kaif)

Tel-Keppe (Chaldean: ܬܸܠ ܟܹܐܦܹܐ Tel Keppe, Arabic: تل كيف Tall Kayf, alternatively spelled (Tel-Kaif, Tilkepe, or Telkeif), Tel Keppe District Aramaic for "Hill of Stones", is a district in Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. Its population were 100% Chaldeans in the last century, however, because of migration, regime change in 2003, and ISIL attacks in 2014, it is today inhabited by few Chaldeans, Assyrians, Yazidi with a minority of Arabs.

Most historians, including Yousif Hormuz Jammo, author of the book (The Antiquities of Nineveh or the History of Tel Kaif, first edition 1934), and Father Michael Jajo Bazzi in his book The Town of Tel Kaif, published in 1969, agree that Tel Kaif was one of the suburbs of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and with its fall in 612 BC, the residents left their homes in fear of the brutality of the conquerors.

The people in the village were all Chaldean Christians who spoke the common Chaldean dialect called (Surath) for centuries. They were simple villagers, peaceful farmers who honored guests, adhered to the fringes of religion and its tolerant teachings, and worked in rain-fed agriculture, primarily, in livestock herding, weaving, and some simple professions such as carpentry, blacksmithing, and work required to service agricultural equipment. The houses of the town were built of local stone or marble and plaster and housed several old churches. Over time, the houses and quarters were deserted, demolished, buildings fell, and without continuous maintenance their stones piled up in ruins.

This ancient Chaldean town was known as Tell al-Hajr, translated into Chaldean as (Tel -Keppe), and Arabized as (Tell Keif) due to the absence of the letter (P) in Arabic, and not as some malicious or naive people claim is Tell Al-Tarab (Music) and Al-Kaif (fun).

Tel Kaif expanded with the passage of time and the increase in population and was chosen at the beginning of the national rule in 1922 to be the center of the district, then it expanded further and on 1/26/1970 a republican decree was issued to make it the center of the district, and it is still so.

The people of Tel Kaif were famous for their risk-taking, adventure, and discovery of the unknown. With determination and hard work, they gained, experience, the trust of merchants and villagers, roles multiplied, trading sources diversified, and with that came financial rewards.

Due to the proximity of Tel Kaif to Mosul, which is a commercial center between Iraq, the Levant, Anatolia, Persia via Qasr Shirin, and due to its open geography, commercial influence extended from Mosul to Tel Kaif because which is located between the Ninevah plain and mountains. A number of Tel Kaif residents worked as secondary traders, intermediaries, traveling salesmen between Mosul, neighboring and distant villages such as Alqosh, Amadiya, and Zakho.

Animals were the only means of transportation at that time, so the acquisition of veterinary medicine, the sale of fabrics flourished among them, some were spun, woven, and manufactured to be transported to remote areas. And because trade teaches boldness, courage, and adventure they gained a fair amount of experience and were the first to sail the seas and oceans in order to reach Europe and the New World. Their descendants still carry the qualities and advantages of their fathers and grandfathers in boldness, success, helping others, and gaining the trust of all those who deal with them.

Many of the Chaldean Catholics in the Detroit metropolitan area trace their origins to Tel Keppe. According to the estimates of a priest of Tel Keppe's Sacred Heart Chaldean Rite Catholic Church, there were 10,000 worshippers in the late 1950s and this decreased to 2,000 around 2004. Today less than fifty culture hardened Chaldeans live in the town.

Growing Up in Tel Keppe

Yousif grew up in the village of Tel-Kaif as a young man with a slender, tall stature like the rest of his four brothers. He was raised in an atmosphere of religious teachings, inhaling the fumes of the nearby churches, delighting his ears with sweet hymns and learning melodious tunes from his father’s deacon Mansour.

His soul yearned to be an active member of the Lord's vineyard and the village church. He aspired to become a priest and entered the Patriarchal Priesthood Institute in Mosul on 9/7/1912 to study Classic Chaldean, Arabic, French, and English languages, in addition to religious texts. His first passion was teachings, adherence to pristine values, ethical principles, and high moral standards which remained with him until his death. He was able to instill the value of education in his children and students, and was a model of goodness, honesty, and cultural faith.

In 1918, World War I ended, the Patriarchate's treasury was empty of funds, its financial circumstances were difficult, so those in charge of the institute decided to cancel the seminarian’s enrollments and the students were asked to return to their homes in the villages forcing each to earn a living and decide on their future path. By the end of WAR I, few students like Yousif Mary decided to get married, while others returned to the Patriarchal Priesthood Institute.

His generational colleagues at the seminary and life were a number of venerable friends such as Patriarch Mar Paul II Cheikho (Mar Paul II Cheikho November 19, 1906 – April 13, 1989) who was the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1958 until his death in 1989. Bishop Yousif Babana, a native of Alqosh, (November 7, 1915 – September 9, 1973), Khouri Yousif Kado (March 5, 1892 -May 20, 1971), Cardinal Mar Emmanuel III Delly (1927-2014) , Bishop Jibraeel Ganni, Bishop Estephan Katcho, Father Philip Hilaie, monsignor  Qiryaqos Hakim, Bishop Mar Qiryaqos Mosses (Antar), Monsignor Yousif Kacha-chi, Father Ephram Rassam, and others from the generation of the World War I era.

Moving to Baghdad

World War I forced Yousif Mary to leave his beloved town Tel Kaif, his parents, his brothers, and his peers, heading towards the capital Baghdad. Travel was difficult and risky, using primitive wooden river flat boats (Kalaks) that carried passengers on a one-way journey down the Tigris River from Mosul to Baghdad. The voyage took a whole month, buffeted by the violent waves and enchanted by the violent wind, exposing themselves to the heat and cold and facing bandits.

In 1917 he arrived in Baghdad and was amazed by what he saw in the big city and surprised by what he heard. As a young country man, he was surrounded by temptations from every side, however, young Yousif was full of wisdom, and remained steadfast, solid in his upbringing, practicing worship fundamentals of going to church twice a day, serving mass, and staying away from the temptations of quick gains. This made him commit to the most honorable and least rewarding profession which is teaching young kids at Al-Tahira Private School from 1918 – 1924. His first residence in Baghdad was close to the school, in the priests’ house.

The Teaching Journey

Schools tell us a great deal about our educational history. With them we celebrate memories, principles, teachers, students, friends, uniforms, buildings, events etc.

Yousif Mary teaching journey takes us from the First American School for Boys in Baghdad (1924-1937) to Shamoun Al-Saffa in Mosul (1937-1945) and Al-Tahirah public school in Baghdad (1949-1963).

In 1924, an adventurous young couple accepted a commission to open an American school for boys in Baghdad. Setting foot on Iraqi soil the very day that the Constituent Assembly convened in Baghdad to frame a constitution for the new nation, Ida Staudt and her husband Rev. Calvin Staudt, PhD. The Staudt’s witnessed the birth of a fledgling new country under the British.

In view of his distinct capabilities mastering various languages (Chaldean, Arabic, English, French), dedication and successes, he was chosen by the Staudt’s to be a teacher, then a principal at the first American Elementary School in Baghdad that was founded by a Presbyterian priest from Boston (Dr. Calvin Staudt). The school consisted of three class levels and was located opposite the Patriarch Pierre Church near the current Al-Nidhal High School. The Patriarch Pierre Church was built in the Western style more than a hundred years ago and was named after its founder, Patriarch Pierre or Father Pierre. Sayed Sultan Ali

For the next twenty-three years, they taught hundreds of young boys whose ethnicity, religious background, and economic status were as varied as the region itself. Cultivating strong bonds with students and their families, the Staudt’s were welcomed into their lives and homes, ranging from the royal palace to refugee huts and Bedouin tents. The American Elementary School founded in 1924 was located in the Sayed Sultan Ali neighborhood in the heart of old Baghdad. The first principal of the school was Yousif Mary during the days of the elegant royal education.

There was a private school next to it called the Al-Nashe'a School. The school continued its cultural and educational activities in downtown Baghdad, expanded to become a one-year college, and with the death of its founder in 1947, the school was abolished on 10/12/1937.

An administrative Royal order was issued in 1937 to appoint Yousif Mary as a teacher in Mar Shimon Al-Safa in Mosul (after the nationalization of private schools, it was called the Babylon School). He rented a house near the church of (Miskanta) to be close to his school until 1949, when he was later transferred, based on his request, to the (Al-Tahira) Primary School, in Baghdad where he had previously worked and remained until his retirement in 1963.

Printing Challenges

The Dominican Fathers Press was the cradle of Christian book printing in Iraq. The mission of the monastic order of preacher brothers, known as the “Dominicans,” was launched in Mosul, the center of Nineveh Governorate, northern Iraq, in 1750. They were active in education, culture, guidance, and medicine, in addition to their religious and preaching activities.

The need to produce religious and schoolbooks led the Dominican Fathers to consider the printing press; they built their first printing press in 1857. The printing press was primitive and lithographic, printing by block method. However, its printing of illustrations for teaching students reading and writing in Arabic, French, and Chaldean was a marvel of its time. Where there was only the Dominican Fathers’ printing press in Mosul and the Chaldean / Chaldean letters were not available at the time.

The lithographic press produced 12 books, including: Rosary Prayers, Syriac Liturgical Prayers, the Chaldean Mass Rite, a summary of religious history and Christian origins, and others. The Dominican Fathers counted 565 printed books, in addition to publishing the magazine “the Crown of Roses” in three languages: Arabic, French, and Chaldean.

Due to the ravages of World War I, the French Dominican Fathers left Mosul in 1914. The Ottoman authorities seized the printing press and confiscated its contents, ending its existence after nearly 55 years of service and dedication. This presented a challenge for Yousif Mary to print his series of books about learning the Chaldean language.

The India Connection - From Baghdad to Malabar

Following World War I, Indian troops were a significant part of the British forces in the Mesopotamia campaign (modern-day Iraq) against the Ottoman Turks during World War I. Indian soldiers continued to be involved in Iraq, primarily as part of the British effort to maintain order and security during the post-war period. 

After the end of World War I, a large contingent of Indian soldiers, part of the Indian Expeditionary Force D, served in the Mesopotamian campaign, which included operations in Iraq. The British presence was aimed at maintaining order, suppressing potential uprisings, and safeguarding British interests, including oilfields in the region. Many Indian soldiers lost their lives in Iraq during and after World War I, and their sacrifices are remembered on memorials like the Basra Memorial.

Falling in love across enemy lines sounds like something out of a fairy tale, but nothing in war is simple. War brides subsequent to World War I were not common due to differences in religion and culture, shorter durations of wars, direct orders, and a change in immigration and military laws.

Differences in religion and culture presented additional challenges for forming relationships and marriages. The British authorities largely discouraged intermarriage, especially later in the colonial period, due to concerns about maintaining racial and social hierarchies. Similar social pressures might have discouraged relationships and marriage between Indian soldiers and local Iraqi women.

Many soldiers were convinced that going back to India offered them little economic opportunity and success. They therefore saw marriage as a gateway to a new country full of wealth and prosperity. They were referred to as Anglo-Indians.

Due to the absence of official records, it's difficult to determine the exact number of marriages between Anglo - Indian soldiers and Iraqi women during World War I. There have nevertheless been several well-publicized cases of Anglo-Indian soldiers marrying Iraqi women from Basrah.

Some of the Christian Anglo-Indian men moved with their Iraqi wives from Basrah to Baghdad and started attending local churches. It was there that Deacon Yousif Mary got to know some of them.

This coincidence helped him print his first books in the Chaldean language at the beginning of the new printing era in Iraq. His enthusiasm prompted him to write to the city of Trichur in India (Thrissur in Hindi) which is a city in western India located in Kerala where the Chaldean Indians are present to import a printing press with Chaldean letters, but unfortunately, his project did not see the light and remained a dream that tickled his thoughts until the day of his death.

While trying to solve the issue, he consulted the help of the American Father Calvin Staudt (founder of the American School for Boys in Baghdad), who introduced him to a British colonel he knew who served in Iraq with the British occupation army. The colonel informed deacon Mary after seeing with his own eyes the handwritten style of writing and connected the dots to his experience in India where he saw such letters in the Malabar region of western India.

The Colonel, asked Deacon Yousif Mary who was a calligrapher to rewrite the pages in his own handwriting on separate sheets of paper so that he could send them to his acquaintances in India, make iron plates/cliches mounted on wooden boards/blocks accompanied by primitive inkwells. The deacon’s sons would stamp them on separate sheets of paper, which would later be bound by an Assyrian binder (Rabbi Youkhana). This was a primitive way of creating books; accordingly, we find necessities with the first copies that were similar in content but not perfectly aligned pages, varied depth of inked color, and letters with inclined borders.

Published Books

Yousif Mary’s commitment to teaching the Chaldean language prompted him to devote himself to further reading, preparing, writing, and authoring religious books. He supervised the editing and printing process himself. This is a list of books he authored and are still in circulation to this day:

1- The Chaldean Reading Book Parts (1, 2, and 3) - The first part was reprinted six times, the second part was reprinted three times, and the third part was printed in 1948. As for the fourth part of this book, it was prepared for printing and its drafts were lost.

2- The Mass Service in the Chaldean script, printed in 1950 and 1960.

3- The Mass Service in the Arabic script - reprinted three times.

4- The Mass service in (Garshuni- Arabic script and reading in Chaldean)

5- The Book of Great Lent - printed four times.

6- The Book of the Treasure of Worship in the Arabic script - printed in Baghdad twice and reprinted in Michigan by Father Estephan Kalabat.

This book is 320 pages of medium size. It is one of the books that the believer can use and enjoy reading and soar in the atmosphere of love and spiritual transcendence. It is considered one of the strong and successful books.

7- Palm Sunday Hymns Notebooks in Arabic script - printed six times.

8- Palm Sunday Hymns Notebooks in the Chaldean script - printed in 1949.

To convey the contents of these books to the largest possible number of believers, he did not hesitate to issue some of them in Garshuni (writing in Arabic script and reading and meaning in Chaldean) with the adjustment of the vowels despite their difficulty.

Chaldean Language and Culture

As a master of the Chaldean Language, knowledge of liturgy, and religious leadership, Yousif Mary was selected as the senior deacon in Baghdad. He obtained the rank of Evangelical Deacon (ܡܫܡܫܢܐ) serving the church and the congregation, giving religious lectures in monasteries, churches, and answering questions for researchers and orientalists about the Chaldean language and its principles. His students included American Jesuit priest, French and Chaldean nuns, local officials and ministers.

He was very strong-willed and resourceful, who knew how to find ways to the resources of knowledge, emphasizing the values ​​of faith in raising his children and successive generations. Throughout his educational service many generations of students graduated under his supervision where he focused on teaching religion, the Chaldean language and classic Arabic, which he loved very much, exploring its depths, discovering its secrets and revealing its mysteries.

A sincere and loyal patriot who loved his country, he refused to join the immigration wagon and leave Iraq. He was proud of his place of birth, boasting of its history as cradle of civilization, documenting its history, preserving its heritage. This was accompanied by the hope that successive generations will preserve this heritage, shed light on the history of the Christian presence in the region and maintain roots in the land of fathers and grandfathers who sacrificed to preserve the faith and strived to hand it over to their grandchildren. He spent a long-time teaching church hymns in the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows that was adjacent to the Tahira Elementary school (the church was built in 1842 and renovated during the reign of His Beatitude Patriarch Sheikho) in Baghdad for those who wanted to serve the Mass.

He felt terrible distress and deep sadness when he learned that one of his sons was thinking of emigrating outside Iraq.

Dedication to Church, Community and Education

To show his firm dedication to his culture, heritage, and care for his family tree, it is worth telling this story: One day, he found a manuscript written in classic Aramaic at the home of a friend, written by his grandfather, and calligrapher Fransi Mary. He borrowed the book and copied it in his own handwriting. The process took a whole year. After that, he kept the original copy and gave the new copy to his friend, thanking him for his kindness. He was very proud of it, and his grandfather Faransi.  

He was a close friend of books and never left them day or night. His house had a rich library of old manuscripts, poetry books, English Encyclopedia, and books of famous Arabic poets. He loved reading and research, was highly cultured and kept away from groups gatherings, amusement and noise. He walked a lot, did not drink alcohol or smoke, balanced in his speech, calm in his actions, patient in adversity. He embraced goodness and its people, and adhered to the essence of religion, never violating its teachings. He had inherited a house and a plot of land in his hometown Tel-Kaif and donated them to the church.

He was proud of his books and library and preserved them, and religious books occupied the largest space in addition to language and history books, in the four languages ​​that he mastered. After his death, his books were dispersed among friends, acquaintances, and the church. Among his possessions that remain today is an old picture of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus, given to him by one of his Chaldean Indian friends who came with the British in 1918.

He was keen and enthusiastic about spreading the language of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Chaldean Aramaic language of his father (Deacon Mansour Mary) and grandfathers because he was certain of its importance and greatness derived from the greatness of its speakers, which extended to remote areas of the world and became the official language in Persia, Turkestan, and the Mongol empires.

To showcase his strength and superiority in the Chaldean language he sacrificed the best of his time teaching it in monasteries, churches, private tutoring and in schools The Chaldean Department Authority in the Iraqi Scientific Academy and the Ministry of Culture adopted his works in teaching the Chaldean language in schools where the percentage of Christian students is 25% or more.

He kept daily diaries of great importance, in which he wrote about important events and his relationships and friendships with statesmen and important figures in the country, as he had acquaintances and relationships with the families of celebrities and politicians in the flourishing royal era, including Hikmat Suleiman, Muzahim Al-Pachachi, Dr. Adnan Al-Pachachi (and his student, the former ambassador and minister and permanent representative of Iraq to the United Nations), Tawfiq Al-Sam'ani, Raphael Babu Ishaq and others.

The Mary Family Tree

On 4/9/1923, Yousif married Hanni (Hayat) Nadhir. Together, they had seven highly educated children. All credit goes to the parents’ keenness to raise them well educated and guide them in the right direction toward lofty ideals so that they would be role models and radiant images for others. All of whom obtained high academic degrees and are truly a source of pride for the Iraqi community at home and abroad.

Professor Dr. Nouri Mary (Dean of the College of Pharmacy, University of Baghdad 1960-1961 and Dean of the College of Pharmacy at Long Island University in New York, Malik Mary (Professor of English Literature at the Universities of Baghdad and Al-Mustansriya), Hikmat (Accountant, College of Science, University of Baghdad), Dr. Adhid Mary -Miri (Professor of Organic Chemistry at the College of Science, University of Basra (1975-1981), Dr. Suad Mary/Misho, English language teacher Amal Mary/Kinaya, and science teacher Suha Mary/Atto.

The Farewell

After completing his educational mission, over half a century of teaching and educating, he decided to retire in 1963.

In the early seventies, Deacon Yousif Mary suffered from kidney failure, which led to his death on 11/28/1976, despite being surrounded by intensive medical care. In honor of his distinguished services to church and community, he was buried at the main Cathedral (Mar Yousif) in Al-Karrada Al-Sharqiya district of Baghdad.   Burial ceremonies were headed by His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Paul Cheikho II with a large group of venerable bishops, priests a, deacons, nuns, relatives, friends and the official elite attended the condolence council.

Yousif Mary, lived comfortably, did not collect or hoard money, did not own a house until the end of his days. He was rich in his soul, generous with what he gave and blessed with the trees he raised. Profoundly proud of his children as they were of him.  Yousif Mary, had one hobby that he started at the founding of the Iraqi state, collecting Iraqi and international stamps, which he neatly kept in albums in his library at home.

After his death, his family donated his library and the publication rights to Father Ephram Rassam, the pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Salvation in Eastern Karada. All proceeds and copyrights for his books went to the church and the Nuns.

The sad news of his departure was covered by newspapers and magazines in Iraq, USA and abroad, including Al-Islah newspaper in New York (By Father Alfonso Soreesh), The immigrants TV in Michigan (By Faisal Arabo), Al-Sunbula Magazine and Al-Ruwad magazine (by journalist and publisher Yousif Nadhir) and others.

Yousif Mary was a church faithful, and his work deserves respect, and remembrance. A faithful man who planted the love of church, taught the importance of faith, educated and enlightened a generation of young scholars. His legacy remains in his books and as a Chaldean deacon and teacher to inspire future generations.

Sources: Yousif Mary, the teacher, and the deacon, articles by Salem Issa Tola (Al-Sunbula Magazine - Second Year, Issue 11 - 2003), Professor Malik Yousif Mary, Miri Family Archives (Dr. Adhid Yousif Miri), Georgina Behnam Hababa, Wikipedia, books of Al-Zarkali’s medium  three volumes of the scholar Gorgees Awad entitled (Dictionary of Iraqi Authors in the Twentieth Century, Volume 3, Letter Ya), Father Albert Abouna in his book Aramaic Language Literature (p. 512, 1st edition the book (Assyrian Notables - Wilbam Michael, Chicago, p. 170, 2001 AD). In addition to what Engineer Habib Hannona wrote under the title: Demography of the Chaldeans (Al-Kalima Magazine - California, first issue, p. 41, Engineer Habib Hannona). He says, “Tel- Kaif has produced many men of thought, literature, and religion, including Yousif Hormuz Jammo, Deacon Yousif Mary, and Raphael Babo Ishaq. The writer of this article extends gratitude and appreciation to the late Salem Essa Tolla for authoring segments of this article.