سيامة المثلث الرحمات شماسا، كاهنا، وأرشمندريتا
المبتدئ اغناطيوس هزيم 1941
In order to begin his higher studies at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, it was necessary that he first meet the bishop in Beirut, and receive the blessing. Habib said that when he arrived in Beirut for this purpose, he had done so by traveling in a truck loaded with furniture. He spent the first 2 nights in a modest hotel, from which he left to search for the Archdiocese of Beirut, and its well-known Metropolitan Elia (Salibi).
For his meeting with the bishop, Habib put on his best clothes, which in fact consisted of a dress sewn for him by his mother. The bishop looked at the young man and said, “You come to meet me in a nightgown!” The young man Habib replied: “No, Sayedna (our master). This is an elegant dress, that my mother sewed it for me, and it is the best thing we wear in Mahrada”. The Metropolitan of Beirut replied by saying: “Take it off immediately. From now on you will wear a soutane”. Thus, he entered the service of the archdiocese, and he was soon serving in the church as an acolyte, and he began his studies towards a degree in literature.
شماسا 1956
In 1945, the Monk Ignatius (Hazim) was ordained to the Holy Diaconate.
In 1945, the Hierodeacon Ignatius (Hazim) was sent to Paris, France, where he enrolled in the Saint Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute. At this institution, founded by refugees who fled the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in the Russian Empire, he was influenced by many prominent scholars, at the forefront of whom were the young Father Alexander Schmemann (from Estonia) and Father John Meyendorff. He graduated in about 1949.
At about that time, the hierodeacon said in a radio interview, “The system of my life was that I eat once every 24 hours, and thank God, my health is great”.
Hierodeacon Ignatius also studied at Sorbonne University.
سيامته كاهنا 1953
In 1953, Hierodeacon Ignatius (Hazim) returned to Beirut on a cargo plane.
In 1953, Hierodeacon Ignatius (Hazim) was ordained to the Holy Priesthood
أرشمندريتا
From his time in France onwards, the Hieromonk Ignatius (Hazim) was motivated by a desire to pass on the deposit of the Orthodox Christian Faith to the Orthodox Christian believers in Lebanon and Syria.
Hieromonk Ignatius (Hazim) was soon elevated to the dignity of archimandrite.
Archimandrite Ignatius was assigned to serve as a teacher at the College of Annunciation, where he eventually became its director. He remained there for 8 years.
He was also motivated to draw the Orthodox Christian Faith and practice (“praxis”) out of its ghetto-like solitude which had been imposed by the various Islamic governments from the seventh century. He desired to discover in the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Faith living answers to the difficulties of modern life.
Although his native language was Arabic, he also spoke the English and French languages fluently in the course of his daily life.
In 1953, in connexion with his work in the Orthodox Youth Movement (OYM), he helped to found “Syndesmos”, the “World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth” (which includes theological schools).