Rahmānī, Ignatius Ephrem II

RAHMĀNĪ, IGNATIUS EPHREM II. - Catholic Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, orientalist, b. 12 Oct. 1848 at Mosul, d. 7 May 1929 at Cairo. After his studies at the Seminary of the Dominican Fathers at Mosul, and his philosophical and theological studies at the College of resources, at Meyerbusch and Heddersdorf in 1846-47 the first agricultural credit mutual fund and, subsequently, in other centers, relief societies and credit institutions that took on the character of cooperatives. R., in fact, intended, by means of such organizations, to strengthen the social ties among the inhabitants of the various rural centers, at first, in order to renew, subsequently, the moral conditions of the people themselves. Accordingly, R. conceived such institutions in such a way that the activity of each of them was restricted to a limited area of territory, so that their members could properly appreciate one another, a condition that is fundamental for the security of credit; moreover, he wished every speculation to be excluded and, instead, mutuality to be emphasized. R.'s contribution to this cooperative movement was not only material but principally intellectual, and it took concrete form in the publication, from 1878, of a periodical: Landwirtschaftliches Genossenschaftsblatt and in the work Die Darlehensvereine (7th ed., Neuwied 1889).

Francesco Ercolani