Ignatius Elias III was the 119th Patriarch of Antioch, leading the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1917 until 1932. Born Nasri in Mardin in 1867, he served as a monk and priest before rising through the ecclesiastical ranks. During his tenure, he navigated significant regional instability, providing refuge to thousands of Armenian refugees during the 1895 massacres. He is particularly remembered for traveling to India to attempt to mediate a schism within the Malankara Church, a mission he pursued despite serious heart conditions.