Akhtiyar (lit. Elder) - the highest position and rank in the Yazidi spiritual hierarchy
On the photo is Akhtiyar Margai, Baba Sheikh Hato Haji (1933-2020).
Akhtiyar (lit. Elder) is the highest position and rank in the Yazidi clerical hierarchy, equal to the rank of archbishop in Christianity. The position of akhtiyar is not hereditary and was mostly spread among Iraqi Yazidis. Today there are several akhtiyars: akhtiyar Margai, akhtiyar Baski (Sheikhan), akhtiyar Barawe, akhtiyar Bashiki, akhtiyar Bahzan. There was also the ministry of akhtiyar Lahfeh, which was discontinued with time. Akhtiyar manages all religious affairs in his religious-administrative territory, supervises the fulfillment of spiritual duties by the clergy and others. Traditionally, the first among the akhtiyars is the akhtiyar of Margai, as Margai (Lalesh) is historically the hajj and spiritual center of Yazidis. At the beginning of the 20th century, the akhtiyar of Margai, as a sign of respect, also began to be called Baba Sheikh. Throughout history, the akhtiyars were Yazidi believers from different "castes" who devoted their lives to religious activities.
Other Yazidi regions had their own spiritual leaders, such as Syria and Turkey, had peshimams, as well as spiritual leaders in the form of local sheikhs and pirs.
Outside Iraq, the dignity of Akhtiyar was introduced by the Yazidi Spiritual Council of Georgia on the basis of the DCEG statute, and with the blessing of the late Akhtiyar Margai Baba Sheikh Hato Haji.
Tags: #ezidi #yazidis #yezidis
Akhtiyar (lit. Elder) - the highest position and rank in the Yazidi spiritual hierarchy
On the photo is Akhtiyar Margai, Baba Sheikh Hato Haji (1933-2020).
Akhtiyar (lit. Elder) is the highest position and rank in the Yazidi clerical hierarchy, equal to the rank of archbishop in Christianity. The position of akhtiyar is not hereditary and was mostly spread among Iraqi Yazidis. Today there are several akhtiyars: akhtiyar Margai, akhtiyar Baski (Sheikhan), akhtiyar Barawe, akhtiyar Bashiki, akhtiyar Bahzan. There was also the ministry of akhtiyar Lahfeh, which was discontinued with time. Akhtiyar manages all religious affairs in his religious-administrative territory, supervises the fulfillment of spiritual duties by the clergy and others. Traditionally, the first among the akhtiyars is the akhtiyar of Margai, as Margai (Lalesh) is historically the hajj and spiritual center of Yazidis. At the beginning of the 20th century, the akhtiyar of Margai, as a sign of respect, also began to be called Baba Sheikh. Throughout history, the akhtiyars were Yazidi believers from different "castes" who devoted their lives to religious activities.
Other Yazidi regions had their own spiritual leaders, such as Syria and Turkey, had peshimams, as well as spiritual leaders in the form of local sheikhs and pirs.
Outside Iraq, the dignity of Akhtiyar was introduced by the Yazidi Spiritual Council of Georgia on the basis of the DCEG statute, and with the blessing of the late Akhtiyar Margai Baba Sheikh Hato Haji.
Tags: #ezidi #yazidis #yezidis
