 Eliya XII and his nephew Ishoyahb both made Catholic professions of faith in 1771 in response to this overture from the Vatican, and Pope Clement XIV wrote to Eliya on 12 December 1772 to commend his zeal and to urge him to bring over his people to Catholicism.Earlier in the same year, however, Eliya had deposed Ishoyahb from his metropolitan rank, apparently alarmed by his ambition, and ordained the twelve-year-old Yohannan Hormizd, another nephew, as a deacon.Four years later, on 22 May 1776, Yohannan was consecrated a metropolitan by Eliya XII Denha and named "natar kursya" in his turn.