In 1912 , he was transferred to Mosul where he served until his elevation to the patriarchate in 1917 . After the death of the Patriarch Abded Aloho II in 1915 , Mor Iwanius was elected Patriarch and assumed the throne in 1917 . The decree was issued by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI and was confirmed in Elias ' visit to Constantinople in 1919 , during which he also received the Ismania medal . Elias travelled extensively in 1919 to visit surviving Syriac Orthodox communities in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Assyrian genocide . As a result of the end of the Turkish War of Independence in 1922 , Elias was forced to flee the traditional patriarchal residence at the Monastery of Mor Hananyo to Jerusalem where he resided for three months . During this time Elias established a printing press for the church , and in 1925 , Elias travelled to Aleppo and Mosul to establish printing presses there also
Assyrian genocide
Assyrian genocide
Ignatius Elias III