Raphael_of_Brooklyn Raphael of Brooklyn (November 20, 1860 – February 27, 1915), also known as Father Raphael, was born as Raphael Hawaweeny () in Beirut, Lebanon, of Damascene Syrian parents. He was first educated at the Damascus Patriarchal School that had become the leading Greek Orthodox institution of higher learning in the Middle-East under the leadership of Saint Joseph of Damascus.