Adam was educated at the College of the Propaganda in Rome and a friend of Scipione de' Ricci, by whom he was introduced to Gallican and Jansenist ideas.
As archbishop, Adam began issuing pamphlets affirming Gallican propositions on the authority of the Pope and conciliarism.
Two priests, George Nassar of Egypt and Michael Mazloum were present, and the acts were signed by Macarios Tawil and Ignatius Arkache, superior generals of local religious orders.
The acts of the synod were formally approved by Joseph Tyan and the Roman apostolic visitor Luigi Gandolfi.
[9] Melkite patriarch Gregory II Youssef, an opponent of Pius IX at the First Vatican Council, issued a negative response to the encyclical.