Jawhar did not submit to patriarch Maximos II Hakim and excommunicate him and all his partisans: for this reason Jawhar was in turn excommunicated on 1 August 1761. Nor Jawhar accepted as patriarch Theodosius V Dahan who was elected shortly later the death of Maximos Hakim: he answered consecrating two bishops by his own initiative. Jawhar appealed to the Pope and to support his position he traveled to Rome where he arrived in March 1762. The election of Theodosius Dahan was however confirmed on 23 September 1763 by the Roman Congregation of Propaganda Fide and on 23 December 1763 by another synod of the Mekite bishops. This solution was not accepted by the Basilian Salvadorians bishops in Lebanon who answered consecrating other three bishops (among them also the future patriarch Francis Siaj). Another synod was held in Lebanon on 13 February 1764 reaching this compromise: Jawahr became bishop of Saida while Theodosius Dahan remained patriarch but had to paid the huge debt that Jawahr made to support his claim. On 25 June 1764, the Pope formally confirmed the election of Theodosius Dahan and Jawhar accepted, thus the 1761 excommunication was lifted. In August 1764 Jawhar returned to Lebanon where anyway a few months later, in February 1765 he was again proclaimed patriarch by some bishops: Rome answered with a formal excommunication on 14 September 1765. Because of this excommunication most of Jawhar's partisans left him, and in 1768 he, along with four bishops, submitted to patriarch Theodosius Dahan: all excommunication were lifted and Jawhar remained bishop of Saida.
