Syriac Orthodox Church
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| Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East | |
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| Founder | Peter the Apostle |
| Independence | Apostolic Era |
| Recognition | Orthodox |
| Primate | Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas |
| Headquarters | Historically Antioch, Present time Damascus |
| Territory | Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, the Gulf States and India |
| Possessions | Middle East, United States, Canada, Great Britain, Western Europe, South Americaand Australia |
| Language | Syriac (official), and local languages: Malayalam, Greek, Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Farsi, English, French, German and Swedish |
| Population | ~500,000 in Syria, 100,000 in Lebanon and the Middle East, about 100,000 in Western Europe, 200,000 in Sweden, 150,000 in North America, 100,000 in South America and ~ 1,200,000 in India |
| Website | Margonitho: Syriac Orthodox Resources |
The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world. It is one of the five ecclesiastical bodies that comprised the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church before the schism that resulted during the Council of Chalcedon. It is a major inheritor of Syriac Christianity and has Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, as its official language. The church is led by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.
[edit] Official name
The church is often referred to as Jacobite (after Jacob Baradaeus) or Monophysite, but these terms are misleading, and not appreciated by the some of the church today. In 2000, a Holy Synod ruled that the name of the church in English should be the Syriac Orthodox Church. Before this, it was, and often still is, known as the Syrian Orthodox Church. The name was changed to disassociate the church from the polity of Syria. The official name of the church in Syriac is ʿIdto Suryoyto Triṣuṯ Šuḇḥo, this name has not changed, nor has the name changed in any other language.
[edit] Place in Christianity
The Syriac Orthodox Church is one of the first particular churches of Christianity, established in Antioch by the Apostle St. Peter in 34 AD. The current head of the Syriac Orthodox Church is the Patriarch His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, who resides in Damascus, the capital of Syria. The Church has about 26 archdioceses and 11 patriarchal vicarates. Patriarch Zakka was enthroned head of the church on 14 September 1980, on the feast of the Cross. Syriac Orthodox faithful around the world took part in silver jubilee celebrations of his patriarchate in 2005.
[edit] Primacy of Saint Peter
The Fathers of the Syriac Orthodox Church tried to give a theological interpretation to the person of Saint Peter. They were fully convinced of the unique office of Peter in the primitive Christian community. Ephrem, Aphrahat and Marutha who were supposed to be the best exponents of the early Syriac tradition unequivocally acknowledge the office of Peter. They understood that Peter participated in the person as well as the office of Christ in a special way. The Syriac Fathers following the rabbinic tradition call Jesus “Kepha” for they see “rock” in the Old Testament as a messianic Symbol. When Christ gave his own name “Kepha” to Simon he was giving him participation in the person and office of Christ. Christ who is the Kepha and shepherd made Simon the chief shepherd in his place and gave him the very name Kepha and said that on Kepha he would build the Church. Aphrahat shared the common Syriac tradition. For him Kepha is in fact another name of Jesus, and Simon was given the right to share the name. The person who receives somebody else’s name also obtains the rights of the person who bestows the name. Aphrahat makes the stone taken from Jordan a type of Peter. He says Jesus son of Nun set up the stones for a witness in Israel; Jesus our Saviour called Simon Kepha Sarirto and set him as the faithful witness among nations.
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Again he says in his commentary on Deuteronomy that Moses brought forth water from “rock” (Kepha) for the people and Jesus sent Simon Kepha to carry his teachings among nations. Our Lord accepted him and made him the foundation of the Church and called him Kepha. When he speaks about transfiguration of Christ he calls him Simon Peter, the foundation of the Church.
Ephrem also shared the same view. In a Hymn on Peter he writes:
“Blessed are you Simon Kepha Who holds the keys which the Spirit forges Great is the word and ineffable That could stand bind and loose above and below Blessed are thou who wert as the head And as the tongue of the body of brotheren Through Simon was heard the Revelation from the Father Through the Rock unshakable”
(De Virginitate15.6,7)
In Armenian version of De Virginitate records Peter the Rock shunned honour Who was the head of the Apostles,
In a mimro of Efrem found in Holy Week Liturgy points to the importance of Peter:
“The Simon, my disciple, have I set as foundation of the Holy Church, I called thee Kepha that thou mightest bear all buildings Thou art the overseer (baharo) of those who build for me the Church on earth If they build anything hateful the foundation restrains them Thou art the foundation-head of my disciples By thee I will give drink to all nations thou hast the sweetness of life which I will give I have given thee keys of my kingdom Behold. Thou rulest over all my possession.”
Both Aphrahat and Ephrem represent the authentic tradition of the Syrian Church. The different orders of liturgies used for sanctification of Church building, marriage, ordination etc. reveal that the primacy of Peter is a part of living faith of the Church... It has been conclusively made clear that the modern Biblical scholarship supports the authentic Syriac tradition concerning the role of Peter.
[edit] Demography
Some estimate that the church has about 2,250,000 members globally including 1,200,000 adherents in İndia but excluding those who are under the Indian Orthodox Church accounting for approximately another 2,250,000 adherents (The latter church is sometimes mistaken to be combined in one church, although they are of one tradition and were once forming one body of the church in India before their separation into two independent bodies, one autonomous under the Syriac Orthodox Church and the other the autocephalous Indian Orthodox Church aforementioned.) In addition to the Independent Malabar Church of about 1,200,000 adherents and other Syriac tradition churches in South India, which are part of the Uniate Eastern Churches such as the Malabar Catholic Church and the Malankara Catholic Church, with a combined 3,500,000 to 5,000,000 in adherents.)
[edit] Patriarchate and other central institutions
The spiritual care of the Church of Antioch was vested in the Bishop of Antioch from the earliest years of Christianity. The first among the Bishops of Antioch was St. Peter who is believed to have established a church at Antioch in AD 33. Given the antiquity of the bishopric of Antioch and the importance of the Church in the city of Antioch which was a commercially significant city in the eastern parts of the Roman Empire, the Council of Nicaea (AD 325) recognized the bishopric as a Patriarchate along with the bishoprics of Rome, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, bestowing authority for the Church in Antioch and All of the East on the Patriarch. (The Synod of Constantinople in AD 381 recognized the See of Constantinople also as a Patriarchate).
Even though the Synod of Nicaea was convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine, the authority of the ecumenical synod was also accepted by the Church in the Persian Empire which was politically isolated from the Churches in the Roman Empire. Until AD 498, this Church accepted the spiritual authority of the Patriarch of Antioch.
The Christological controversies that followed the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451 resulted in a long struggle for the Patriarchate between those who accepted and those who rejected the Council. In AD 518, Patriarch Mor Severius was exiled from the city of Antioch and took refuge in Alexandria. On account of many historical upheavals and consequent hardships which the church had to undergo, the Patriarchate was transferred to different monasteries in Mesopotamia for centuries. In the 13th century it was transferred in the Monastery of Mor Hananyo (Deir al-Za`faran), near Mardin, Turkey, where it remained until 1933. Due to adverse political situation, it was transferred to Homs, Syria and in 1959 was transferred again to Damascus, Syria.
The Patriarchate office is now situated in Bab Touma, in the city of Damascus, capital of Syria. But the Patriarch resides at the Mor Aphrem Monastery in Ma`arat Sayyidnaya located about twenty five kilometers north of Damascus.
[edit] St. Aphrem Syrian Orthodox Theological Seminary
Patriarch Aphrem I Barsoum (+1957) established St. Aphrem's Clerical School in 1934 in Zahle, Lebanon. In 1946 it was moved to Mosul, Iraq, where it provided the Church with a good selection of graduates, the first among them being His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas and many other of the Church's eminences.
In 1962 Patriarch Yakub III moved it back to Zahle, Lebanon.
In the year 1968 Patriarch Yakub III put up a building for the seminary in 'Atshanneh, Bekfeyah, Lebanon, where it remained until just before 1976 when its doors were closed because of the war clouds breaking over Lebanon.
In the year 1980 His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas was installed as Patriarch and one of the most important matters on His Holiness' mind was the issue of the seminary. The Holy Synod decided that Damascus should be the site of the seminary. His Holiness opened the institute in an old building in Haret al-Zeitoun in Bab Sharqi.
His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas' dream came true in 1996 with the construction of a beautiful new structure which became the location of St. Aphrem's Clerical Seminary. The building was dedicated on the 14th of September, 1996. The new building is located in the municipality of Ma`arat Sayyidnaya, about twenty five kilometers north of Damascus.
The building has five floors: the first floor (basement) has a kitchen and a large dining hall as well as rooms for services and storage; the second floor (ground floor) contains classrooms for the four years of study at the seminary, the students' library, administrative and reception offices, a lecture hall, a reception hall, a computer room, and two clinics, dental and general; the third floor has rooms for bishops, priests and seminarians. On the fourth floor is a small church named after St. Aphrem the Syrian that hold about 200 people. There is also the patriarchal wing, which included the patriarchal library, a reception hall and special wing for visiting patriarchs. The monks live in small rooms or cells on the fifth floor. The monastery and the church have a number of icons of our Lord Jesus Christ, St. Mary and St. Aphrem. Nuns from the Demyana Coptic Orthodox Convent in Egypt painted these icons.
[edit] St. Peter and St. Paul's Cathedral and the Crypts for the Patriarchs of Antioch
An important tradition in the Syrian Orthodox Church is keeping the crypts of the Antiochean Patriarchs in a special place in the monasteries that served as their seat. Thus, the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul was built to house the crypts of the patriarchs. The area of the church is 250 square meters, and the basement area is 85 square meters, with an area specially designated for the crypts of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch. Entrance to the crypts is possible from inside the church or from the outside. the cathedral was built in the shape of a cross and seats around 800 people. The cathedral contain icons of our Lord Jesus, St. Mary, St. Peter and St. Paul and of the baptism of the Lord Jesus by his servant John the Baptist. The icons are the work of the nuns from the St. Demyana Coptic Orthodox Convent in Egypt. The church has a bell tower with a cross and bells, built at an height of 22 meters. It is worth noting that the Greek Orthodox Synod under the headship of His Grace Archbishop Seraphim gave the monastery three bells as a token of their appreciation for His Holiness Patriarch Zakka I Iwas and the Syrian Orthodox Church.
[edit] International Christian Education Centre and St. Jacob Baradaeus Convent
His Holiness the Patriarch erected this building to become the Universal Syrian Youth headquarters as well as a centre for religious education, knowing that youth play a vital role in the Church's future. The centre has two floors and a basement. There are two dorms with a total capacity for sixty people. The centre also has rooms for the youth leaders in addition to a meeting hall, a dining hall, and all the basic facilities like restrooms, heating, etc.
In the year 1990 His Holiness established the Order of St. Jacob Baradaeus for nuns and renovated St. Aphrem's Clerical building in Atshanneh, Lebanon for the new order. Then he built a branch for the nuns at St. Aphrem's in Ma`arat Sayyidnaya. The convent contains rooms for the nuns, a reception hall and a hall for meetings. It is worth mentioning that in the year 2002 the third branch of this order was opened in Baghdad, Iraq.
It is also noteworthy that theological courses are held every summer at St. Aphrem's. The nuns of the Order of St. Jacob Baradaeus oversee these courses, which are held for those in charge of the centres for religious education.
[edit] St. Aphrem Patriarchal Halls
St. Aphrem Patriarchal Halls lie to the west of the theological seminary in the complex of St. Aphrem's in Ma`arat Sayyidnaya. The Halls, along with St. Peter and St. Paul's Cathedral in front of them to the east, bookend the monastery's open yard.
The building's total area is 1850 square meters, including the halls with their specialized facilities for conferences and meetings. The main hall can seat 800 people and the stage has room for about 60 to 80 singers. The hall is completely furnished with modern services like stage lights, a sound system, equipment for direct translation and for television projection etc..
The ground floor contains an information and reception desk, as well as administrative and communication services. it has a large reception room for receiving official guests. the ground floor also has two adjacent halls for meetings. The first can hold around 130 listeners and the second about 115. The two halls can open to make one large hall for around 300 people.
[edit] House of Agape for Elderly Syrian Orthodox Clerics
The House of Agape is located half a kilometer north of St. Aphrem's Monastery and consists of two buildings with 21 apartments. All the apartments have a large reception room. Some have only one bedroom, while others have more than one, in addition to a kitchen, utilities and a balcony. An elevator has been provided in the building.
A small church named St. Matthew the Ascetic is on the last floor of one of the buildings. The church can hold around 180 worshipers. The total area of the House of Agape is about 4650 square meters including the church, utilities and basements.
[edit] Church in India
The church in Malankara, Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church is an integral part of the Syriac Orthodox Church with the Patriarch of Antioch as its supreme head. The local head of the church in Malankara is the Catholicos of India, currently His Beatitude Baselios Thomas I, ordained by and accountable to the Patriarch of Antioch in 2002.
The Syriac Orthodox Divine Liturgy in India is done partly in Syriac and partly in Malayalam.
[edit] Other churches connected with Antioch
Both it and the Chalcedonian Antiochian Orthodox Church claim to be the sole legitimate church of Antioch and successor of the Apostle St. Peter. There are also three Eastern Catholic Churches headed by Patriarchs of Antioch — the Syriac Catholic Church, the Maronite Church and the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. There is also a related (Nestorian) Assyrian Church of the East.
[edit] See also
- Jacob Baradaeus
- List of Patriarchs of Antioch — to 518
- List of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch — list from 518
- Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church
- Indian Orthodox Church
- Saint Thomas Christians (Syrian Malabar Nasrani)
- Mor Julius Isa Cicek
- Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
- Baselios Thomas I
- Ignatius Afram I Barsoum
- Ignatius Jacob III
- Ignatius Elias III
[edit] External links
- Margonitho: Syriac Orthodox Resources
- Suryoyo Online: Online journal of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Syriac Studies and Aramaeans
- Shroro: The Syriac Christian Digest
- Syrian Orthodox Church website maintained in Australia
- Syriac Music Online: Syriacmusic.com is to preserve and promote Syriac orthodox Church's rich traditions. The site gives you the opportunity to become knowledgeable in the wonderful world of Syriac folk and church music.
[edit] Media
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