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Syriac Orthodox Church

The Syriac Orthodox Church (Classical Syriac: ܥܺܕܬܳܐ ܣܽܘܪܝܳܝܬܳܐ ܬܪܺܝܨܰܬ݂ ܫܽܘܒܚܳܐ, romanized: ʿIdto Sūryoyto Trīṣath Shubḥo;[13] Arabic: الكنيسة السريانية الأرثوذكسية, Malayalam: സുറിയാനി ഓർത്തഡോക്സ് സഭ, romanizedSuriyāni ōrtḥdōx Sabḥa),[14] also known as West Syriac Church or West Syrian Church,[15] officially known as the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East,[16] and informally as the Jacobite Church,[17] is an Oriental Orthodox church that branched from the Church of Antioch. The bishop of Antioch, known as the patriarch, heads the church and possesses apostolic succession through Saint Peter (Classical Syriac: ܫܡܥܘܢ ܟܐܦܐ, romanized: Šemʿōn Kēp̄ā), according to sacred tradition.[18][19] The church upholds Miaphysite doctrine in Christology, and employs the Liturgy of Saint James, associated with James the Just (also called James the Less and James, son of Alphaeus).[20] Classical Syriac is the official and liturgical language of the church.

For other uses, see Jacobite.


Syriac Orthodox Church

Middle East, India, and diaspora

Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus, Syria (since 1959)

512 A.D.[6][7][8]

Approximately 1.4—1.7 million (2015, including India)[10][11]

EPDC St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee[12]

The church gained its hierarchical distinctiveness in 512, when pro-Chalcedonian patriarch Flavian II of Antioch was deposed by Byzantine emperor Anastasius I Dicorus,[21] and a synod was held at Laodicea in Syria in order to choose his successor,[22] a prominent Miaphysite theologian Severus the Great (d. 538).[23] His later deposition (in 518) was not recognized by the Miaphisite party, and thus a distinctive (autocephalous) Miaphysite patriarchate was established, headed by Severus and his successors. During the sixth century, Miaphysite hierarchical structure in the region was further straightened by Jacob Baradaeus (d. 578),[24][25][26] while the pro-Chalcedonian faction would form to become the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch (part of the wider Eastern Orthodox Church) and the Maronite church (an Eastern Catholic church).


In 1662, the vacant Syriac Patriarchate of Antioch was filled by individuals who aligned themselves with the Catholic Church. Andrew Akijan was elected in that year, and was succeeded by another Catholic in Gregory Peter VI Shahbaddin. The non-Catholic Syriac party elected the rival Abdulmasih I, Shahbaddin's uncle, as a competing patriarch. Upon Shahbaddin's death in 1702, the Catholic line died out for several decades until the Holy Synod in 1782 elected Michael III Jarweh, who again aligned the Syriacs with the pope. Following a period of violence and intrigue, the non-Catholic party was again recognized with their own patriarch and the Catholic line continued independently as the Syriac Catholic Church).


Mor Hananyo Monastery was the headquarters of the church from c. 1160 until 1932.[27] The patriarchate was transferred to Homs due to the Sayfo genocide and the effects of World War I. The current see of the church is the Cathedral of Saint George, Bab Tuma, Damascus, Syria, since 1959.[28][29][30] Since 2014, Ignatius Aphrem II is the current Patriarch of Antioch. The church has archdioceses and patriarchal vicariates in countries covering six continents. Being an active member of the World Council of Churches, the church participates in various ecumenical dialogues with other churches.[31][32]

as the most prominent variant of Aramaic language in the Christian era, is used by the Syriac Orthodox Church in two basic forms: Classical Syriac is traditionally employed as the main liturgical and literary language, while Neo-Aramaic (Neo-Syriac) dialect known as Turoyo is spoken as the most common vernacular language.[118][119]

Syriac language

had become the dominant language of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Egypt by the 11th century.[120] Syriac Orthodox clergy wrote in Arabic using Garshūni, a Syriac script in the 15th century and later adopted the Arabic script.[120] An English missionary in the 1840s noted that the Arabic speech of the Syriacs was intermixed with Syriac vocabulary.[120] They chose Arabic and Muslim-sounding names, while women had Biblical names.[120]

Arabic

language was historically used (along with Syriac) in the earliest periods, during and after the separation (5th–6th centuries), but its use gradually declined.[121]

Greek

English: Used Globally along with .

Syriac

Tamil, Kannada are presently used in India. Suriyani Malayalam, also known as Karshoni or Syriac Malayalam, is a dialect of Malayalam written in a variant form of the Syriac alphabet which was popular among the Saint Thomas Christians (also known as Syrian Christians or Nasranis) of Kerala in India.[122][123][124][125] It uses Malayalam grammar, the Maḏnḥāyā or "Eastern" Syriac script with special orthographic features, and vocabulary from Malayalam and East Syriac. This originated in the South Indian region of the Malabar Coast (modern-day Kerala). Until the 19th century, the script was widely used by Syrian Christians in Kerala.

Malayalam

Swedish, German, Dutch, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese are used in diasporas along with .

Syriac

Syrians/Syriacs

Turabdin

St. Thomas Christians

Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church

Swedish town with many Syriac people and churches

Södertälje

(recent convert activity)

Guatemalans

Pope Benedict XIV, Allatae Sunt (On the observance of Oriental Rites), Encyclical, 1755

Addresses of Pope Paul VI and His Holiness Mar Ignatius Jacob III, 1971

Common Declaration of Pope John Paul II and His Holiness Mar Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, 1984

Address of John Paul II on Occasion of the Visit to the Catholicos of the Malankarese Syrian Orthodox Church, 1986

Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to His Holiness Mor Ignatius Aphrem II Syriac orthodox patriarch of Antioch and all the East, 19 June 2015

Ecumenical relations with the Catholic Church

(Official website)

Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate

(Union between Christians)

Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate

Department of Syriac Studies

Media


Relating to Syriac Orthodox Church


Relating to Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church