Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East
The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch ܦܛܪܝܪܟܐ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ is the Bishop of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church (Syriac: ܥܺܕܬܳܐ ܣܽܘ̣ܪܝܳܝܬܳܐ ܬܪܺܝܨܰܬ ܫܽܘ̣ܒ̣ܚܳܐ). He is the Head of the Holy Synod of the Syriac Orthodox Church, the highest authority of the Syriac Orthodox Church.
This article is about the office. For a list of holders, see List of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch.
Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East
The position of the Patriarch of Antioch was established and first held by Peter the Apostle (Syriac: ܫܹܡܥܘܿܢ ܟܹ݁ܐܦ݂ܵܐ Šemʿōn Kēp̄ā).[1][2] He officially oversees the Holy Apostolic See at Antioch (modern-day Antakya, in Turkey), though the Patriarch currently resides in Damascus; the Patriarch fled to Syria during the 1915 Assyrian genocide.
The Patriarchate of Antioch is part of the Patriarchates of the Christian Church as solidified by the Council of Nicaea. He is the Bishop of Antioch, and considered as Primus Inter Pares or First Among the Equals/Bishops of the Diocese of the East.
History of the Patriarchate[edit]
Origin[edit]
The Church of Antioch was established by Peter in AD 32.[3] During the Synod of Nicaea, the Bishop of Antioch became one of the Patriarchates (along with fellow Patriarchate of Alexandria). After the Council at Chalcedon, Christianity split into the Catholic-Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox, thus splitting the church. The Patriarch of Antioch (Severus) and Pope of Alexandria (Dioscorus) led the Oriental Orthodox Church, which followed a miaphysite view of Christology and the Pope of Rome led the Catholic Church along with the Patriarch of Constantinople, which followed a dyophysite view on Christology.
Severus, the Patriarch of Antioch, was exiled to Egypt in 518 by the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire for following the Oriental Orthodox Church. The Catholic group of the Church of Antioch (later Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch), accepted the new Patriarch Paul, appointed by the Pope of Rome, as their new Patriarch, after the exile of Severus. The Syriac Orthodox Church, or the Oriental Orthodox group of the Church of Antioch, continued to accept Severus as Patriarch until his death in AD 538.[4][5]
Revival[edit]
By AD 544, the Syriac Orthodox Church had only three bishops remaining and no Syriac successor to Severus had been elected. During this time, a priest named Jacob traveled to Constantinople to ask Empress Theodora's (who was a Miaphysite herself), the daughter of a Syriac Orthodox priest, consent to be ordained as a bishop. He was ordained as Mor Jacob Baradeus (Mor Ya'qub Burdono ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܘܪܕܥܝܐ), by Pope Theodosius I, Pope of Alexandria and he traveled to many places to revive the Syriac Orthodox Church. He managed to consecrate 27 bishops, and hundreds of priests and deacons for the church.[5] He led the consecration of Mor Sergius of Tella as the Patriarch of Antioch (first Patriarch of the independent Syriac Orthodox Church) in 544. It is after this bishop that the Syriac Orthodox Church in India gets the name "Jacobite" (Jacobite Syrian Christian Church)[5] He revived the Miaphysite belief in the Church of Antioch throughout persecution.
The Mor Bar Sauma Monastery became the seat of the patriarch between the 11th and 13th century until it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1285. The patriarchate was then moved to Sis before it finally settled in Dayro d-Mor Hananyo (Kurkmo Dayro, or Deir az-Za'faran), in Mardin, Turkey where it remained until 1933.[6][7]
Split of the Syriac Catholic Church[edit]
In 1662, the vacant patriarchate 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.
Persecution and Modern period[edit]
The Syriac Orthodox Church continued to be persecuted under the Arabs, Mongols, Crusaders, Mamluks, and Ottomans. During 1915 Assyrian Genocide(known as the Sayfo/ܣܝܦ or "the year of the sword" in Syriac), more than 250,000 Syriac Orthodox Christians in the Middle East were wiped out by the Ottoman Empire. Many Syriac Orthodox Villages were emptied, and historical monasteries and churches were destroyed. During the Assyrian genocide and concomitant World War I, the Patriarchate was forced to flee by the Ottoman Empire, and the patriarch fled to Homs, Syria in 1953, and later to Damascus, in 1957.
The Syriac Orthodox Church continues to grow to this day under the Patriarchate. The Syriac Orthodox Church, along with the rest of the Oriental Orthodox Church, is now in sacramental cooperation with the Catholic Church, and is in dialogues with the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.
Requirements:
Restrictions:
The following are a list of titles of the Patriarch of Antioch
The official title of the Patriarch of Antioch is:
His Holiness/Thrice Blessed Moran Mor Ignatius (Monastic Name) (Roman Numeral to distinguish from other Patriarchs of the same name) Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church.
ܩܕܝܫܘܬܗ/ ܬܠܝܬܝ̈ ܛܘܒܐ̈ ܕܡܪܢ ܡܪܝ ܐܝܓܢܛܝܘܣ ... ܦܛܪܝܪܟܐ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ ܘܕܟܠܗ̇ ܡܕܢܚܐ ܘܪܝܫܐ ܓܘܢܝܐ ܕܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܬܪܝܨܬ ܫܘܒܚܐ ܒܟܠܗ̇ ܬܐܒܠ
Qaddišuṯeh/Tlithoy Tube ḏ-Moran Mor Iḡnaṭius ... Paṭriarḵo ḏ-Anṭiuḵia waḏ-Kuloh Maḏĕnḥo w-Rišo Gawonoyo ḏ-ʿItto Suryoyto Triṣaṯ Šuḇḥo ḇ-Kuloh Tiḇel
Other titles for the patriarch include: