THE SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF ANTIOCH

A brief Account of History and Life

The oldest Church in Christendom, the Syrian orthodox Church of Antioch believes itself to be directly related to the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ in that it has Syriac, the mother tongue of Christ, His blessed Mother, the Apostles and the Apostolic community in Jerusalem as its liturgical language. Te Head of this Church is the direct successor of the ancient Patriarch of Antioch referred to in the Canons of the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. The holy see of Antioch was founded by St. Peter, the chief of the Apostles, in the year 37 A.D. He was succeeded by many exalted patriarchs, and the present Patriarch, His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius ZakKa I, is the legitimate incumbent of the See.

The see of Antioch had a wide jurisdiction extending over all countries of the East beyond the boundaries of the ancient Roman Empire and reaching to India and China. So the Patriarch of the See assumed the title of “the Patriarch of Antioch and all the East”. But after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch came under severe persecution carried out by the Emperors of Constantinople. It was during that time that St. Yacub Burd’ono and three others were consecrated bishops in Constantinople by Patriarch Theodosius of Alexandria and the Prelates with him, who had been imprisoned but had been enjoying the protection of Empress Theodora, the daughter of a Syrian priest in Manbege. Accompanied by two bishops, St. Yacub visited the faithful everywhere in Syria, Armenia, Cappadocia, Cilicia, Asia Minor, Cyprus, Rhodes, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia and Persia, strengthening them in the Orthodox faith and ordaining bishops and priests according to the needs of the Church. Following his memorable services, the Syrian Church of Antioch flourished for many centuries in Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Iraq, Arabia, Armenia, Afghanistan and India. Thousands of churches were built in these places and hundreds of monasteries were founded. Men and women in thousands embraced the monastic way of the life and worked in the various cultural and educational areas. They constructed schools and colleges, which produced a galaxy of outstanding scholars and men of letters. Deeply rooted in the knowledge of the Holy Bible, they wrote commentaries and treatises on theology and philosophy. But the many fierce storms of dreadful persecutions which blew against the Syrian Church of Antioch destroyed her glorious institutions.

At present the Syrian Orthodox Church has its Head Quarters in Damascus, the capital of Syria, where His Holiness Moran Mar Yacub III resides. He is the Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church in Syria, Palestine, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, North ad South Americas and India. The numerical strength of this Church is about two and a quarter million. Besides the Patriarch, the Syrian Orthodox Church has a Catholicos in India whose title is “the Catholicos of the East” and twenty four metropolitans. They have under their spiritual care about a thousand two hundred and fifty parish churches looked after by an equal number of priests.

In the Middle East, the Syrian Orthodox Church has eight ancient Monasteries with about fifth monks residing in them, a large number of Elementary and Secondary Schools, whose student body would come to about twelve thousand. This figure does not include the several thousands of Syrian Orthodox young men and women attending Government Schools and Colleges. There are two Orphanages, two Theological Seminaries and one Theological College run under the auspices of this Church. Every parish has a board of trustees managing its affairs under the presidentship of the Metropolitan. Besides, there are organizations for the youth and societies with men and women us members who manage the schools and look after the poor.

The Syrian Orthodox Church has close relationship with the sister Churches of Alexandria, Armenia and Ethiopia. Holding to the faith in the One Incarnate Nature of God the Word, this Church affirms that our Lord is one Composite Nature. She accepts only the first three Ecumenical Councils

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The Oriental Orthodox Churches Addis Ababa conference January, 1965

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