The Assyrian Church of the East is officially headquartered in the city ofErbil, in northernIraq; its original area encompassedIraq, southeasternTurkey, northeasternSyria and northwesternIran, corresponding roughly to ancientAssyria. The current Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East,Mar Awa III, was consecrated in September 2021.
The Assyrian Church of the East claims continuity with the historicalChurch of the East, and is not in communion with theCatholic,Oriental Orthodox orEastern Orthodox churches.[c] The faction of the original Church of the East that came into full communion with theHoly See between the 16th and 19th centuries is theChaldean Catholic Church, whose members are mostly ethnicAssyrians. After theCommon Christological Declaration in 1994 between the Church of the East and the Catholic Church, and a 2001 theological dialogue between the churches, they drew up guidelines for the faithful to have mutual admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.[12]
The distinction between the Assyrian Church of the East and theChaldean Catholic Church resulted from the series of complex processes and events that occurred within the Church of the East during the transitional period that started in the middle of the 16th century, and lasted until the beginning of the 19th century.[14] That turbulent period was marked by several consequent splits and mergers, resulting in the creation of separate branches and rival patriarchal lines. During the entire period, one of the main questions of dispute was the union with theCatholic Church. Ultimately, the pro-Catholic branches were consolidated as the Chaldean Catholic Church, while the traditional branches were consolidated as the Assyrian Church of the East.[15]
During the patriarchal tenure ofShemon VII Ishoyahb (1539–1558), who resided in the ancientRabban Hormizd Monastery nearAlqosh, an internal dissent occurred over several issues, including the question of hereditary succession to the patriarchal throne, and the question of union with the Catholic Church. By that time,Franciscan missionaries had already gained some influence over several local communities,[16] and they took an active role in organizing the opposition to the patriarch at that time. By the end of 1552, a pro-Catholic party had been organized inMosul under the leadership of the priestYohannan Sulaqa,[17] who decided to legitimize his position by traveling toRome and seeking confirmation byPope Julius III (1550–1555).[18]
Receiving support from the Franciscan missionaries, he arrived in Rome and entered into full communion with the Catholic Church in February 1553. At that point, officials of theRoman Curia were given incorrect information that the elderly Patriarch Shemon VII had actually died. After some deliberation, the Roman pope decided to appoint Yohannan Sulaqa as "Patriarch of Babylon" and named the breakaway church as 'The Church of Assyria and Mosul" in April 1553.[19]
Upon consecration, Yohannan Sulaqa took the nameShimun and by the end of the year he returned to his homeland. He started to organize the pro-Catholic party by appointing several metropolitans and bishops.[18]
Union with Rome was actively opposed by PatriarchShemon VII Ishoyahb, who continued to reside in the Rabban Hormizd Monastery near the ancient Assyrian town ofAlqosh. He was succeeded by his nephewEliya (1558–1591), who was designated as Eliya "VII" in older historiography,[20][21] but renumbered as Eliya "VI" in recent scholarly works.[22][23][24] The same renumbering was applied to his successors, who all took the same name thus creating theEliya line. During his patriarchal rule, theEliya line preserved its traditional christology and full ecclesiastical independence.[25] His successor was PatriarchEliya VII (VIII) (1591–1617), who negotiated on several occasions with the Catholic Church, in 1605 and 1610, and again in 1615–1616, but without any conclusion.[26] Further negotiations were abandoned by the next PatriarchEliya VIII (IX) (1617–1660).[27] David Wilmshurst noted that his successor, PatriarchEliya IX (X) (1660–1700) also was a "vigorous defender of the traditional faith".[28]
The Eliya line of traditionalist patriarchs continued throughout the entire 18th century, residing in the ancient Monastery of Rabban Hormizd, which was eventually attacked and looted by muslim Turks in 1743, at the beginning of theOttoman–Persian War (1743–1746).[29] Faced with a centuries-old rivalry and frequentconflicts between two mightyIslamic empires (Ottoman andPersian), all Christian communities in the bordering regions were constantly exposed to danger – and not only in the times of war, since local, mainlyKurdish, warlords were accustomed to attackingAssyrian andArmenian Christian communities and monasteries and taking their land, often with Ottoman support. PatriarchsEliya X (XI) (1700–1722) andEliya XI (XII) (1722–1778) tried to improve the increasingly worsening position of their Christian flock by staying loyal to Ottoman authorities, but the local administration was frequently unable to provide effective protection.[30] The Eliya line of traditionalist patriarchs ended in 1804 with the death ofEliya XII (XIII) (1778–1804).[31][24]
During the second half of the 16th century, traditionalist patriarchs of the Eliya line were faced with the continuous presence of the pro-Catholic movement, led by successors ofShimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa. After his death in 1555, the newly established line of patriarchs who were united with the Catholic Church was continued byAbdisho IV Maron (1555–1570), who remained infull communion with the Catholic Church. He visited Rome and was officially confirmed by thePope of Rome in 1562.[32] Soon after his death, connections with Rome were weakened for the first time during the tenure of PatriarchYahballaha IV who did not seek confirmation from the pope.[33] That interlude was ended by his successorShimun IX Dinkha (1580–1600) who restored full communion with the Catholic Church, and was officially confirmed by the Pope of Rome in 1584.[34]
After his death, the patriarchal office was made hereditary, and patriarchs of this line continued to use the nameShimun, thus creating the Shimun line. Hereditary succession was not acceptable to Rome, and during the tenure of the next PatriarchShimun X Eliyah (1600–1638) ties with the Catholic Church were loosened again. In 1616, Shimun X signed a traditional profession of faith that was not accepted by the Roman pope, leaving the patriarch without Rome's confirmation.[35] His successorShimun XI Eshuyow (1638–1656) restored communion with the Catholic Church as late as 1653, eventually receiving confirmation from the pope.[28] By that time, the movement towards full commitment to the traditional faith was constantly growing stronger within the Shimun line. When the next PatriarchShimun XII Yoalaha decided to send his profession of faith to the pope, he was deposed by his bishops because of his pro-Catholic attitude. The pope tried to intervene on his behalf, but without success.[28]
Final resolution of conflicts within the Shimun line occurred under the next PatriarchShimun XIII Dinkha (1662–1700), who definitively broke communion with the Catholic Church. In 1670, he gave a traditionalist reply to an approach that was made from the Roman pope, and by 1672 all connections with the Catholic Church were terminated.[36][37] At the same time, Patriarch Shimun XIII moved his seat fromAmid toQochanis. After the final return to the traditional faith, patriarchs of the Shimun line decided to keep their independence and after that time there were two independent lines of traditional patriarchs: the senior Eliya line in Alqosh and the junior Shimun line in Qochanis.[38]
Such division was additionally caused by the complex structure of localAssyrian communities, traditionally organized as tribal confederations with eachtribe being headed by a local lord (malik), while eachmalik was ultimately subject to the patriarch, who mediated between Christian Assyrians and the Ottoman authorities.[39]
In 1780, at the beginning of the patriarchal tenure ofEliya XII (XIII) (1778–1804), a group seceded from the Eliya line in Alqosh and electedYohannan Hormizd, who entered full communion with the Catholic Church and was officially appointedArchbishop of Mosul and patriarchal administrator of theChaldean Catholic Church, in 1783. Only after the death in 1827 of the last representative of the Josephite line,Joseph V Augustine Hindi, was Yohannan recognized as the Chaldean Catholic patriarch by the pope, in 1830. By this official appointment, the final merger of various factions committed to the union with the Catholic Church was achieved, thus forming the modern Chaldean Catholic Church.
At the same time, the long coexistence and rivalry between two traditionalist patriarchal branches — the senior Eliya line of Alqosh and the junior Shimun line of Qochanis — ended in 1804 when the last primate of the Eliya line, PatriarchEliya XII (XIII) died and was buried in the ancientRabban Hormizd Monastery. His branch decided not to elect a new patriarch, thus enabling the remaining patriarchShimun XVI Yohannan (1780–1820) of the Shimun line to become the sole primate of both Assyrian traditionalist branches.[40][41][38] Consolidated after 1804, the reunited traditionalist church led by patriarchs of the Shimun line became widely known as the "Assyrian Church of the East". Still based in Qodchanis, Assyrian Patriarch Shimun XVI Yohannan was not able to secure control over the traditional seat of the former Eliya line in the ancient Rabban Hormizd Monastery; and around 1808 that venerated monastic institution passed to theChaldean Catholics.[42]
The next Assyrian PatriarchShimun XVII Abraham (1820–1861) also governed his church fromQodshanis. During years marked by political turbulence, he tried to maintain good relations with the local Ottoman authorities. In 1843, he was faced with renewed hostilities fromKurdish warlords, whoattacked and looted many Christian villages, killing 10,000 Christian men and taking away women and children as captives. The patriarch himself was forced to take temporary refuge inMosul.[43] He was succeeded by PatriarchShimun XVIII Rubil (1861–1903) who also resided in Qodshanis. In 1869, he received an open invitation from theVatican to visitRome to attend theFirst Vatican Council as an observer, but he did not accept the invitation,[44] In following years, he also rejected other initiatives for union with the Catholic Church.[45]
Early 20th century Assyrian archbishop and servants
By the end of the 19th century, the Assyrian Church of the East consolidated itself as the sole representative of all traditionalist Assyrians. It also managed to secure a certain level of autonomy within the highly complex system of Ottoman local governance in the bordering regions.[46] On several occasions, Assyrian patriarchs refused to enter communion with the Catholic Church or merge with the Chaldean Catholic Church.[38] On the other hand, by the end of the 19th century some of its communities were converted toProtestantism by various western missionaries,[47] while other communities were drawn toEastern Orthodoxy. That movement was led by Assyrian Bishop Mar Yonan ofSupurghan in the region ofUrmia who converted to Eastern Orthodoxy in 1898, through theRussian Ecclesiastical Mission in Urmia.[48]
St. Mary Assyrian Church inMoscow. In spite of both ethnic and religiouspersecution and a serious decline in membership since its height around the fourth century, the Assyrian Church of the East has survived into the 21st century.
Among all the tragedies and schisms which thinned the church out, no other was as severe as theAssyrian genocide. At that point the Assyrian Church of the East was based in the mountains ofHakkari, as it had been since 1681. In 1915, TheYoung Turks invaded the region — despite the Assyrians' plea of neutrality during theCaucasus campaign byRussia and theirArmenian allies — out of fear of anAssyrian independence movement. In response to this, Assyrians of all denominations (the Assyrian Church of the East, the Chaldean Catholic Church, theSyriac Orthodox Church and Assyrian Protestants) entered into a war of independence and allied themselves with theUnited Kingdom, theRussian Empire and theArmenians against the Ottomans and their Islamic Kurdish,Iranian andArab allies.[49]
Despite the odds, the Assyrians fought successfully against the Ottomans and their allies for three years throughout southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northwestern Iran and northeastern Syria. Eventually, however, they were abandoned by their allies, the Russian Empire and theFirst Republic of Armenia, due to theRussian Revolution and the collapse of the Armenian defense, leaving the Assyrians vastly outnumbered, surrounded, and cut off from supplies of ammunition and food. During this period, their See at Qodchanis was completely destroyed and the Turks and their Islamic allies massacred all of the Assyrians in the Hakkari Mountains.[50]
Those who survived fled into Iran with what remained of the Assyrian defense underAgha Petros, but they were pursued into Iranian territory despite the fact they were fleeing. Later, in 1918, after the murder of theirde facto leader and PatriarchShimun XIX Benyamin and 150 of his followers during a negotiation, fearing further massacres at the hands of the Turks and Kurds, most of the survivors fled by train from Iran into what was to become Iraq. They sought protection under theBritish mandate there, and joined the already existing indigenous Assyrian communities of both Eastern Orthodox and Catholic rites in the north, where they formed communities inBaghdad,Basra, and other areas.[50]
In the aftermath of World War I, the British-educated PatriarchShimun XXI Eshai, born into the line of patriarchs at Qodchanis, had agitated for an independent Assyrian state. Following the end of the British mandate in 1933[50] and amassacre of Assyrian civilians atSimele by the Iraqi Army, the patriarch was forced to take refuge inCyprus.[51] There, Shimun petitioned theLeague of Nations regarding his people's fate, but to little avail, and he was consequently barred from entering Syria and Iraq. He traveled throughEurope before moving toChicago in 1940 to join the growingAssyrian diaspora community there.[51]
Due to the church's and the general Assyrian community's disorganized state as a result of the conflicts of the 20th century, Patriarch Shimun XXI Eshai was forced to reorganize the church's structure in theUnited States. He transferred his residence toSan Francisco in 1954, and was able to travel toIran,Lebanon,Kuwait, andIndia, where he worked to strengthen the church.[52]
In 1964, the patriarch decreed a number of changes to the church, including liturgical reform, the adoption of theGregorian calendar, and the shortening ofLent. These changes, combined with Shimun's long absence from Iraq, caused a rift in the community there, which led to another schism. In 1968, traditionalists within the church electedThoma Darmo as a rival patriarch to Shimun XXI Eshai, forming the independentAncient Church of the East, based inBaghdad,Iraq.[53]
In 1972, Shimun decided to step down as patriarch, and the following year he got married, in contravention to longstanding church custom. This led to a synod in 1973 in which further reforms were introduced, the most significant of which included the permanent abolition of hereditary succession — a practice introduced in the middle of the fifteenth century by PatriarchShemon IV Basidi (who had died in 1497) — and it was also decided that Shimun should be reinstated. The second matter was supposed to be settled at another synod in 1975; however, Shimun was assassinated in November 1975 by an estranged relative before this could take place.[54]
Mar Gewargis Assyrian Cathedral inChicago: Former Patriarchal See
Almost a year after the death of Shimun,Mar Khnanya Dinkha, Metropolitan ofTehran, convened a synod of seven Assyrian bishops which took place atSt Paul's Abbey, Alton, in England, from 12 to 17 October 1976. They were joined by twoChurch of England bishops, representing theArchbishop of Canterbury and theBishop of London, and elected Dinkha as the 120th Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East. On 17 October he was consecrated asDinkha IV at St Barnabas Church, Ealing, in an area where many Assyrians lived.[55]
Dinkha, who was then aged 33, operated his see at Tehran until theIran–Iraq War of 1980–1988, when he went into exile in the United States and transferred the Patriarchal See to Chicago.[56] Much of his patriarchate had been concerned with tending to the Assyrian diaspora community and with ecumenical efforts to strengthen relations with other churches.[56] On 26 March 2015, Dinkha IV died in the United States, leaving the Assyrian Church of the East in a period ofsede vacante until 18 September 2015. During that time,Aprem Mooken served as the custodian of thePatriarchate of Seleucia-Ctesiphon.[57][58]
On 18 September 2015, the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East elected the Metropolitan of Iraq, Jordan, and Russia, Warda Sliwa, to succeed the lateDinkha IV asCatholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. On 27 September 2015, he was consecrated as Catholicos-Patriarch in the Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist, inErbil, Iraq. Upon his consecration, he assumed the ecclesiastical nameGewargis III.
On 6 September 2021, Mar Gewargis III formally stepped down as Catholicos-Patriarch during an Extraordinary Session of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East, leaving the Patriarchal See vacant. On 8 September 2021, the Holy Synod electedMar Awa Royel, Bishop of California and Secretary of the Holy Synod, to succeed Mar Gewargis III as the 122ndCatholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East.[64][65]
Theologically, the Assyrian Church of the East does not accept doctrinal definitions that were adopted at theCouncil of Ephesus (431) and theCouncil of Chalcedon (451), and still adheres to theChurch of the East's traditionalChristology, that is often labeled asNestorian. The use and exact meaning of that term has been the subject of many debates, not only throughout history but also in modern times, since the Assyrian Church of the East has distinctive views on several Christological questions and claims that its theological doctrines and traditions are essentially Orthodox, while admitting the need for further inter-Christian dialogue that would resolve various questions in the field of comparative Christological terminology.[67]
The Nestorian nature of Assyrian Christianity remains a matter of contention. Elements of Nestorian doctrine were explicitly repudiated by PatriarchDinkha IV on the occasion of his accession in 1976.[68]
The Christology of the Church of the East has its roots in theAntiochene theological tradition of the early church. The founders of Assyrian theology areDiodorus of Tarsus andTheodore of Mopsuestia, both of whom taught atAntioch. "Antiochene" is a modern designation given to the style of theology associated with the early church at Antioch, as contrasted with the theology of the Church of Alexandria.[69]
Antiochene theology emphasizes Christ's humanity and the reality of the moral choices he faced. In order to preserve the impassibility of Christ's Divine Nature, the unity of hisperson is defined in a looser fashion than in the Alexandrian tradition.[69] The normative Christology of the Church of the East was written byBabai the Great (d. 628) during the controversy that followed the 431Council of Ephesus. Babai held that within Christ there exist twoqnome (Syriac: ܩܢܘܡܐ /qnômâ, a complex term, equivalent forGreek termhypostasis), unmingled, but everlastingly united in the oneprosopon (person) of Christ.
The precise Christological teachings ofNestorius are shrouded in obscurity. Wary of Monophysitism, Nestorius rejected Cyril's theory of ahypostatic union, proposing instead a much looser concept ofprosopic union. Nestorianism has come to mean radicalDyophysitism,[70] in which Christ's two natures are eternally separate, though it is doubtful whether Nestorius ever taught such a doctrine. Nestorius' rejection of the termTheotokos ('God-bearer', or 'Mother of God') has traditionally been held as evidence that he asserted the existence of two persons (dyoprosopism) — not merely two natures — in Jesus Christ, but there exists no evidence that Nestorius denied Christ's oneness.[71] In the controversy that followed the Council of Ephesus, the term "Nestorian" was applied to all doctrine upholding a strictly Antiochene Christology. In consequence, the Church of the East was labelled Nestorian, though its official Christology was in fact defined byBabai the Great, at the council that was held in 612.[67]
In their homes, Christians belonging to the Assyrian Church of the East hang aChristian cross (without the corpus) on theeastern wall of the main room.[72]
The Assyrian Church of the East does not make use oficons, and the interiors of its houses of worship are simple.[73] Iconography has been present in the Church of the East's history;opposition to religious images eventually became the norm due to thespread of Islam in the region, which forbade any type of depictions ofsaints andbiblical prophets. Thus, the church was forced to get rid of her icons.[74][73]
ThreeSyriac manuscripts from the early 19th century and earlier—they were edited into a compilation titledThe Book of Protection byHermann Gollancz—contain a number of illustrations which are more or less crude. These manuscripts prove the continuous use of images. Moreover, a life-size male stucco figure was discovered in a church ofSeleucia-Ctesiphon from the late 6th century. Beneath this church were found the remains of an earlier church. Although it cannot be determined which Nestorian Church was involved, the discovery nevertheless proves that theChurch of the East also used figurative representations.[75]
The Assyrian Church of the East is governed by anepiscopal polity, the same as other apostolic churches. The church maintains a system of geographicalparishes organized intodioceses andarchdioceses. TheCatholicos-Patriarch is the head of the church. Its synod is composed of bishops who oversee individual dioceses and metropolitans who oversee episcopal dioceses in their territorial jurisdiction.
TheChaldean Syrian Church, which encompassesIndia and thePersian Gulf, is the largest diocese of the church. Its history goes back to theChurch of the East that established a presence inKerala, but the two communities maintained only a sporadic connection for several centuries, and consistent relations were only established with the arrival of thePortuguese in India around 1500. The church is represented by the Assyrian Church of the East and is incommunion with it.
Membership is estimated to 385,000 adherents,[61] although some[which?] sources say as high as 500,000.[77] According to scholar James Minahan around 19% of theAssyrian people belong to the Assyrian Church of the East.[78] In its own 2018 Report on Religious Freedom, theUnited States Department of State put the Assyrian Church of the East adherents at approximately 20% of theChristians in Iraq.[79]
Due to the unstable political, religious and economic situation in the church's historical homeland of the Middle East, many of the church members now reside inWestern countries. Churches and dioceses have been established throughoutEurope,America, andOceania.[13]
Diocese of Eastern USA – formerly the patriarchal archdiocese from 1994 until 2012. The territory includes the largeChicago, Illinois community, along with smaller parishes inMichigan,New England andNew York.
The lack of a coherent institution narrative in theAnaphora of Addai and Mari, which dates to apostolic times, has caused many Western Christians, and especially Roman Catholics, to doubt the validity of thisanaphora, used extensively by the Assyrian Church of the East, as a prayer of consecration of theeucharistic elements. In 2001, after a study of this issue, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (laterPope Benedict XVI), then Prefect of theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, promulgated a declaration approved byPope John Paul II stating that this is a valid anaphora. This declaration opened the door to a joint synodal decree officially implementing the presentGuidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.[83]
^The Assyrian Church of the East allows communion with all baptised Christians. However, this open communion is not mutual with the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox or Oriental Orthodox churches.
^abRassam, Suha (2005).Christianity in Iraq: Its Origins and Development to the Present Day. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 166.ISBN9780852446331.The number of the faithful at the beginning of the twenty - first century belonging to the Assyrian Church of the East under Mar Dinkha was estimated to be around 385,000, and the number belonging to the Ancient Church of the East under Mar Addia to be 50,000-70,000.
^"Nestorian".Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
^Eduardo Campo, Juan (2009).Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing. p. 142.ISBN9781438126968.the Assyrian Church of the East (found mainly in northern Iraq, southern Turkey, Iran, southwest India, and now the United States).
^"Sign of the Cross".Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East - Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon. Archived fromthe original on 14 April 2020. Retrieved11 August 2020.Inside their homes, a cross is placed on the eastern wall of the first room. If one sees a cross in a house and do not find a crucifix or pictures, it is almost certain that the particular family belongs to the Church of the East.
^abHorner, Norman A. (1989).A Guide to Christian Churches in the Middle East: Present-day Christianity in the Middle East and North Africa. Mission Focus. p. 23.ISBN978-1-877736-00-1.The Assyrian Church of the East uses neither images nor icons. A stand, holding a copy of the Gospels and covered with a cloth, bears a simple cross that is venerated with the kiss of peace that people in other Eastern churches accord to their icons. The simplicity of their church interiors may reflect a concession to the Islamic objection to religious pictures in places of worship, or it may merely attest to the poverty of an isolated Christian people.
^Drège, Jean-Pierre (1992) [1989].Marco Polo y la Ruta de la Seda. Collection "Aguilar Universal" (in Spanish). Vol. 31. Translated by López Carmona, Mari Pepa. Madrid: Aguilar, S. A. de Ediciones. pp. 43 & 187.ISBN978-84-0360-187-1.OCLC1024004171.Doctrinas persas
^Minahan, James (2002).Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: A-C. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 206.ISBN9780313321092.The Assyrians, although closely assiociated with their Christian religion, are divided among a number of Christian sects. The largest denominations are the Chaldean Catholic Church with about 45% of the Assyrian population, the Syriac Orthodox with 26%, the Assyrian Church of the East with 19%, the free Orthodox Church of Antioch or Syriac Catholic Church with 4%, and various Protestant sects with a combined 6%.
Joseph, John (2000).The Modern Assyrians of the Middle East: Encounters with Western Christian missions, archaeologists, and colonial power. Leiden: Brill Studies in Christian Mission.ISBN978-9004116412.
Murre van den Berg, Heleen (2011) [2009]."Assyrian Apostolic Church of the East".The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization. Vol. 1. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 154–159.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.svg)
