 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Syriac Catholic Church" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Syriac Catholic Church | |
|---|---|
| ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ | |
 | |
| Type | Particular church (sui iuris) |
| Classification | Christian |
| Orientation | |
| Scripture | Peshitta[1] |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Patriarch | Ignatius Joseph III Yonan |
| Region | Near-East; Lebanon,Syria,Iraq,Turkey with communities inUnited States,Canada,France,Sweden,Venezuela,Brazil,Argentina andAustralia |
| Language | Syriac,Aramaic |
| Liturgy | West Syriac Rite |
| Headquarters | Beirut,Lebanon[2] |
| Founder | Traces ultimate origins toApostlesSt. Paul andSt. Peter Through PatriarchsIgnatius Andrew Akijan (1662) andIgnatius Michael III Jarweh (1782) |
| Branched from | Church of Antioch[3] |
| Members | 153,415 (2018)[4] |
| Official website | syr-cath |
| Part of a series on |
| Assyrians |
|---|
 |
| Assyrian culture |
| By country |
| Assyrian diaspora |
| Language |
| Subgroups |
| Religion |
| By location |
| Persecution |
TheSyriac Catholic Church[a] is anEastern Catholicsui iuris (self-governing)particular church that is infull communion with theHoly See and with the entirety of theCatholic Church.[5] Originating in theLevant, it uses theWest Syriac Rite liturgy and has many practices and rites in common with theSyriac Orthodox Church. TheSyriac language, a dialect ofAramaic, is the liturgical language used by the Church.[6] There are about 160,000 Syriac Catholics, with the majority inSyria andIraq, along with a smaller community inLebanon and an overseas diaspora. It is one of the smaller Eastern Catholic churches based in theMiddle East.[7]
The Syriac Catholic Church traces its history and traditions to theChurch of Antioch established bySaint Peter. TheDiocese of the East under thePatriarch of Antioch included the western Middle East along the Mediterranean.[6] The Church of Antioch was split following theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451 over disagreements onChristology, with the Syriac,Coptic, andArmenian churches becoming part ofOriental Orthodoxy after rejecting the outcome of the council.[8] A decree of unity between the Syriac Orthodox Church and Rome was made at theCouncil of Florence in 1444 but it was quickly annulled by the Syriac hierarchy. After missionary work led to conversions to Catholicism among Syriac Christians in the 17th century, one of them,Andrew Akijan, was elected as the Syriac Patriarch of Antioch in 1662. After his death in 1677, rival Catholic and Orthodox Syriac patriarchs were elected between then and 1702. The current line ofSyriac Catholic patriarchs of Antioch began in 1782, whenMichael Jarweh declared himself in communion with thepope of Rome after being elected by the Syriac Orthodox Holy Synod.[9]
The church is headed byMorIgnatius Joseph III Younan, who has been the patriarch since 2009. Its patriarch ofAntioch has the title ofPatriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syriacs and resides inBeirut, Lebanon.[b] The seat of the Syriac Catholic patriarch was moved several times due to persecution of the Church. Michael Jarweh established the monastery of Our Lady in Sharfeh, Lebanon, which is also currently the site of the seminary and printing house of the Syriac Catholic Church.[9]
The Syriac Catholic Church (Classical Syriac:ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ,romanized: ʿĪṯo Suryoyṯo Qaṯolīqayṯo) is sometimes also called the Syrian Catholic Church. Furthermore, it is sometimes referred by its patriarchate, theSyriac Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch. See also:Syriac Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch.
The Syriac Catholic Church claims its origin throughSaint Peter prior to his departure to Rome, and extends its roots back to the origins ofChristianity in theOrient; in theActs of the Apostles we are told that it is in Antioch where the followers ofJesus for the first time were called "Christians" (Acts 11:26).
In the time of the firstecumenical councils, thePatriarch of Antioch held theecclesiastical authority over theDiocese of the Orient, which was to be extended from theMediterranean Sea to thePersian Gulf. Its scholarly mission in both languages,Greek andSyriac, was to provide the world and the Universal Church with eminent saints, scholars, hermits, martyrs and pastors. Among these great people areSaint Ephrem (373), Doctor of the Church, andSaint Jacob of Sarug (521).
During theCrusades there were many examples of warm relations between Catholic andSyriac Orthodox bishops. Some of these bishops favored union with Rome, but there was no push to unify until a decree of union between the Syriac Orthodox and Rome was signed at theCouncil of Florence September 30, 1444 – but the effects of this decree were rapidly annulled by opponents of it in the Syriac Church's hierarchy.
AJesuit andCapuchin missionaries evangelizing inAleppo caused some local Syriac Orthodox faithful to form a pro-catholic movement within the Syriac Orthodox Church. In 1667,Andrew Akijan, a supporter of union with theCatholic Church, was elected as patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church.[10] This provoked a split in the community, and after Akijan's death in 1677, two opposing patriarchs were elected, with the pro-Catholic one being the uncle of Andrew Akijan. However, when the Catholic patriarch died in 1702, theOttoman government supported the Syriac Orthodoxy's agitation against the Syriac Catholics, and throughout the 18th century the Syriac Catholics underwent suffering and much persecution. Due to this, there were long periods when no Syriac Catholic bishops were functioning, so a patriarch could not be elected, and the community was forced to go entirely underground. However, in 1782, the Syriac Orthodox Holy Synod elected MetropolitanMichael Jarweh ofAleppo as patriarch.[1] Shortly after he was enthroned, he declared himself Catholic and in unity with the pope of Rome. After this declaration, Jarweh took refuge in Lebanon and built the still-extantmonastery ofOur Lady atSharfeh, and by that act became the patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church. Since Jarweh, there has been an unbroken succession ofSyriac Catholic patriarchs, which is known as theIgnatius Line.[11]
In 1829 the Ottoman government granted legal recognition to theArmenian Catholic Church, and in 1845 the Syriac Catholic Church was also granted its own civil emancipation. Meanwhile, the residence of the patriarch was shifted to Aleppo in 1831. However, after theMassacre of Aleppo in 1850, the patriarchal see was shifted toMardin in 1854.
After becoming officially recognized by the Ottoman government in 1845, the Syriac Catholic Church expanded rapidly. However, the expansion was ended by the persecutions and massacres that took place during theSayfo ofWorld War I. After that, the Syriac Catholic patriarchal see was moved to Beirut away from Mardin, to which many Ottoman Christians had fled the genocide. In addition to its see in Beirut, the patriarchal seminary and printing house are located atSharfeh Monastery inSharfeh,Lebanon.
As of 2013[update], thepatriarch of Antioch (an ancient major see, where several Catholic and Orthodox patriarchates nominally reside) was MoranMorIgnatius Joseph III Younan, resident inBeirut,Lebanon. The Syriac Catholic patriarch always takes the name "Ignatius" in addition to another name.
In modern history the leaders of the Syriac Catholic Church have been:Patriarch Michael III Jarweh,Archbishop Clemens Daoud,Patriarch Ephrem Rahmani,Vicomte de Tarrazi,Monsignor Ishac Armaleh,Ignatius Gabriel I Tappouni,Chorbishop Gabriel Khoury-Sarkis,Ignatius Antony II Hayyek,Ignatius Moses I Daoud,Ignatius Peter VIII Abdalahad, and Ignatius Joseph III Yonan.Eminent Syriac saints, scholars, hermits, martyrs and pastors since 1100 also includeDionysius Bar Salibi (1171),Gregorius X Bar Hebraeus (1286) and more recently Bishop MorFlavianus Michael Malke.
The Syriac Church leadership has produced a variety of scholarly writings in a variety of topics. For example, Patriarch Ephrem Rahmani was widely praised for his work in Syriac and is responsible forPope Benedict XV recognisingSaint Ephrem as a Doctor of theCatholic Church.[12] LikewisePatriarch Ignatius Behnam II Beni is known for imploring Eastern theology to defend the primacy ofRome.[13]
Thepatriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syriacs presides upon the Patriarchal Eparchy of Beirut and leads spiritually all the Syriac Catholic community around the world.
The community includes twoarchdioceses inIraq, four inSyria, one inEgypt andSudan, apatriarchal vicariate in Palestine, a patriarchal vicariate inTurkey and the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in theUnited States andCanada.
The Syriac Catholic Church was formally united with the Holy See of Rome in 1781.
As of 2010[update] the church was estimated to have 159,000 faithful, 10 bishoprics, 85 parishes, 106 secular priests, 12 religious-order priests, 102 men and women in religious orders, 11 permanent deacons and 31 seminarians.[14]
TheWest Syriac Rite is rooted in the old tradition of both the churches of Jerusalem and Antioch and has ties with the ancient Jewish Berakah.[citation needed]
The Syriac Catholic Church follows a similar tradition to otherEastern Catholic Churches who use theWest Syriac Rite, such as theMaronites andSyro-Malankara Christians. This rite is clearly distinct from the Greek Byzantine rite of Antioch of theMelkite Catholics and theirOrthodox counterparts. Syriac Catholic priests were traditionally bound tocelibacy by the Syriac Catholic local Synod of Sharfeh in 1888, but there are now a number of married priests.
The liturgy of the Syriac Catholic Church is very similar to that of theSyriac Orthodox Church.
The Syriac Catholic Church usesfans with bells on them and engraved with seraphim during the Qurbono. Usually someone in the minor orders would shake these fans behind a bishop to symbolise theseraphim. They are also used during the consecration where two men would shake them over the altar during moments in the epliclesis and words of institution when the priest says "he took and broke" and "this is my body/blood".
Thethurible of the Syriac Catholic Church consists of nine bells, representing the nine choirs of angels.
TheLiturgy of the Hours is exactly the same as in theSyriac Orthodox. There are two versions of this: the Phenqitho and the Shhimo. The former is the more complicated seven-volume version. While the latter is the simple version.
Likewise the ranking of clerics in the Syriac Catholic Church is extremely similar to that of theSyriac Orthodox Church. The most notable differences are:
The liturgical language of the Syriac Catholic Church,Syriac, is a dialect ofAramaic. TheQurbono Qadisho (literally: Holy Mass or Holy Offering/Sacrifice) of the Syriac Church uses a variety ofAnaphoras, with theAnaphora of the 12 Apostles being the one mostly in use with the Liturgy of StJames the Just.
Their ancientsemitic language is known asAramaic (or "Syriac" after the time of Christ since the majority of people who spoke this language belonged to the province of "Syria"). It is the language spoken by Jesus, Mary and the Apostles. Many of the ancient hymns of the church are still maintained in this native tongue although several have been translated intoArabic,English,French and other languages.
Syriac is still spoken in some few communities in easternSyria and northernIraq, but for most Arabic is the vernacular language.
Throughout the history of the Syriac Church there have been many martyrs. A recent example isFlavianus Michael Malke during the 1915Sayfo.
On 31 October 2010, 58 Iraqi Syriac Catholics were killed by Muslim extremists while attending Sunday Divine Liturgy; 78 others were wounded. The attack byIraqi ISIS on the congregation ofOur Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Church was the bloodiest single attack on an Iraqi Christian church in recent history.[15]
Two priests, Fathers Saad Abdallah Tha'ir and Waseem Tabeeh, were killed.[16] Another, Father Qatin, was seriously wounded but recovered.[17][18]
| History Timeline Ecclesiastical Legal |
| ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theology Bible Tradition Catechism |
| ||||||||||||
| Philosophy | |||||||||||||
| Saints | |||||||||||||
| Organisation Hierarchy Canon law Laity Precedence By country |
| ||||||||||||
| Culture | |||||||||||||
| Media | |||||||||||||
| Religious orders, institutes,societies |
| ||||||||||||
| Associations of the faithful | |||||||||||||
| Charities | |||||||||||||
| Patriarchal churches |
|  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major archiepiscopal churches | ||||||
| Metropolitan churches | ||||||
| Othersui iuris churches | ||||||
| West Syriac, legacy of theChurch of Antioch |
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Syriac, legacy of theChurch of the East (the"Nestorian Church") (410–1552) |
| ||||||||
| Saint Thomas Christians, legacy of theMalankara Church (active 1st century–1601) inKerala,India |
| ||||||||
| Key figures |
| ||||||||
| Languages | |||||||||
| See also | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Cultural area ofChristian traditions that developed sinceEarly Christianity in theMiddle East,Eastern Europe,North andEast Africa,Asia Minor,South India, and parts of theFar East. | ||||||||
| Main divisions |
| |||||||
| History |
| |||||||
| Scriptures | ||||||||
| Theology | ||||||||
| Worship | ||||||||
| Bible (Scriptures) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundations | |||||||||
| History (timeline) (spread) |
| ||||||||
| Denominations (list,members) |
| ||||||||
| Theology |
| ||||||||
| Philosophy | |||||||||
| Other features |
| ||||||||
Ethno-linguistic group(s) indigenous to theMiddle East; also known as Syriac-Arameans or Chaldeans | |||||||||
| Identity | |||||||||
| Syriac Christianity |
| ||||||||
| Neo-Aramaic dialects | |||||||||
| Culture | |||||||||
| History (including related contexts) |
| ||||||||
| By country |
| ||||||||
| Politics | |||||||||
| Topics | |
|---|---|
| Census in Turkey | |
| Lists | |
.svg)
