Early history The church claims
apostolic succession through the pre-Chalcedonian Patriarchate of Antioch to the
early Christian communities from
Jerusalem led by
Saint Barnabas and
Saint Paul in
Antioch, during the
Apostolic era, as described in the
Acts of the Apostles; "
The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch" ().
Saint Peter was selected by
Jesus Christ ( ) and is venerated as the first bishop of Antioch in after the
Incident at Antioch.
Saint Evodius was the second bishop of Antioch until 66 AD and was succeeded by
Saint Ignatius of Antioch. The earliest recorded use of the term "Christianity" () was by Ignatius of Antioch, in around 100 AD. In A.D 169,
Theophilus of Antioch wrote three apologetic tracts to Autolycus. Patriarch
Babylas of Antioch was considered the first saint recorded as having had his remains moved (or "
translated") for religious purposes, a practice that was to become extremely common in later centuries.
Eustathius of Antioch joined
Athanasius of Alexandria in opposing the followers of the condemned doctrine of
Arius during the
Arian controversy at the
First Council of Nicaea. During the time of
Meletius of Antioch, the church split due to his being deposed for
Homoiousian leanings which became known as the
Meletian Schism, and saw several groups and claimants to the See of Antioch.
Patriarchate of Antioch Given the antiquity of the
bishopric of Antioch and the importance of the Christian community in the city of Antioch, a commercially significant city in the eastern parts of the
Roman Empire, the First Council of Nicaea recognized the bishopric as one of the main regional primacies in Christendom, with jurisdiction over the administrative
Diocese of the Orient, thus laying the foundation for the creation of the "Patriarchate of Antioch and All of the East". Because of the significance attributed to Ignatius of Antioch in the church, most of the Syriac Orthodox patriarchs since 1293 have used the name of Ignatius in the title of the patriarch preceding their own patriarchal name. Christological controversies that followed the Council of Chalcedon did not result in the development of a separate community for those who became Miaphysites, though it became the catalyst for the development of a unique Syriac Orthodox identity. It later resulted in a long struggle for the patriarchate between those who accepted and those who rejected the council. In 512, pro-Chalcedonian patriarch
Flavian II of Antioch was deposed by
Emperor Anastasius I, and on 6 November 512, at the synod of Laodicea in Syria, Severus of Antioch, a notable
Miapyhsite theologian, was elected and later consecrated on 16 November at the Great Church of Antioch. In 518, he was exiled from Antioch by the new emperor,
Justin I, who tried to enforce a uniform
Chalcedonian doctrine throughout the empire. Those who belonged to the pro-Chalcedonian party accepted newly appointed patriarch
Paul the Jew. The Miaphysite patriarchate was thus forced to leave Antioch, with Severus the Great taking refuge in
Alexandria. The non-Chalcedonian community was divided between "Severians" (followers of Severus), and
Julianists (followers of
Julian of Halicarnassus), a division that remained unresolved until 527. Severians continued to recognize Severus as the legitimate Miaphysite Patriarch of Antioch until his death in 538, and then proceeded to follow his successors.
Jacob Baradaeus,
bishop of Edessa, is credited for ordaining most of the
Miaphysite hierarchy while facing heavy persecution in the sixth century. In 544, Baradaeus ordained
Sergius of Tella, continuing the non-Chalcedonian succession of patriarchs of the
Church of Antioch. This was done in opposition to the Byzantine-backed patriarchate of Antioch held by the pro-Chalcedonian believers, leading to the Syriac Orthodox Church becoming popularly known as the Jacobite Church, while the Chalcedonian believers were known popularly as
Melkites, derived from the Syriac word for king,
malka (an implication of the Chalcedonian Church's relationship to the Roman emperor, later taken up by the
Melkite Greek Catholic Church as an official name). Due to numerous historical upheavals and hardships, the patriarchate of the Syriac Orthodox Church was relocated to various monasteries in
Mesopotamia for centuries.
John III of the Sedre was elected and consecrated Patriarch after the death of
Athanasius I Gammolo in 631 AD, followed by the fall of
Roman Syria and the
Muslim conquest of the Levant. John and several bishops were summoned before
Emir Umayr ibn Sad al-Ansari of
Hims to engage in an open debate regarding Christianity and represent the entire Christian community, including non-Syriac Orthodox communities, such as Greek Orthodox Syrians. The rise of Islam did not change the position of clergy in leading the church, and they acted as the leaders of their community.
Middle Ages in the medieval period |alt=A map locating the dioceses in the middle east during the medieval period. By the seventh century AD, the Syriac Orthodox identity gradually began to shift from a purely religious association to one considered ethnic, as the adoption of
Edessan Aramaic became one of its strongest features. The eighth-century
hagiography Life of Jacob Baradaeus provides evidence of a definite denominational and social differentiation between the Chalcedonians and Miaphysites (Syriac Orthodox). The longer hagiography indicates that the Syriac Orthodox, referred to as
Suryoye Yaquboye (Syriac Jacobites), in the work, identified more closely with Jacob's story than with those of other saints. The
Coptic historian and Miaphysite bishop
Severus ibn al-Muqaffa discusses the origins of the Jacobites and their
veneration of Jacob Baradaeus. He asserted that, unlike the Chalcedonian Christians (referred to as "Melkites"), Miaphysite Jacobites never compromised their orthodoxy to win the favor of the Byzantine emperors, as the Melkites had done. In the tenth century, after the
Byzantine reconquest of
Cappadocia,
Cilicia and Syria, the Byzantine emperor encouraged Syriac settlement of these newly conquered frontier lands, leading to a period of economic and intellectual flourishing for Syriac Orthodox communities from 950 to 1020. The 65th patriarch
John VII Sarigta and his two successors resided at the
Monastery of Bārid, close to
Melitene, one of many newly founded monasteries at the time, and Syriac Orthodox Christians were granted access to imperial positions. The wealth and influence of the Syriac Orthodox communities then sparked conflicts with the Byzantine Church, which began to persecute Syriac Orthodox Christians, forcing
Patriarch Dionysius IV to relocate the seat to
Amida. Before the advent of the
Crusades in the eleventh century, the Syriacs occupied much of the hill country of Jazira (
Upper Mesopotamia) and lived under the rule of the
Abbasid Caliphate. In Antioch, after the eleventh-century persecutions by the Byzantines, the Syriac Orthodox population was almost extinguished. Only one Jacobite church is recorded in Antioch in the first half of the twelfth century, leading Dorothea Weltecke to conclude that the Syriac Orthodox population was very low in this period in Antioch and its surroundings. This changed during the twelfth century when the Crusader states were established. Scholars agree generally that relations between the Syriac Orthodox and Latins in
Outremer were positive. The Syriac population in the
Principality of Antioch grew, partly due to the influx of refugees, which was also reflected in the construction of two additional churches. During this period, several Syriac Orthodox patriarchs visited Antioch, with some even establishing temporary residences there, and the Syriac Orthodox hierarchy in Antioch was open to accepting Latin supervision. Nevertheless, they stayed officially independent, though they also engaged in
ecumenical dialogue with the Byzantines and Latins regarding Church union. was the headquarters of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch until 1932. of the
Syriac Patriarch of Antioch in
Mor Hananyo Monastery, Turkey. It was made during the 6th century. In 1293, the patriarchal seat was moved from the
Mor Bar Sauma Monastery, where the patriarchs had resided since 1166, to the
Mor Hananyo Monastery (Deyrulzafaran) in southeastern
Anatolia near
Mardin, where it remained until 1933 before it was re-established in
Homs, Syria, due to the adverse political situation in the new
Turkish Republic. As the
Mongols took control of
Baghdad in 1258, and declared Islam the state religion in 1294, continuous persecution was rampant against the Christian populations of cities such as
Mosul and
Erbil. The effect that these persecutions made it difficult to enforce ecclesiastical laws amongst church hierarchy, and made communal division more frequent among church adherents.
16th–17th centuries 16th century In November 1517, the
Ottoman Empire issued a
firman (decree) to the
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, stating that the churches, monasteries, and other institutions of the Syriac Orthodox Church were to be under their formal control, alongside those of the
Ethiopian and
Coptic Churches. Other documents suggest that these churches were together under the authority of the
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch (
Rum millet), which would become a frequent source of conflict. Among the notable churchmen of the period,
Moses of Mardin (; ) was a diplomat who represented the Syriac Orthodox Church in
Rome during the 16th century.
17th century By the early 1660s, 75% of the 5,000 Syriac Orthodox people of
Aleppo had converted to Catholicism after the arrival of mendicant missionaries. The Catholic missionaries sought to install a Catholic patriarch among the Jacobites and consecrated
Andrew Akijan as the patriarch of the newly founded
Syriac Catholic Church. The
Propaganda Fide and foreign diplomats pushed for Akijan to be recognized as the Jacobite patriarch. The Porte consented and warned the Syriac Orthodox that they would be considered enemies if they refused to recognize him. Despite warnings and gifts to priests, frequent conflicts and violent disputes continued between the Catholic and Orthodox Syriacs. In 1662, the vacant Syriac Patriarchate aligned with the Catholic Church, but after
Gregory Peter VI's death in 1702, the Catholic patriarchal line temporarily lapsed. It resumed in 1782 with
Michael III Jarweh, leading to the formal establishment of the
Syriac Catholic Church, while the non-Catholic faction maintained its separate patriarchate. Around 1665, many
Saint Thomas Christians of
Kerala, India, committed themselves in allegiance to the Syriac Orthodox Church, which established the
Malankara Syrian Church. The Malankara Church, consolidated under
Mar Thoma I, welcomed
Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, who regularized the canonical ordination of Mar Thoma I as a native, democratically elected bishop of the Malabar Syriac Christians.
Early 19th – mid-20th centuries In 1836, the reformation faction of the Saint Thomas Christians in India split from the Syriac Orthodox Church and formed the
Mar Thoma Syrian Church. During this period, the positions of
patriarch of Tur Abdin and
maphrian (the latter revived in the 1960s) had come to an end following different synods. In the middle of the century, missionary efforts began with Syriac Orthodox communities in Tur Abdin, although they were not as popular as in
Urmia. Students from
Harput were also attracted to the schools, and influenced the community in Tur Abdin. In the 19th century, the various Syriac Christian denominations did not view themselves as part of a single ethnic group, though intercommunity bonds within the church were strong. The church was previously under the jurisdiction of the
Armenians in the
Millet system of the
Ottoman Empire due to both churches being
non-Chalcedonian. However, following various inner church conflicts, namely a crisis in Jerusalem, a series of petitions (often numbering into the thousands) would be made by the Syriac Orthodox under
Ignatius Peter IV and its dioceses for a separate millet. During the
Tanzimat reforms (1839–78), the Syriac Orthodox Church was granted independent status by gaining recognition as their own millet in 1873, apart from Armenians and Greeks. However, conflicts with the Armenian millet would continue after the Syriac Orthodox Church was granted recognition. In the late 19th century, the Syriac Orthodox community of the Middle East, primarily from the cities of
Adana and Harput, began the process of creating the Syriac diaspora, with the
United States being one of their first destinations in the 1890s. Later, the first Syriac Orthodox church in the United States was built in
Worcester, Massachusetts. The
1895–96 massacres in Turkey affected the
Armenian and Syriac Orthodox communities when an estimated 105,000 Christians were killed. By the end of the 19th century, 200,000 Syriac Orthodox Christians remained in the Middle East, primarily concentrated around Mor Hananyo Monastery, the patriarchal seat. In 1870, there were 22 Syriac Orthodox settlements in the vicinity of
Diyarbakır. In the 1870–71 Diyarbakır
salnames, there were 1,434 Orthodox Syriacs in that city. Internal rivalry within the Syriac Orthodox Church in Tur Abdin resulted in many conversions to its Uniate branch, the Syriac Catholic Church. On 10 December 1876, Ignatius Peter IV consecrated
Geevarghese Gregorios of Parumala as metropolitan. He had also worked to reform the Indian church after a long period of neglect, convening a synod in 1876 that reorganized communities into seven dioceses and establishing two councils. Under Peter IV's patriarchate,
Jules Ferrette of the
Ancient British Church was allegedly consecrated into the episcopacy for establishing an Oriental Orthodox mission in the West.
Joseph Rene Vilatte was also apparently consecrated as a bishop through the
Malankara Church, presumably with Peter IV's blessing.
Genocide (1914–1918) Monument at Peace Park in
Locarno,
Switzerland The Ottoman authorities killed and deported Orthodox Syriacs, then looted and seized their properties. Between 1915 and 1916, the Orthodox Syriac population in
Diyarbakır province declined by 72%, and in the Mardin province by 58%. Although they weren't as targeted as the
Armenians, many were often killed indiscriminately, and among Syriac Christians, the Syriac Orthodox were hit the hardest by the genocide. An estimated 90,000 were killed in the massacres and ensuing deportations.
Interwar period In 1924, the patriarchate of the church was relocated to
Homs after
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk expelled the Syriac Orthodox patriarch, who relocated the library of Mor Hananyo and settled in
Damascus. The Syriac Orthodox villages in Tur Abdin suffered from the 1925–26
Kurdish rebellions and massive
exodus to
Lebanon, northern
Iraq and especially
Syria ensued. In the early 1920s, the city of
Qamishli was built mainly by Syriac Orthodox refugees fleeing
Sayfo/the Assyrian genocide. The remaining Syriac Orthodox community in Tur Abdin did not press for minority rights by the Turkish state under the leadership of
Ignatius Elias III, but in 1924/1925 he was forced to leave the country.
Mid 20th – early 21st centuries 1945–2000 Following Elias III's leadership,
Ignatius Aphrem I ascended to the patriarchate. Under his patriarchal administration, he repudiated the clergy that claimed holy orders and apostolic succession through Ferrette and Vilatte. These clergy would later repudiate Aphrem I's notice, and form the
Catholicate of the West which was dissolved and continued as the
British Orthodox Church. In 1959, the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Church was transferred to Damascus in Syria. By the 1960s, Syriac Orthodox followers began to emigrate to
Sweden, with the majority of whom being from Tur Abdin. In the mid-1970s, the estimate of Syriac Orthodox living in Syria was 82,000. In 1977, the number of Syriac Orthodox followers in diaspora dioceses was 9,700 in the Diocese of Middle Europe and 10,750 in the Diocese of Sweden and surrounding countries. Immigration to Europe increased following violence from the
Kurdish-Turkish conflict, increasing the strength of Syriac Orthodox communities in their dioceses. On 20 October 1987, Geevarghese Mar Gregorios of Parumala was declared a saint by
Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, allowing additions to the diptychs. In 2000, a
synod was convened and the church officially began to use "Syriac" in its name in English, reflecting the official language of the church and to disassociate from the Syrian republic, as in
English, citizens of
Syria are called as
Syrians. The church began the process of establishing parish councils within each diocese, and by-laws enacted by the synod at
Mor Mattai Monastery were updated.
Syrian Civil War during the
Syrian Civil War|alt=A picture showing the damage to exterior of St. Mary Church of the Holy Belt during the Syrian Civil War During the
Syrian Civil War, in 2012, sources within the church reported of an "ongoing ethnic cleansing of Christians" being carried out by the
Free Syrian Army. Multiple Christians claimed to have been forced out of their homes; however, one Syriac leader clarified that the reports were unconfirmed. In another incident,
Al-Arabiya reported that
Assad's government forces attacked and raided the historic Syriac Orthodox
Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt in Homs; however, official church sources within Syria maintained that it was the anti-government militias that used the church as a shield and later damaged its contents on purpose. Al-Arabiya reports in 2012 stated that the Syrian government has been persecuting Christian community leaders by various means. In one instance, a Christian activist sympathetic to the opposition told the newspaper that one priest had been killed by regime forces, but later, state TV blamed the rebels for his death. In April 2013, the Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox archbishops of Aleppo,
Paul Yazigi and
Yohanna Ibrahim, respectively, were reportedly kidnapped near Aleppo by an armed Chechen group. Throughout the war, churches have been demolished by
Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria fighters. ==Leadership==