Syriac Orthodox Church

History

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" (Acts 11:26). Saint Peter was selected by Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:18) and is venerated as the first bishop of Antioch in c. 37 AD 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" (Greek: Χριστιανισμός) 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

By the seventh century AD, the Syriac Orthodox identity began to see the adoption of Edessan Aramaic become 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.

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 (fl. 1549; d. 1592) 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, formed some of the earliest modern communities in the western world, 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)

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 European 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, 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

Patriarch

The supreme head of the Syriac Orthodox Church is titled the patriarch of Antioch, in reference to his titular claim to one of the five patriarchates of the pentarchy of Byzantine Christianity. He possesses apostolic succession through Saint Peter according to sacred tradition. Considered the "father of fathers", he must be an ordained bishop. He is the general administrator to Holy Synod and supervises the spiritual, administrative, and financial matters of the church. The patriarch oversees the church's external relations with other churches and signs documents related to church affairs such as agreements, treaties, contracts, and pastoral communiques like encyclicals (also known as bulls) and pastoral letters.

Maphrian or Catholicos of India

The word maphrian comes from the Syriac word mafriano, meaning "one who fructifies". The maphrian or Catholicos of India is the second-highest rank in the Syriac Orthodox Church after the patriarch. He is an important functionary in guiding the church when the patriarchate falls vacant after the death of a patriarch, overseeing the election of the next patriarch and leading the ceremony for the ordination of the patriarch. Their see is in India, serving as the head of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, and remains under the authority of the patriarch. In joint councils, he is seated on the right side of the patriarch and heads the church's regional synod in India with the patriarch's sanction.

Archbishops and bishops

The title bishop comes from the Greek word episkopos, meaning "the one who oversees". A bishop is a spiritual leader in the church and holds different ranks. In the Syriac Orthodox Church, the hierarchy includes metropolitan bishops (or archbishops), with auxiliary bishops serving under them. The local head of an archdiocese is an archbishop. He is under the jurisdiction of the patriarch and is accountable to the Holy Synod.

Corepiscopos and priests

The priest (Kasheesho) is the one duly appointed to administer the sacraments. Unlike in the Catholic Church, Syriac deacons may marry before being ordained as priests; they cannot marry after ordained as priests.

Corepiscopi (or archpriests) are the highest honorary rank given to married priests. A corespiscopos has the privileges of being the "first among the priests". The ranks above the corepiscopos are unmarried. The title of "reesh-corepiscopos" (arch-corepiscopos) is rare and has been awarded only to Curien Kaniamparambil.

Deacons

In the Syriac Orthodox tradition, different ranks among the deacons are specifically assigned with particular duties. The seven ranks of the diaconate are:

1. Ulmoyo (Faithful)
2. Mawdyono (Confessor of faith)
3. Mzamrono (Singer)
4. Quroyo or Korooyo (Reader or Lector)
5. Afudyaqno (Subdeacon)
6. Mshamshono (Full or evangelical deacon)
7. Arkhedyaqno (Archdeacon)

The subdeacon ensures only the baptized remain in the church from the chanting of the Nicene Creed until Communion. Historically, catechumens attended the sermon but left before the Creed. The subdeacon maintains this practice and church discipline.

Only a full deacon may take the censer during the Divine Liturgy to assist the priest, but in the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, because of the lack of deacons, altar assistants who do not have a rank of the diaconate may assist the priest. Each archdiocese may have one archdeacon who is referred to as "the right hand of the bishop". Only qualified and learned deacons are elevated to this office. Historically, in the Malankara Church, the local chief was called an archdeacon, who was the ecclesiastical authority of the Saint Thomas Christians in the Malabar region of India.

Deaconess

An ordained deaconess is entitled to enter the sanctuary only for cleaning, lighting the lamps and is limited to give Holy Communion to women and children who are under the age of five. She can read Scripture, including the Gospels, in a public gatherings. The title of deaconess can also be given to a choirgirl. Ordained deaconesses may sing in the choir. The ministry of the deaconess assists the priest and deacon outside the altar including in the service of baptizing women and anointing them with holy chrism.

Worship

Bible

Syriac Orthodox churches uses the Peshitta (Syriac: ܡܦܩܬܐ ܦܫܝܛܬܐ, lit. 'simple, common') as its official Bible. The New Testament books of this Bible are estimated to have been translated from Koine Greek to Syriac between the late first century to the early third century AD. The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated from Hebrew, probably in the second century. The New Testament of the Peshitta, which originally excluded certain disputed books, had become the standard by the early fifth century, replacing two early Syriac versions of the gospels.

In the Syriac Orthodox Church's biblical interpretation, the School of Edessa was divided over whether to accept the works of Theodore of Mopsuestia. Over the centuries, divisions among Miaphysites, Chalcedonians and other Dyophysites became more pronounced, influencing Syriac literature and leading to the compilation of new works by figures such as Dionysius bar Salibi and Bar Hebraeus.

Doctrine

The Syriac Orthodox Church theology is based on the Nicene Creed. The Syriac Orthodox Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its metropolitans are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the patriarch is the successor to Saint Peter on whom primacy was conferred by Jesus Christ. The church accepted the first three synods held at Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381), and Ephesus (431), shaping the formulation and early interpretation of Christian doctrines. The Syriac Orthodox Church is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, a distinct communion of churches claiming to continue the patristic and apostolic Christology before the schism following the Council of Chalcedon in 451. In terms of Christology, the Oriental Orthodox (non-Chalcedonian) understanding is that Christ is of "one nature—the Logos Incarnate, of the full humanity and full divinity". Just as humans are of their mothers and fathers and not in their mothers and fathers, so too is the nature of Christ according to Oriental Orthodoxy. The Chalcedonian understanding is that Christ is "in two natures, full humanity and full divinity". This is the doctrinal difference that separated the Oriental Orthodox and the Imperial Church. The church believes in the mystery of Incarnation and venerates the Virgin Mary as Theotokos or Yoldath Aloho, meaning God-bearer.

The Fathers of the Syriac Orthodox Church gave a theological interpretation to the primacy of Saint Peter. They were fully convinced of the unique office of Peter in the early Christian community. Ephrem, Aphrahat, and Maruthas unequivocally acknowledged the office of Peter. The different orders of liturgies used for sanctification of church buildings, marriages, ordinations etc., reveal that the primacy of Peter is a part of faith of the church. The church does not believe in papal primacy as understood by the Roman See; rather, Petrine primacy according to the ancient Syriac tradition. The church uses both the Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar based on their regions and traditions they adapted.

Bar Hebraeus wrote a Nomocanon with 40 chapters detailing the rules and canons of the church, some of which were derived from other schools of thought. These writings served as a basis for the leadership of the church and were mostly unchanged for 330 years.

Language

• Syriac, as the most notable variant of Aramaic language in the Christian era, is used by the Syriac Orthodox Church in two basic forms: classical Syriac is traditionally employed as the main liturgical and literary language, while the neo-Aramaic (Neo-Syriac) dialect known as Turoyo is spoken as the most common vernacular language. Other communities, such as those in Bartella, speak a different dialect of Syriac.
• Arabic had become the dominant language of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Egypt by the 11th century. Syriac Orthodox clergy wrote in Arabic using Garshūni, a Syriac script in the 15th century and later adopted the Arabic script. An English missionary in the 1840s noted that the Arabic speech of the Syriacs was intermixed with Syriac vocabulary. They chose Arabic and Muslim-sounding names, while women had Biblical names.
• Greek language was historically used (along with Syriac) in the earliest periods, during and after the separation (5th–6th centuries), but its use gradually declined.
• English is used globally alongside Syriac.
• Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada are presently used in India with Syriac.
• Suriyani Malayalam, also known as Karshoni or Syriac Malayalam, is a dialect of Malayalam written in a variant form of the Syriac alphabet which was popular among the Saint Thomas Christians (also known as Syrian Christians or Nasranis) of Kerala in India. It uses Malayalam grammar, the Maḏnḥāyā or "Eastern" Syriac script with special orthographic features, and vocabulary from Malayalam and East Syriac. This originated in the South Indian region of the Malabar Coast (modern-day Kerala). Until the 19th century, the script was widely used by Syrian Christians in Kerala.
• Spanish and some Mayan languages are presently in used along with Syriac in Guatemala and Central America
• Swedish, German, Dutch, Turkish, and Portuguese are used in their regions along with Syriac.

Liturgy

The liturgical service is called Holy Qurobo, meaning Eucharist, in the Syriac language. The Liturgy of Saint James is celebrated on Sundays and special occasions. The Holy Eucharist consists reading of the Gospel, Bible readings, prayers, and hymns. The recitation of the liturgy is performed according to with specific parts chanted by the presider, the lectors, the choir, and the congregated faithful, at certain times in unison. Apart from certain readings, prayers are sung in the form of chants and melodies. Hundreds of melodies remain preserved in the book known as Beth Gazo, the key reference to Syriac Orthodox Church music.

In 1983, the French ethnomusicologist Christian Poché produced audio recordings of the liturgical music of the Syriac Orthodox Church. In his liner notes for the UNESCO Anthology of Traditional Music, he described the liturgical music of communities in Antioch, Tur Abdin, Urfa, Mardin in modern Turkey, as well as in Aleppo and Qamishli in modern Syria.

Prayer

Syriac Orthodox clergy and laity follow a regimen of seven prayers a day at fixed prayer times, in accordance with Psalm 119 (cf. Shehimo). According to the Syriac tradition, an ecclesiastical day starts at sunset and the canonical hours are based on West Syriac Rite:

• Evening or Ramsho prayer (Vespers)
• Night prayer or Sootoro prayer (Compline)
• Midnight or Lilyo prayer (Matins)
• Morning or Saphro prayer (Prime or Lauds, 6 a.m.)
• Third Hour or Tloth sho'in prayer (Terce, 9 a.m.)
• Sixth Hour or sheth sho'in prayer (Sext, noon)
• Ninth Hour or Tsha' sho'in prayer (None, 3 p.m.)

Sacraments

The seven sacraments of the church are:

• Chrismation (Anointing of Holy Muron)
• Baptism
• Confession
• Holy Communion (Queen of the Sacraments)
• Marriage
• Unction (Anointing of the Sick)
• Ordination

Vestments

The clergy of the Syriac Orthodox Church wear unique liturgical vestments according to their order in the priesthood, with certain elements overlapping and building upon one another.

Non-ceremonial

A priest's usual dress, worn when not performing sacraments, is a black robe. In India, due to the hot weather, priests usually wear white robes except during prayers in the church, where they wear a black robe over the white one. A priest also wears a phiro (black skullcap), which he must wear for the public prayers. A corepiscopos is given a chain with a cross and are also required to wear a black cassock and a traditional violet zoonoro (girdle) made of cloth. A ramban (monk) wears a masnapso (hood). Bishops usually wear a black or red robe along with a red belt. They also wear a qawugh (black shaped turban) and an episcopal cross on the chest.

Ceremonial

A mawdyono deacon wears a white robe called kutino, symbolizing purity. Mzamrono and ascending ranks of deacons wear the kutino and a uroro (orarion) in their respective shapes. The deaconess wears a uroro hanging down from the shoulder in the manner of an archdeacon.

Priests wear ceremonial shoes called msone. Without wearing these shoes, a priest cannot distribute the eucharist to the faithful. The priest also wears the hamniko or stole which is worn over the white robe. Then he wears a girdle called zoonoro, and zende, meaning sleeves. A cope called phayno is worn over these vestments.

If the celebrant is a bishop, he wears a veil-mitre over the masnapso. Batrashil, or pallium, is worn over the phayno by bishops and corepiscopas wear a half cope over the phayno, like the hamnikho worn by priests. They carry a crosier stylized with serpents representing the staff of Moses during liturgy and in public. They also carry a cross and scarf along with the crosier.

Demography

The patriarchate was originally established in Antioch (in present-day Syria, Turkey, and Iraq) but later relocated due to persecutions by the Romans, followed by Muslim Arab rule. It was based at Mor Hananyo Monastery, Mardin, within the Ottoman Empire from 1160 to 1933, then moved to Homs from 1933 to 1959, and has been seated in Damascus, Syria, since 1959. A diaspora has also spread from the Levant, Iraq, and Turkey throughout the world, notably in Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Austria, France, United States, Canada, Guatemala, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand.

It is estimated that the church has 600,000 Syriac adherents, in addition to 483,000 members of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church and their own ethnic diaspora in India. There is also a large Syriac community among Mayan converts in Guatemala and South America numbering up to 500,000. According to scholar James Minahan, around 26% of the Assyrian people belong to the Syriac Orthodox Church. Although the population of Syriac Orthodox in Tur Abdin still remains in the low thousands (2,000 as of 2011), the Syriac population in Turkey is growing due to refugees from Syria and Iraq fleeing ISIS, as well as members of the diaspora returning to rebuild their homes after leaving during the Turkey–PKK conflict (1978). The village of Elbeğendi in Midyat has been repopulated by Syriacs from Germany and Switzerland.

There are approximately 250,000 members in the United States, 120,000 in Sweden, 120,000 in Germany, 15,000 in the Netherlands and 200,000 members in Brazil, Switzerland and Austria.

Jurisdiction of the patriarchate

The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch originally covered the whole region of the Middle East and India. In recent centuries, its parishioners started to emigrate to other countries all over the world. Today, the Syriac Orthodox Church has several archdioceses and patriarchal vicariates (exarchates) in many countries, covering six continents. The church's members are divided into 26 archdioceses and 13 patriarchal vicariates.

Americas

The presence of the Syrian Orthodox faithful in the Americas dates back to the late 19th century.

North America

In 1952, the Patriarchal Vicariate for the U.S. and Canada was created, and in 1995, it was divided into three regional vicariates: Eastern America, Western America and Canada. In 1993, Ignatius Zakka I formed the Malankara Archdiocese of North America for the Indian adherents living in North America. The archdiocese is under the jurisdiction of the patriarchal see.

There are approximately 250,000 members of the three vicariates and more than 1,000,000 members in the Malankara Archdiocese as of 2002.

Central America

In Guatemala, a Charismatic movement emerged in 2003 and was excommunicated in 2006 by the Roman Catholic Church. They later joined the Syriac Orthodox Church in 2013 as the Syriac Orthodox Church in Guatemala. Members of this archdiocese are generally Mayan in origin and most live in rural areas. They number around 500,000 based on church estimations. In 2013, the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox churches stated that the church received into communion 600,000–800,000 members from an independent Roman Catholic body. This archdiocese is known as the Archdiocese of Central America, the Caribbean Islands and Venezuela.

South America

Middle East

The Syriac Orthodox Church in the Middle East and diaspora communities originating from there, numbering between 150,000 and 200,000 people, reside in their indigenous area of habitation in Syria, Iraq and Turkey according to estimates. The community formed and developed in the Middle Ages. The Syriac Orthodox Christians of the Middle East speak Aramaic. The Syriac Orthodox Church has numerous monasteries in the region.

India

Jacobite Syrian Christian Church

The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, a maphrianate, is one of the Saint Thomas Christian churches in India. It is an integral part of the Syriac Orthodox Church, with the patriarch of Antioch serving as its supreme head. The local head of the church in Malankara (Kerala) is Baselios Joseph, ordained by Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II in March 2025. The headquarters of the church in India is at Puthencruz, Ernakulam, Kerala in South India. Simhasana churches and the Honavar Mission is under the direct control of the patriarch.

Historically, the St. Thomas Christians were part of the Church of the East, based in Persia which was under the patriarch of Antioch. After the Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, which formalized the schism between the Church of the East and the Syriac Orthodox Church, the faithful in India received both Miaphysite and Nestorian bishops from different time periods until they formally came into full communion with Syriac Orthodox Church on 1652. Syriac bishops like Mar Sabor and Mar Proth arrived at Malankara between the eighth and ninth centuries from Persia. They established churches in Quilon, Kadamattom, Kayamkulam, Udayamperoor, and Akaparambu.

Knanaya Archdiocese

The Knanaya Archdiocese, in full communion with the Syriac Orthodox Church, exists as an archdiocese for the ethnic Knanaya community in Kerala who practice strict endogamy. It was due to this they were given a separate archdiocese. They are under the guidance and direction of Archbishop Mor Severious Kuriakose. They migrated to Kerala under the leadership of the Syriac merchant Knāy Thoma (Thomas of Cana) who arrived in Kerala in the year 345 AD with a bishop from Edessa, while another legend traces their origin to Jews in the Middle East.

Evangelistic Association of the East

The E.A.E. Archdiocese is the missionary association of the Syriac Orthodox Church, founded in 1924 by Geevarghese Athunkal Cor-Episcopa at Perumbavoor. This archdiocese is under the direct control of the patriarch under the guidance of Chrysostomos Markose. It is an organization with churches, educational institutions, orphanages, nursing homes, convents, publications, mission centers, gospel teams, care missions and a missionary training institute. It is registered in 1949 under the Indian Societies Registration Act. XXI of 1860 (Reg. No. S.8/1949ESTD 1924). Honnavar Mission is a spiritual and charitable organization based in Honnavar, Karnataka, The mission serves under the guidance of Metropolitan Anthonios Yaqu'b.

Seperations

Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church

The Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church is an independent Oriental Protestant church that was excommunicated from the Syriac Orthodox Church by Patriarch Mor Ignatius Peter IV due to their Eastern Protestant practices. Their first reforming metropolitan, Mathews Athanasius, was ordained by Ignatius Elias II in 1842.

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church’s 1934 Constitution recognizes the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch as its primate. However, the church maintains that this authority is primarily historical and honorific, operating under the full administrative and ecclesiastical jurisdiction of its own Catholicos and Holy Synod.

Disagreements over patriarchal authority led to significant factional divisions within the Malankara Church in India. The Holy Universal Synod of the Syriac Orthodox Church issued a decree of excommunication against the faction aligned with autocephaly in 1975, a position reaffirmed in subsequent synods, notably by the Malankara Synod in 2017 and the Universal Synod in 2025, which was recognized by the Coptic and Armenian Apostolic churches. Conversely, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church considers these excommunications ecclesiastically invalid, asserting its self-governing (autocephalous) status as upheld by multiple rulings of the Supreme Court of India.

Europe

Earlier in the 20th century, many Syriacs emigrated to Western Europe, settling in countries like the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and other countries for economic and political reasons. The Mor Ephrem Monastery in the Netherlands is the first Syriac Orthodox monastery in Europe, established in 1981. The Mor Awgen Monastery in Arth, Switzerland and Mor Jacob of Serugh Monastery in Warburg, Germany are the other monasteries located in Europe. The most recent Syriac Orthodox monastery in Europe is the Holy Cross Monastery in Sweden.

Oceania

The Patriarchal Vicariate of Australia and New Zealand was founded under the patriarch's authority, and is currently led by Archbishop Malatius Malki Malki. The vicariate is headquartered in the Saint Ephraim Syriac Orthodox church.

Institutions

The church has various seminaries, colleges, and other institutions. Patriarch Aphrem I Barsoum established St. Aphrem's Clerical School in the year 1934 in Zahlé, Lebanon. In 1946, the school was moved to Mosul, Iraq. It provided the church with a selection of graduates, the first among them being Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas and many other church leaders.

In 1990, the Order of St. Jacob Baradaeus was established for nuns. Seminaries have been instituted in Sweden and in Salzburg, Austria for the study of Syriac theology, history, language, and culture. The church has an international Christian education center for religious education. The Antioch Syrian University was established on 8 September 2018 in Maarat Saidnaya, near Damascus. The university offers engineering, management and economics courses. The Happy Child House project inaugurated in 2022 provides childcare services in Damascus, Syria.

Ecumenical relations

The Syriac Orthodox Church is active in ecumenical dialogues with various churches, including the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox churches, Anglican Communion, Church of the East, and other Christian denominations. The church is an active member of the World Council of Churches since 1960 and Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas was one of the former presidents of the WCC. It has also been involved in the Middle East Council of Churches since 1974. Since 1998, representatives of Syriac Orthodox Church, together with representatives of other Oriental Orthodox churches, participate in ecumenical dialogue and also in various forms of interfaith dialogue.

Catholic Church

There are some common Christological and pastoral agreements with the Catholic Church. By the 20th century as the Chalcedonian schism was not seen with the same relevance, and from several meetings between the authorities of the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox, reconciling declarations emerged in the common statements of the Patriarch Ignatius Jacob III and Pope Paul VI in 1971, Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas and Pope John Paul II in 1984 issued a common statement:

The confusions and schisms that occurred between their Churches in the later centuries, they realise today, in no way affect or touch the substance of their faith, since these arose only because of differences in terminology and culture and in the various formulae adopted by different theological schools to express the same matter. Accordingly, we find today no real basis for the sad divisions and schisms that subsequently arose between us concerning the doctrine of Incarnation. In words and life, we confess the true doctrine concerning Christ our Lord, notwithstanding the differences in interpretation of such a doctrine which arose at the time of the Council of Chalcedon.

The precise differences in theology that caused the Chalcedonian controversy is said to have arisen "only because of differences in terminology and culture and in the various formulae adopted by different theological schools to express the same matter", according to a common declaration statement between Patriarch Ignatius Jacob III and Pope Paul VI on Wednesday 27 October 1971.

In 2015, Pope Francis addressed the Syriac Orthodox Church as "a church of Martyrs", welcoming the visit of Ignatius Aphrem II to the Holy See.

Russian Orthodox Church

In 2015, Ignatius Aphrem II visited Patriarch Kirill of Moscow of the Russian Orthodox Church and discussed prospects of bilateral and theological dialogue existing since the late 1980s. The two leaders discussed various contemporary issues, including the situation of Christians in the Middle East and the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in addressing these concerns at international forums. They also explored ways to strengthen relations between their respective churches and coordinate their positions on matters related to conflict and violence.