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SYRIAC CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Syriac Catholic Church or Syrian Catholic Church is a Christian church in the Levant having practices and rites in common with the Syriac Orthodox Church. They are one of the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches following the Antiochene rite, the Syriac tradition of Antioch, along with the Maronites and Syro-Malankara Christians. This is opposed to the Greek Byzantine rite of Antioch of the Melkites, both Orthodox and Catholic. These 'Syriac Catholics' number about as many as the Syriac Orthodox, from whom they originated; their head, the Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, lives in Beirut. They have a separate church organization from the Melkites, Maronites, and Chaldaean Catholics, which are other communities of the Levant in communion with Rome
The chief of this church has the title of Patriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syrians[1] and resides in Beirut, Lebanon (present titular: His Beatitude Mar Ignace Pierre VIII Abdel-Ahad since February 16, 2001).
History
The Syriac Catholic Church belongs to the See of Antioch (which prior to his departure to Rome, Saint Peter established) and extends it roots back to the primitive Christianity in the Orient. And in the Acts of the Apostles we are told that it is in Antioch where the followers of Jesus for the first time were called "Christians" (Acts 11:26).
In the time of the first Ecumenical Councils, the Patriarch of Antioch held the ecclesiastical authority over the Diocese of the Orient, which was to be extended from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. Its scholarly mission in both languages: the Greek and Syriac was to provide the world and the Universal Church with eminent saints, scholars, hermits and pastors. Among these great people are Saint Ephrem (373), Doctor of the Church, Saint Jacob of Sarug (521) Dionysius Bar Salibi (1171) and Gregorius X Bar Hebraeus (1286).
In modern history the leaders of the Syriac Catholic Church have been among others: Patriarch Ignatius Michael Djarweh, Archbishop Clemens Daoud, Patriarch Ephrem Rahmani, Vicomte de Tarrazi, Monsignor Ishac Armaleh, Patriarch-Cardinal Gabriel Tappouni and Chorbishop Gabriel Khoury-Sarkis.
The present Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch is Mar Ignatius Peter VIII since February 2001 and resides in Beirut, Lebanon. With this title he presides upon the Patriarchal Eparchy of Beirut and leads spiritually all the Syriac Catholic Community around the world.
More over, the patriarch emeritus, his eminency Ignace Cardinal Daoud preside the congregation for Eastern churches. The patriarch Mar Ignatius Anthony II Hayek who was elected patriarch in 1968 took his reverence few years ago, and lives always in Lebanon.
The community includes two archdioceses in Iraq, four in Syria, one in Egypt and Sudan, a Patriarchal Vicariate in the Holy Land, a Patriarchal Vicariate in Turkey and our Diocese of Our Lady of Deliverance in the United States and Canada.
The Syriac Rite is rooted in the old tradition of both the churches of Jerusalem and Antioch and has ties with the ancient Jewish Berakah and is usually called the Western Syriac Rite. The main Syriac Liturgy is called the "Anaphora of Saint James" (brother of the Lord).
Their ancient Semitic language is known as Aramaic (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 same language that was spoken by Jesus, Mary and the Apostles and is still the language used during the liturgy. Many of the ancient hymns of the Church are still maintained in this native tongue although several have been translated into Arabic, English, French and other languages to benefit the faithful.
The Syriac Catholic Church was formally and officially united with Rome in 1781.
Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Diocese in the United States and Canada is comprised of nine parishes; seven in the United States and 2 in Canada.
The formation of the Church
During the Crusades there were many examples of warm relations between Catholic and Syriac Orthodox bishops. Some of these bishops seemed favourable to union with Rome, but no concrete results were achieved. There was also a decree of union between the Syriac Orthodox and Rome at the Council of Florence November 30, 1444 but this also came to nothing.
Jesuit and Capuchin missionaries began to work among the Syriac Orthodox faithful at Aleppo in 1626. So many of them were received into communion with Rome that in 1662, when the Patriarchate had fallen vacant, the Catholic party was able to elect one of its own, Andrew Akhidjan, as Patriarch. This provoked a split in the community, and after Akhidjan’s death in 1677 two opposed patriarchs were elected, an uncle and nephew, representing the two parties. But when the Catholic Patriarch died in 1702, this brief line of Syriac Catholic Patriarchs died out with him.
The Ottoman government supported the Syriac Orthodox against the Syriac Catholics, and throughout the 18th century the Syriac Catholics underwent suffering and persecution. There were long periods when no Syriac Catholic bishops were functioning, and the community was forced underground.
In 1782 the Syriac Orthodox Holy Synod elected Metropolitan Michael Jarweh of Aleppo as Patriarch. Shortly after he was enthroned, he declared himself Catholic, took refuge in Lebanon and built the still-extant monastery of Our Lady at Sharfeh. After Jarweh there has been an unbroken succession of Syriac Catholic Patriarchs.
In 1829 the Turkish government granted legal recognition to the Syriac Catholic Church, and the residence of the Patriarch was established at Aleppo in 1831. Catholic missionary activity resumed. Because the Christian community at Aleppo had been severely persecuted, the Patriarchate was moved to Mardin (now in southeast Turkey) in 1850.
Steady Syriac Catholic expansion at the expense of the Syriac Orthodox was ended by the persecutions and massacres that took place during World War I. More than half of the 75,000 Syriac Catholics were massacred. In the early 1920s the Patriarchal residence was moved to Beirut, to which many Syriac Catholics had fled.
The Syriac Catholic Patriarch always takes the name Ignatius in addition to another name. Although Syriac Catholic priests were bound to celibacy at the Synod of Sharfeh in 1888, there are now a number of married priests. A patriarchal seminary and printing house are located at Sharfeh Monastery in Lebanon.
Organization
Middle-East
- Patriarchal Archeparchy of Beirut
- Metropolitan of Damascus
- Metropolitan of Homs
- Archeparchy of Aleppo
- Archeparchy of Hassaké and Nisibi
- Archeparchy of Baghdad and Kuwait
- Archeparchy of Mosul
- Eparchy of Cairo
- Patriarchal Exarchate of Bassorah and Kuwait
- Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land
- Patriarchal Exarchate of Turkey
- Patriarchal Territory of Sudan
Rest of the World
- Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark (United States and Canada)
- Apostolic Exarchate of Venezuela
- Patriarchal Vicariate of Brazil
- Patriarchal Vicariate of Australia and New Zealand
- Patriarchal Vicariate of Sweden
- Patriarchal Vicariate of France
- Patriarchal Procurate vis-a-vis the Holy See in Rome
External links
Sources
Bibliography
- Claude Sélis, Les Syriens orthodoxes et catholiques, Brepols (col. Fils d'Abraham), Bruxelles, 1988, ISBN 2-503-82362-1
- Jean-Pierre Valognes, Vie et mort des Chrétiens d'Orient, Fayard, Paris, 1994, ISBN 2-213-03064-2
Notes
- ^ The title Patriarch of Antioch is claimed by four other churches.
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