Syriac Catholic Church
The Syriac Catholic Church, also known as Syriac Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch, is an Eastern Catholic Christian Church in the Levant that uses the West Syriac Rite liturgy and has many practices and rites in common with the Syriac Orthodox Church. Being one of the twenty-three Eastern Catholic Churches, the Syriac Catholic Church has full autonomy and is a self-governed sui iuris Church while it is in full communion with the Holy See of Rome. The Syriac Catholic Church traces its history to the earliest days of Christianity. After the Calcedonian Schism the Church of Antioch became part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and was known as the Syriac Orthodox Church, while a new Antiochian Patriarchate was established to fill its place by the churches which accepted the Council of Chalcedon. The Syriac Orthodox Church came into full communion with the Holy See and the modern Syriac Orthodox Church is a result of those that did not want to join the Catholic Church. Therefore the Syriac Catholic Church is the continuation of the original Church of Antioch.
The Church is headed by Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan, who has been the Patriarch since 2009. Its Patriarch of Antioch has the title of Patriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syriacs and resides in Beirut, Lebanon.
Jesuit and Capuchin missionaries began to work among the Syriac Orthodox in Aleppo in 1626. So many of them were received into communion with Rome in 1662, when the Patriarchate had fallen vacant, and the Catholic party was able to elect one of its own, Andrew Akijan, as Patriarch of the Syriac Church. This provoked a split in the community, and after Akijan’s death in 1677 two opposing patriarchs were elected, one being the uncle of the other, representing the two parties. But when the Catholic Patriarch died in 1702, this very brief line of Catholic Patriarchs upon the Syriac Church's See of Antioch died out with him.
Later, in 1782, the Syriac Orthodox Holy Synod elected Metropolitan Michael Jarweh of Aleppo as Patriarch. Shortly after he was enthroned, he declared himself Catholic and in unity with the Pope of Rome. Since Jarweh, there has been an unbroken succession of Syriac Catholic Patriarchs.
Name
The Syriac Catholic Church is sometimes also called the Syrian Catholic Church. Furthermore, it is sometimes referred by its patriarchate, the Syriac Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch. See also: Syriac Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch.History
Pre-Crusades period
The Syriac Catholic Church claims its origin through Saint Peter prior to his departure to Rome, and extends its roots back to the origins of Christianity in the Orient; 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".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, martyrs and pastors. Among these great people are Saint Ephrem, Doctor of the Church, and Saint Jacob of Sarug.
During the Crusades
During the Crusades there were many examples of warm relations between Catholic and Syriac 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 the Council of Florence September 30, 1444 - but the effects of this decree were rapidly annulled by opponents of it in the Syriac Church's hierarchy.Split with the Syriac Orthodox Church
and Capuchin missionaries evangelizing in Aleppo 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 the Catholic Church, was elected as Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. 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, the Ottoman 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 Metropolitan Michael Jarweh of Aleppo as Patriarch. 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-extant monastery of Our Lady at Sharfeh, and by that act became the Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church. Since Jarweh, there has been an unbroken succession of Syriac Catholic Patriarchs, which is known as the Ignatius Line.After the split up until modern times
In 1829 the Ottoman government granted legal recognition to the Armenian 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 the Massacre of Aleppo in 1850, the Patriarchal See was shifted to Mardin 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 the Assyrian genocide of World 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 at Sharfeh Monastery in Sharfeh, Lebanon.
Organization
Leadership
, the Patriarch of Antioch was Moran Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan, resident in Beirut, 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 include Dionysius Bar Salibi, Gregorius X Bar Hebraeus and more recently Bishop Mor Flavianus 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 for Pope Benedict XV recognising Saint Ephrem as a Doctor of the Catholic Church. Likewise Patriarch Ignatius Behnam II Beni is known for imploring eastern theology to defend the Primacy of Rome.
The Patriarch 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 two archdioceses in Iraq, four in Syria, one in Egypt and Sudan, a Patriarchal Vicariate in Israel, a Patriarchal Vicariate in Turkey and the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in the United States and Canada.
Current jurisdictions
The Syriac Catholic Church was formally united with the Holy See of Rome in 1781.;Middle East diocesan jurisdictions
- Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch
- * Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Eparchy of Beirut, Lebanon
- Metropolitan Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Damascus, Syria
- Metropolitan Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Homs, Syria
- Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Aleppo, Syria
- Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Hassaké-Nisibi, Syria
- Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Mossul, Iraq
- Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Baghdad, Iraq
- Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Cairo, Egypt
- Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Basra, Iraq and the Gulf
- Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem
- Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Turkey
- Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Dependency of Sudan and South Sudan
- Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark, New Jersey for the USA, which has 11 parishes in the United States.
- Syriac Catholic Apostolic Exarchate for Canada
- Syriac Catholic Apostolic Exarchate for Venezuela
Former jurisdictions
Titular sees
- Metropolitan : Amida of the Syriacs, Apamea in Syria of the Syriacs, Edessa in Osrhoëne of the Syriacs, Tagritum of the Syriacs
- Archiepiscopal : Chalcedon of the Syriacs
- Episcopal : Anastasiopolis of the Syriacs, Arethusa of the Syriacs, Batnæ of the Syriacs, Dara Syrorum of the Syriacs, Hama of the Syriacs, Hierapolis in Syria of the Syriacs, Ioppe of the Syriacs, Mardin of the Syriacs, Martyropolis of the Syriacs, Nabk of the Syriacs, Phoba of the Syriacs, Tripolis in Libanum of the Syriacs
Other suppressed jurisdictions
- Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Gazireh, Turkey
- Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Mardin and Amida, Turkey
- Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Lebanon
Current hierarchy
- Moran Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan
- Jihad Mtanos Battah
- Basile Georges Casmoussa
- Flavien Joseph Melki
- Jules Mikhael Al-Jamil
- Gregorios Elias Tabé
- Théophile Georges Kassab
- Denys Antoine Chahda
- Jacques Behnan Hindo
- Youhanna Boutros Moshe
- Ephrem Yousif Abba Mansoor
- Athanase Matti Shaba Matoka
- Clément-Joseph Hannouche
- Yousif Benham Habash
- Timoteo Hikmat Beylouni
- Iwannis Louis Awad
- Michael Berbari
Liturgy
The West 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 Syriac Catholic Church follows a similar tradition to other Eastern Catholic Churches who use the West Syriac Rite, such as the Maronites and Syro-Malankara Christians. This rite is clearly distinct from the Greek Byzantine rite of Antioch of the Melkite Catholics and their Orthodox counterparts. Syriac Catholic priests were traditionally bound to celibacy 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 their Orthodox Counterparts
Distinction between the Anaphora and the Liturgy
Often when compared with the Latin Church the meaning of Anaphora and Liturgy can be mixed up. However, there is a clear distinction in the Syriac Church. The Liturgy of St James the Just is the skeleton of the whole Qurbono Qadisho with all the prayers before the Anaphora being exactly the same no-matter which anaphora used. The Liturgy of St James the Just comprises:- The First Service
- #Prothesis
- The Second Service
- #Reading from the Holy Books
- ##The Trisagion
- ##Antiphon before the Pauline Epistle
- ##The Epistle of Saint Paul
- The Third Service
- #The Husoyo
- ##The Proemion
- ##The Sedro
- ##The Etro
- The Anaphora
- #The Kiss of peace
- #Veiling and placing of the hands prayer
- #The Dialogue
- #Preface
- #Sanctus
- #Words of Institution
- #Anamnesis
- #Epiclesis
- #Petitions
- #Fracturing
- #Liturgy of Repentance
- ##Lord's Prayer
- #Invitation to Holy Communion
- #The Procession of the Holy Mysteries
- #Prayer of Thanksgiving
- #The Dismissal of the Faithful
Liturgical Paraphernalia
Fans
The Syriac Catholic Church uses fans 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 the Seraphim. 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".Thurible
The thurible of the Syriac Catholic Church consists of 9 bells, representing the 9 levels of angels.Liturgical Symbols
Liturgical symbols are used when a bishop is not present and used at similar times to when the fans are used.Liturgy of the Hours
The Liturgy of the Hours is exactly the same as in the Syriac Orthodox. There are two versions of this the Phenqitho and the Shhimo. The former is the more complicated 7 volume version. While the latter is the simple version.Liturgical ranking
Likewise the ranking of clerics in the Syriac Church is extremely similar to that of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The most notable differences are:- Not all celibate Priests take on monastic vows. In the Syriac Orthodox Church all celibate priests are monks.
- There is a solid distinction between the major orders and minor orders in the Syriac Catholic Church:
- A man is tonsured as soon as he receives his first minor order of Mzamrono.
Major Orders
- Bishop
- Kahno
- Mshamshono
Minor Orders
- Afudyaqno
- Quroyo
- Mzamrono
Languages
Their ancient semitic language is known as Aramaic. 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 into Arabic, English, French and other languages.
Syriac is still spoken in some few communities in eastern Syria and northern Iraq, but for most Arabic is the vernacular language.
Martyrs
Throughout the History of the Syriac Church there have been many martyrs. A recent example is Flavianus Michael Malke during the 1915 Assyrian Genocide.Syriac Catholics in Iraq
On 31 October 2010, 58 Iraqi Syriac Catholics were killed by Muslim extremists while attending Sunday Divine Liturgy, 78 others were wounded. The attack by Islamic State of Iraq on the congregation of Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Church was the bloodiest single attack on an Iraqi Christian church in recent history.Two priests, Fathers Saad Abdallah Tha'ir and Waseem Tabeeh, were killed. Another, Father Qatin, was seriously wounded but recovered.
Syriac religious relations and the Catholic Church
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Eparchies, churches and monasteries
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