Syriac Catholic Church

Not to be confused with Syro-Malabar Church or Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Syriac Catholic Church
ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ
Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Saint Paul, a cathedral of the Syriac Catholic Church, in Damascus, Syria
ClassificationEastern Catholic
OrientationSyriac
ScripturePeshitta[1]
PolityEpiscopal
PopeFrancis
PatriarchIgnatius Joseph III Yonan
RegionNear-East;
Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Turkey
with communities in United States, Canada, France, Sweden, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina and Australia
LanguageSyriac, Aramaic
LiturgyWest Syriac Rite
HeadquartersBeirut, Lebanon[2]
FounderTraces ultimate origins to Apostles St. Paul and St. Peter Through Patriarchs Ignatius Andrew Akijan (1662) and Ignatius Michael III Jarweh (1782)
Branched fromChurch of Antioch[3]
Members153,415 (2018)[4]
Official websitesyr-cath.org (in Arabic)
Part of a series on
Particular churches sui iuris
of the Catholic Church
Latin cross used in the Latin Church Patriarchal cross used in the Eastern traditions
Latin cross and Byzantine Patriarchal cross
Particular churches are grouped by liturgical rite
Alexandrian Rite
Armenian Rite
Byzantine Rite
East Syriac Rite
Latin liturgical rites
West Syriac Rite
Eastern Catholic Churches
Eastern Catholic liturgy
icon Catholicism portal
icon Christianity portal

The Syriac Catholic Church[a] is an Eastern Catholic Christian jurisdiction originating 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 is a self-governed sui iuris particular church, while it is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Roman Catholic Church.[5]

The Syriac Catholic Church traces its history and traditions to the early centuries of Christianity. Following the Chalcedonian 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 those churches that accepted the Council of Chalcedon. The Syriac Catholic Church came into full communion with the Holy See and the modern Syriac Orthodox Church is the result of those that did not want to join the Catholic Church. Therefore, the Syriac Catholic Church is considered by some to be a continuation of the original Church of Antioch.[6][7]

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.[8]

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 that, in 1662, when the patriarchate had fallen vacant, 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, representing the two parties (one pro-Catholic, the other anti-Catholic). Though this line of Catholic patriarchs ended in 1702, in 1782 the Syriac Orthodox Holy Synod elected Metropolitan Michael Jarweh of Aleppo as patriarch who, shortly after he was enthroned, declared himself Catholic and in unity with the pope of Rome. Since Jarweh, there has been an unbroken succession of Syriac Catholic patriarchs.[9]

  1. ^ Studia Humana Volume 2:3 (2013), pp. 53—55
  2. ^ "Syriac Patriarchal See of Antioch". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  3. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Church of Antioch". www.newadvent.org.
  4. ^ Eastern Catholic Churches Worldwide 2018
  5. ^ CNA. "Eastern Rite Sui iuris Catholic Churches". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Syriac Orthodox Church History". syriacorthodoxresources.org. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Diocese of Our Lady of Deliverance | Syriac Catholic Church in the United States of America". Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  8. ^ The title of Patriarch of Antioch is also used/claimed by four other churches, two Orthodox and two other Eastern Catholic; in 1964 the Latin titular patriarchate was abolished.
  9. ^ LaBanca, Nicholas (19 March 2019). "The Other 23 Catholic Churches: Part 5, West Syrian Rite". Ascension Press Media. Retrieved 16 March 2024.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).