Syriac Orthodox Church

Abstract

Abstract The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and all the East has almost one and a half million adherents. Of these, roughly two‐thirds (one million) live in India, somewhat more than one‐sixth (260,000) in the Middle East, whereas the remaining sixth is divided over Europe (100,000, mostly in Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands), North and South America (up to 40,000, most of these in the US and Canada), and Australia (a few thousand). In the Middle East, in and around the towns of Mardin and Midyat in southeastern Turkey, small but vigorous communities testify to the almost 2,000 year history of this church. Its present leader, Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, has been in office since 1980 and resides in Syria, the most important country of residence (170,000), with the official see of the patriarchate in the old city of Damascus (Bab Touma) and the main headquarters, monastery, and seminary in the nearby town of Ma“arat Saidnaya. The Syriac Orthodox Church is one of the miaphysite churches of the so‐called “Non‐Chalcedonian” Oriental Orthodox family, stressing the single inseparable divine‐human nature of Christ. With the Assyrian Apostolic Church of the East it shares the common heritage of the classical Syriac language. It is in this form of Aramaic that the Bible translation, the theological and philosophical literature, and most of the liturgy are written, and it has remained in use to the present day.

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