Local Area Info: Syriac Orthodox Church

The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch (Classical Syriac: ?????? ??????????? ??????? ??????????, translit. ?Ito Suryoyto Tri?a? Šu??o; Arabic: ??????? ????????? ????????????), or Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is an Oriental Orthodox Church with autocephalous patriarchate established by Severus of Antioch in Antioch in 518, tracing its founding to Antioch by Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the 1st century, according to its tradition. The Church uses the Divine Liturgy of Saint James, associated with St. James, the "brother" of Jesus and patriarch among the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem. Syriac is the official and liturgical language of the Church based on Syriac Christianity. The primate of the church is the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch currently Ignatius Aphrem II since 2014, seated in Cathedral of Saint George, Bab Tuma, Damascus, Syria.

The church claims apostolic succession through the pre-Chalcedonian Patriarchate of Antioch to the Early Christian communities established by Saint Peter in Antioch, Roman Empire, in Apostolic era, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (New Testament, Acts 11:26). Saint Evodius was bishop of Antioch until 66 AD, and was succeeded by Saint Ignatius of Antioch. In A.D 169 Theophilus of Antioch wrote sole surviving work consists of 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 supported Athanasius of Alexandria who opposed the followers of the condemned doctrine of Arius (Arian controversy) at the First Council of Nicaea. During the time of Meletius of Antioch the church split due to his deposition for Homoiousian leanings which resulted in the Meletian Schism, which saw several groups and several claimants to the see of Antioch.

The patriarchate was forced to move from Antioch in A.D. 518 due to emperor Justin I, who enforced a uniform Chalcedonian Christian orthodoxy throughout the empire. In circa 518, the Syriac Orthodox Church continued to recognize Patriarch Severus of Antioch as the legitimate patriarch despite his deposition by the Byzantine Empire while those who sought communion with Rome accepted the Council of Chalcedon and the formula of Pope Hormisdas, and recognized the new Chalcedonian patriarch of Antioch Paul the Jew. Patriarch Severus of Antioch was a significant bishop in the organisation of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, Byzantine Empire, after he was expelled from Antioch in 518. Bishop Jacob Baradaeus (died 578) is credited for ordaining the majority of the miaphysite hierarchy while facing heavy persecution in the 6th century. Around 1665, many Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India, affirmed allegiance to the Syriac Orthodox Church, establishing the Malankara Syrian Church reuniting with the See of Antioch for the first time since the schism of the Church of the East from the jurisdiction of Antioch in 484 after the execution of Babowai. In the Fertile Crescent, controversy occurred in 1783 when a few members of its hierarchy entered in full communion with the Catholic Church, establishing the Syriac Catholic Church as part of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Despite this, the Syriac Orthodox Church remains significantly larger in members and clergy than the Syriac Catholic Church.