Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch

"Orthodox Church of Antioch" redirects here. For the Syriac Orthodox church, seeSyriac Orthodox Church.For the early Orthodox Church, seeChurch of Antioch.

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East بطريركيّة أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الأرثوذكس
Mariamite Cathedral,Damascus,Syria,headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch since 1342 AD, with the 'Umariyya Minaret at the front, to the right
Type	Antiochian
Classification	Eastern Orthodox
Orientation	Greek Orthodox
Scripture	Septuagint,New Testament
Theology	Eastern Orthodox theology
Polity	Episcopal
Primate	John X (Yazigi),Patriarch of Antioch and All the East (since December 17, 2012)
Language	Koine Greek, Aramaic(Classical Syriac&Syro-Palestinian) (historical), Arabic(official), Turkish(in Turkey), English, French,Portuguese,Spanish and other languages (extended)
Headquarters	Mariamite Cathedral,Damascus,Syria Traditionally:Church of Cassian,Antioch,Byzantine Empire Monastic residence:Balamand Monastery,Koura,Lebanon
Territory	Primary:Syria,Lebanon,part ofTurkey,Iraq,Iran,Kuwait,Bahrain,Qatar,UAE,Oman,Yemen,Saudi Arabia(formerly alsoCyprus,Georgia and parts of the CentralCaucasusarea) Extended: North America, Central America, South America,Western,Southernand Central Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines
Founder	ApostlesPeterandPaul
Independence	A.D. 519
Recognition	Orthodox
Branched from	Church of Antioch
Separations	Maronite Church– 685 Georgian Orthodox Church– 1010 Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch– 1724
Members	Approx. 4.3million (2012)
Official website	www.antiochpatriarchate.org

TheGreek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch(Greek:Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as theAntiochian Orthodox Churchand legally as theRūmOrthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East(Arabic:بطريركيّة أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الأرثوذكس,romanized:Baṭriyarkiyyat ʾAnṭākiya wa-Sāʾir al-Mašriq li-r-Rūm al-ʾUrṯūḏuks,lit. 'Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East for the Orthodox Rum'), is anautocephalousGreek Orthodox churchwithin the wider communion ofEastern OrthodoxChristianity that originates from the historicalChurch of Antioch.Headed by theGreek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch,it considers itself the successor to theChristiancommunity founded inAntiochby theApostlesPeterandPaul.It is one of the largest Christian denominations of the Middle East, alongside theCoptsof Egypt and theMaronitesof Lebanon.

Its adherents, known asAntiochian Christians,are a Middle-Eastern semi-ethnoreligiousEastern Christiangroup residing in theLevantregion including theHatay Provinceof Turkey.Many of their descendants now live in the globalEastern Christian diaspora.The number of Antiochian Greek Christians is estimated to be approximately 4.3 million.

Background

Patriarchatus Antiocheni,1640, byMelchior Tavernier

The seat of the patriarchate was formerlyAntioch,in what is nowTurkey.TheChurch of Cassianwas the cathedral church ofAntiochto the|Melkite andLatinpatriarch duringlate antiquityand theMiddle Ages.However, in the 14th century, it was moved toDamascus,modern-daySyria.Its traditional territory includesSyria,Lebanon,Iraq,Kuwait,the Arab countries of thePersian Gulf,and also parts ofTurkey.Its territory formerly included theChurch of Cyprusuntil the latter becameautocephalousin 431. Both the Orthodox Churches of Antioch and Cyprus are members of theMiddle East Council of Churches.

ItsNorth American branchis autonomous, although the Holy Synod of Antioch still appoints its head bishop, chosen from a list of three candidates nominated in the North American archdiocese. ItsAustralasia and Oceania branchis the largest in terms of geographic area due to the relatively large size of Australia and the large portion of the Pacific Ocean that the archdiocese covers.

The head of the Orthodox Church of Antioch is calledPatriarch.The present Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch isJohn X (Yazigi),who presided over the Archdiocese of Western and Central Europe (2008–2013). He was elected as primate of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East asJohn X of Antioch (Yazigi)on December 17, 2012. He succeededIgnatius IVwho had died on December 5, 2012. Membership statistics are not available, but may be as high as 1,100,000 in Syriaand 400,000 in Lebanon where they make up 8% of the population or 20% of Christians who make up 39–41% of Lebanon. The seat of the patriarch in Damascus is theMariamite Cathedral of Damascus.

The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch is one of several churches that lay claim to be the canonical incumbent of theancient see of Antioch.TheSyriac Orthodox Churchmakes the same claim, as do theSyriac Catholic Church,theMaronite Church,and theMelkite Greek Catholic Church;the latter three areEastern Catholic Churchesin full communion with theHoly Seeand mutually recognize each other as holding authentic patriarchates, being part of the same Catholic communion. Their fellowCatholic particular church,theLatin Church,also appointed titular patriarchs for many centuries, until the office was left vacant in 1953 and abolished in 1964 with all claims renounced.

History and cultural legacy

Pauline Greco-Semitic roots

Church of Saint PeterinAntioch

According toLuke the Evangelist- himself a Greco-Syrian member of that community:

The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

— Acts 11:26(New Testament,NIVtranslation)

St Peter and StPaul the Apostleare considered the cofounders of the Patriarchate of Antioch, the former being its first bishop. When Peter left Antioch,EvodiosandIgnatiustook over the charge of the Patriarchate. Both Evodios and Ignatius died as martyrs under Roman persecution.

Hellenistic Judaismand the Judeo-Greek "wisdom" literature popular in the lateSecond Templeera among bothHellenized Rabbinical Jews(known asMityavniminHebrew) and gentile Greekproselyteconverts to mainstream Judaism played an important part in the formation of the Melkite-Antiochian Greek Orthodox tradition.Some typicallyGrecian"AncientSynagogal"priestlyritesandhymnshave survived partially to the present in the distinctchurch service,architecture and iconography of theMelkiteGreek OrthodoxandGreek Catholiccommunities of theHatay Provinceof SouthernTurkey,SyriaandLebanon.

Some historians believe that a sizable proportion of theHellenized Jewishcommunities and most gentile Greco-Macedonian settlers in Southern Turkey (Antioch,Alexandrettaand neighboring cities) andSyria/Lebanon– the former being called"Hellenistai"in theActs– converted progressively to the Greco-Roman branch of Christianity that eventually constituted the"Melkite"(or"Imperial") Hellenistic Churches in Western Asia and North Africa:

As Jewish Christianity originated at Jerusalem, so Gentile Christianity started atAntioch,then the leading center of the Hellenistic East, with Peter and Paul as its apostles. From Antioch it spread to the various cities and provinces of Syria, among the Hellenistic Syrians as well as among the Hellenistic Jews who, as a result of the great rebellions against the Romans in A.D. 70 and 130, were driven out from Jerusalem and Palestine into Syria.

Acts6 points to the problematic cultural tensions between the Hellenized Jews and Greek-speaking Judeo-Christians centered around Antioch and related Cilician, Southern-Anatolian and Syrian "Diasporas" and (the generally more conservative)Aramaic-speaking Jewish converts to Christianity based in Jerusalem and neighboring Israeli towns:

The 'Hebrews' were Jewish Christians who spoke almost exclusively Aramaic, and the 'Hellenists' were also Jewish Christians whose mother tongue was Greek. They were Greek-speaking Jews of the Diaspora, who returned to settle in Jerusalem. To identify them, Luke uses the term Hellenistai. When he had in mind Greeks, gentiles, non-Jews who spoke Greek and lived according to the Greek fashion, then he used the word Hellenes (Acts 21.28). As the very context of Acts 6 makes clear, the Hellenistai are not Hellenes.

"There is neither Jew nor Greek"

These ethno-cultural and social tensions were eventually surmounted by the emergence of a new, typically Antiochian Greek doctrine (doxa) spearheaded by Paul (himself a HellenizedCilicianJew) and his followers be they1.Established, autochthonous HellenizedCilician-Western Syrian Jews (themselves descendants ofBabylonianand 'Asian' Jewish migrants who had adopted early on various elements of Greek culture and civilization while retaining a generally conservative attachment toJewish laws& traditions),2.Heathen, 'Classical'Greeks,Greco-Macedonianand Greco-Syrian gentiles, and3.the local, autochthonous descendants of Greek or Greco-Syrian converts to mainstream Judaism – known as "Proselytes"(Greek: προσήλυτος/proselytes or 'newcomers to Israel') and Greek-speaking Jews born ofmixed marriages.

Paul's efforts were probably facilitated by the arrival of a fourth wave of Greek-speaking newcomers to Cilicia, Northwestern Syria,GalileeandJerusalem:Cypriot and 'Cyrenian' (Libyan) Jewish migrants of non-Egyptian NorthAfrican Jewishorigin and gentileRomansettlers from Italy — many of whom already spoke fluentKoine Greekand/or sent their children to Greco-Syrian schools. Some scholars believe that, at the time, these Cypriot and Cyrenian North African Jewish migrants were generally less affluent than the autochthonous Cilician-Syrian Jews and practiced a more 'liberal' form of Judaism, more propitious for the formation of a new canon:

[North African] Cyrenian Jews were of sufficient importance in those days to have their name associated with a synagogue at Jerusalem (Acts 6:9). And when the persecution arose about Stephen [a Hellenized Syrian-Cilician Jew, and one of the first known converts to Christianity], some of these Jews of Cyrene who had been converted at Jerusalem, were scattered abroad and came with others to Antioch [...] and one of them, Lucius, became a prophet in the early church there [the Greek-speaking 'Orthodox' Church of Antioch].

These subtle, progressive socio-cultural shifts are somehow summarized succinctly in Chapter 3 of theEpistle to the Galatians:

There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither slave nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

Dual self-designation: "Melkites" and "Eastern Romans"

The unique combination ofethnoculturaltraits inhered from the fusion of aGreekcultural base,Hellenistic JudaismandRomancivilization gave birth to the distinctly Antiochian "Eastern Mediterranean-Roman "Christian traditions of Cilicia (Southeastern Turkey) and Syria/Lebanon:

The mixture of Roman, Greek, and Jewish elements admirably adapted Antioch for the great part it played in the early history of Christianity. The city was the cradle of the church.

Some of the typically Antiochian ancient liturgical traditions of the community rooted inHellenistic Judaismand, more generally,Second TempleGreco-JewishSeptuagintculture, were expunged progressively in the late medieval andmodern erasby bothPhanariotEuropean-Greek (Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople) andVatican(Roman Catholic) theologians who sought to 'bring back' Levantine Greek Orthodox and Greek-Catholic communities into the European Christian fold.

But members of the community in SouthernTurkey,SyriaandLebanonstill call themselvesRūm(روم) which means"Eastern Romans"or"Asian Greeks"inArabic.In that particular context, the term"Rūm"is used in preference to "Yūnāniyyūn"(يونانيون) which means" European Greeks "or"Ionians"inBiblical Hebrew(borrowed from Old PersianYavan= Greece) and Classical Arabic. Members of the community also call themselves 'Melkites', which literally means "monarchists" or "supporters of the emperor" in Semitic languages – a reference to their past allegiance to Greco-Macedonian,RomanandByzantineimperial rule. But, in the modern era, the term tends to be more commonly used by followers of theGreek Catholic Church of Antioch and Alexandria and Jerusalem.

Interaction with other non-Muslim ethnocultural minorities

Following the fall of the TurkishOttoman Empireand theTsaristRussian Empire(long the protector of Greek-Orthodox minorities in the Levant), and the ensuing rise ofFrench colonialism,communism,Islamismand Israeli nationalism, some members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch embracedsecularismand/orArab Nationalismas a way to modernize and "secularize" the newly formed nation-states of NorthernSyriaandLebanon,and thus provide a viable "alternative" to political Islam, communism and Jewish nationalism (viewed as ideologies potentially exclusive of Byzantine Christian minorities).

This often led to interfaith conflicts with theMaronite Churchin Lebanon, notably regarding Palestinian refugees after 1948 and 1967. Various (sometimes secular) intellectuals with a Greek Orthodox Antiochian background played an important role in the development ofBaathism,the most prominent beingMichel Aflaq,one of the founders of the movement.

Abraham Dimitri Rihbany

In the early 20th century (notably duringWorld War I), Lebanese-American writers of Greek-Orthodox Antiochian background such as Abraham Dimitri Rihbany, known asAbraham Mitrie Rihbany(a convert toPresbyterianism), popularized the notion of studying ancient Greco-Semitic culture to better understand the historic andethnoculturalcontext of the ChristianGospels:his original views were developed in a series of articles forThe Atlantic Monthly,and in 1916 published in book form asThe Syrian Christ.

At a time when most of theArab worldarea was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, France and Britain, Rihbany called for US military intervention in theHoly Landto fend off Ottoman Pan-Islamism, French colonialism, Soviet Communism and radical Zionist enterprises- all viewed as potentially detrimental to Christian minorities.

Administration and structure

The administration and structure of the Antiochian See are governed by statutes.

The Patriarch

Main article:Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch

The Patriarch is elected by the Holy Synod from among the metropolitans who compose it. The Patriarch presides the Holy Synod and executes its decisions. He also acts as metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Antioch and Damascus.

The current Patriarch,John X (Yazigi),was elected on December 17, 2012, succeeding to MetropolitanSaba Esber,who had been electedlocum tenenson December 7, 2012, followingIgnatius IV (Hazim)'s death.

Archdioceses and metropolitans

World jurisdictions of Eastern Orthodox churches as of 2022.

Source:

There are at present 22 archdioceses, each headed by a metropolitan.

Western Asia

• Archdiocese ofAntiochandDamascus:Patriarchal archdiocese
• Archdiocese ofAkkarand Dependencies (Wadi al-Nasara,SafitaandTartus): Basilios Mansour (2008–present)
• Archdiocese ofAleppo(Beroea) andAlexandretta:Ephreim Maalouli (2021–present)
• Archdiocese of BeirutandExarchateofPhœnicia:Elias Audi(1980–present)
• Archdiocese ofBaghdad,Kuwaitand Dependencies:Ghattas Hazim(2014–present)
• Archdiocese ofBosra,HauranandJabal al-Arab:Saba Esber(1999–present)
• Archdiocese of Byblos and Batroun:Siluan Muci (2018–present)
• Archdiocese ofHama(Epiphania) andExarchateof NorthSyria:Nicholas Baalbaki (2017–present)
• Archdiocese ofHoms(Emesa): George Abu Zakhem (1999–present)
• Archdiocese ofLatakia(Laodicea ad Mare) andExarchateofTheodorias:Athanasius Fahd (2018–present)
• Archdiocese ofTripoliandKoura:Ephraim Kyriakos(2009–present)
• Archdiocese ofTyreandSidon:Elias Kfoury (1995–present)
• Archdiocese ofZahlehandBaalbek(Heliopolis): Antonios El Soury (Nov 14, 2015–present)

Asia and Oceania

• Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines:Basilios Qoudsiah (2017–present)

Europe

• Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland:Silouan Oner (2015–present)
• Archdiocese of France, Western and Southern Europe:Ignatius Alhoushi (2013–present)
• Archdiocese of Germany and Central Europe:Isaac Barakat (2013–present)

The Americas

• Archdiocese of North America(Englewood, New Jersey); Metropolitan of New York and All North America:Saba (Esber)(2023–present)
  • Diocese ofOakland,Charleston,and theMid-Atlantic:Thomas Joseph (2004–present)
  • Diocese ofEagle Riverand the Northwest:vacant
  • Diocese ofLos Angelesand the West: Anthony Michaels (2014–present)
  • Diocese of New York and Washington, D.C.: Metropolitical diocese
  • Diocese of Miami and theSoutheast:Nicholas Ozone (2017–present)
  • Diocese ofOttawa,Eastern Canada andUpstate New York:Alexander Mufarrij (2004–present)
  • Diocese ofToledoand theMid-West:Jeremy (Davis), Archiepiscopal Vicar (2024-present)
  • Diocese ofWichitaandMid-America:Basil (Essey) (2003-present)
  • Diocese ofWorcesterandNew England:John Abdallah (2011–present)
• Archdiocese of Buenos Aires and All Argentina: Jacob Khoury (elected 2018)
• Archdiocese of Mexico, Venezuela, Central America and the Caribbean:Ignatius Samaan (2017–present)
• Archdiocese of Santiago and All Chile:Sergios Abad (1996–present),Bishop of Salamias and Patriarchal Auxiliary for Chile (1988–1996)
• Archdiocese of São Paulo and All Brazil: Damaskinos Mansour (1997–present)

Titular dioceses and bishops

Source:

• Diocese ofShahba:Niphon Saykali (1988–), elevated to archbishop in 2009 and elevated to metropolitan in 2014, Representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East at the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
• Diocese ofDarayya:Moussa Khoury (1995–), Patriarchal Assistant – Damascus
• Diocese ofSaidnaya:Luka Khoury (1999–), Patriarchal Assistant – Damascus
• Diocese of Banias: Demetrios Charbak (2011–), Auxiliary Bishop inSafita,Archdiocese of Akkar
• Diocese of Arthoussa: Elias Toumeh (2011–), Auxiliary Bishop inMarmarita,Archdiocese of Akkar
• Diocese of Zabadani: Constantine Kayal (2011–), Abbot of St Elias – Shwayya Patriarchal Monastery
• Diocese ofPalmyra:Youhanna Haikal (2011–), Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Germany and Central Europe
• Diocese ofEdessa:Romanos Daoud (2011–), Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of São Paulo and Brazil
• Diocese of the Emirates: Gregorios Khoury-Abdallah (2014–), Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch
• Diocese ofErzurum:Qays Sadek (2014–), Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch
• Diocese ofResafa:Youhanna Batash (2017–)
• Diocese of Apamea: Theodore Ghandour (2017–)
• Diocese ofDiyarbakır:Paul Yazigi(2021–)

Retired bishops

• Archdiocese of Byblos and Batroun:Georges Khodr (1970–2018)
• Diocese ofJableh:Demetrios Khoury(1995–2003)
• Diocese ofYabroud:Athanasius Saliba (1979–)

Daughter churches

• Orthodox
  • Church of Constantinople:Granted autocephaly in A.D. 381 in Council of Constantinople and gained dignity of Patriarchate in A.D. 451 in Council of Chalcedon.
  • Church of Cyprus:Granted autocephaly by the Church of Antioch in A.D. 431.
  • Church of Jerusalem:Originally Bishopric ofCæsarea,gained dignity of Patriarchate in A.D. 451 inCouncil of Chalcedonwith territory carved from Patriarchate of Antioch.
  • Church of Georgia:Granted autocephaly by the Church of Antioch in A.D. 486.
  • Church of Imereti and Abkhazia:Granted autocephaly by the Church of Antioch in the 1470s, but suppressed by the Russian Empire in 1814 and continued to be a dependency of the Church of Moscow and all Russia until 1917 when it was reunited with Church of Georgia.
• Oriental Orthodox
  • Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East:Formed in 518 whenSeverus of Antiochwas deposed by EmperorJustin I,and Severus and his followers went into exile.
• Catholic
  • Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East:Founded byMaronin the 5th century and survived the laterMuslim invasions,reaffirming communion with Rome in the 12th century.
  • Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch:Formed in 1724 byCyril VI Tanas,who brought the Antiochian Orthodox community into communion withRome.
  • Syriac Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch:Formed in 1662 whenAndrew Akijanwas elected as Syrian Patriarch and he entered in communion with the Catholic Church in that same year.

See also

• Eastern Orthodoxy in Syria
• Antiochian Greeks
• Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America
• Early Christianity
• Eastern Orthodox Church
• Greek Orthodox Church
• Hellenistic Judaism
• List of Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch– 518 to present day
• List of Orthodox Churches
• List of Patriarchs of Antioch– to 518
• Eastern Orthodoxy in Lebanon
• Eastern Orthodoxy in Turkey
• Pentarchy
• Saint John of Damascus
• Saint Joseph of Damascus
• Saint Raphael of Brooklyn
• List of Greek Orthodox Antiochian Churches in Europe

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External links

• Official website
• "Christian Church to be Filled by a Damascus Preacher"(New York Times, September 15, 1895)