*Syriac was the liturgical language of the Easterchurches in spite of their different nationalities.

*The first Arabic liturgy in Syriac church was in Iraqduring the tenthcentury (912) celebrated the Divine Eucharist inArabic, in the ordination of the Arab Bishop

Our contribution to the world:* The number of monks & nuns in the Golden agewas about 600,000.

In the fifth century there were in the mountainsof Edessa alone Three hundred ministriesoccupied by 90,000 monks, in St. Mathew’smonastery east of Mosul, they were 12,000.And in the following Century there were 6300monks in St Basus Monastery near Homes(Syria), and at the same period 35,000 signed thedeclaration of faith in southern Syria

*Most famous was St Mark in Jerusalem, InSeptember,1940 Syriac Estrangelo inscription wasdiscovered :“This is house of Mary the mother of John surnamedMark...It was rebuilt in 73A.D after king Titus haddestroyed Jerusalem”

• Syriac Church established many importantinstitutions, succeeded in graduating manywell known scholars in both the East & theWest

• Their translations and writings became inthe following centuries a remarkable sourcefor the Arabs scholars & philosophers andthrough them for the Western world.

• A few names of Syriac scholars: Bardaisan,Mor Ephraim, Mar Balay, Mar Yaacoub ofSroog, Al-Kindy, Hunayn Ibn Ishaq...

• Most ancient manuscript of the Holy Gospelis found in Syriac , written by Yacoub inEdessa in 411 A.D. and it is preserved in theBritish Museum.

The Syriac Orthodox Church TodayThe majority of followers of SyriacOrthodox Church reside in India (26Dioceses) and the rest are (32 Dioceses)spread mainly in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq,Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Europe, North andSouth America and Australia.In the past the Church had hundreds ofmonasteries, a few of which still flourish.The most famous are:

v St. Mathew’s Monastery nearMosel in Iraq

v St. Gabriel Monastery in TourAbdin in Turkey (4th Century).

v St. Hananya Monastery nearMardin in Turkey

v St. Mark’s Monastery in Jerusalemwhere the Lord Jesus Christ tookthe last supper with his disciples.

v St. Ephraim Monastery in Hollandestablished in 1981

v Mor Ephrem Monastery @Ma’arat Sayyidnaya in Damascus

THE SYRIACORTHODOX

CHURCHOF ANTIOCH

Mor Hananya Monastery

Compiled byAdibeh Abdo-Attiawww.aaabooks.org

The Syriac Orthodox Church of AntiochThe Syriac Orthodox Church occupies thehighest rank in the history of Christianity.It was the original church established inJerusalem and grafted in Antioch by theAramean and gentiles converts.Its history is full of holy and eternalmemories. Produced many illustriousscholars, martyrs, confessors, monks andsaints who led it in the true path, carriedits flag to all the parts of the world and fedits children with heavenly teachings.

Apostolic See of AntiochThe Apostolic see of Antioch wasestablished by Saint Peter the chief of theApostles in AD 37 and he was the firstpatriarch of Antioch. St. Peter wassucceeded by many exalted patriarchsmost of whom astonished humanity bytheir glorious deeds and wonderfulwritings, including His holiness thepatriarch Moran Mor Ignatius AphremIIKarim is the 123rd among the legitimatepatriarchs.The jurisdiction of the See of Antioch,extended over the lands of Damascus,Palestine, Cilicia, Mesopotamia, parts ofAsia Minor and all of Persia.

Language (The Syriac)The Syriac language is the Aramaic itself,which has spread far and wide in theancient world.The alphabets of many other orientallanguages were developed from Aramaic.It attained the status of an internationallanguage in the whole east for a longperiod of time. The Syriac was thelanguage spoken by the Lord Jesus Christand its Disciples.The first Liturgy was written in Syriac bySt. James, the brother of the Lord, the firstArchbishop of Jerusalem. This sameLiturgy being used in the Syriac Orthodoxchurch of Antioch all over the world untilthis date.

Biblical HeritageThe Biblical Heritage of the SyriacOrthodox Church of Antioch is significantIn 404 AD, Daniel The Syrian &St.Mesrop Mashtots translated the Bibleinto Armenian.In the seventh century, the SyrianOrthodox Fathers translated the Bible intoArabic in response to a request by Princeof Jessera.In 1221 John Joseph, a Syrian priesttranslated the Bible into Persian.In this century Fr. Mathen Konat,translated it into Malayalam (South IndianLanguage).The most ancient manuscript of theGospel available today is in Syriac copiedin Edessa in (AD 411).

BelievesThe Syriac Orthodox Church believes thatthe Holy Bible, which comprises of theOld Testament and the New Testament, isthe divine word of God.

Culture of Syriac Orthodox CommunitiesThough small in number, vibrant SyriacOrthodox communities are found all overthe world today.In most cases, the cultural roots of thesecommunities go back either toMesopotamia (predominantly South EastTurkey and regions around Mosul andTakrit in Iraq) or to the state of Kerala insouthern India.Over the centuries, these culturesdeveloped unique and rich culturaltraditions, customs, and cuisines, much ofwhich influenced by the practice of theChristian faith in the Syriac OrthodoxChurch.Practice of spiritual life in the SyriacOrthodox Church is guided by theliturgical calendar of the Church.The church calendar determines theobservance of the high holy days, feasts ofSaints, memorial days of the fathers, fasts,etc.

Many cultural traditions and customs areassociated with these observances as also withthe sacraments of baptism and matrimony,and rites such as funerals