Monday, May 17, 2021

SYRIA

Landscape of the plains of Syria Stock Photo - 92243372
view of Syria, courtesy, 123rf.com
The history of Syria goes back thousands of years to the Aramean tribes that roamed the steppes of the area that was called “Aram-Dimashq”. This area later became part of the Assyrian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, and the Persian Achaemenid Empire, and then controlled from Damascus by the Greek Seleucid Empire, part of the empire established by Alexander the Great. Later, it passed into the hands of the Persian Parthians, then the Romans, and finally the Byzantines until conquered and occupied by the Arabs, in which state, the country remains to this day. Today, the Arab Republic of Syria is an Arab-occupied country. The indigenous descendants of the ancient Arameans are Christians, followers of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Being non-Arabs, they are at the mercy of the Arab occupation authorities. This was true before, during, and after the Arab civil war.

The Syriac Orthodox Church is not to be confused with the Assyrian Church of the East. Both these churches have their own autonomous leaderships but both are also very much related to one another especially since services in both churches are done in the Aramaic vernacular. The patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, like the patriarchs of several other churches, had their seat originally in the city of Antioch, today occupied by Turkey. Later on, the patriarchal seat made its way to Damascus. Both the church and the patriarchal seat were established by Saint Peter in the 1st century AD, but split into two separate lines of patriarchs after the deposition of Severus of Antioch in 518 over the issue of the Council of Chalcedon of 451.

The following is a chronological list of the patriarchs of the indigenous Syriac Orthodox Church:

1.     Apostle Peter (c. 44–c. 53)

2.     Evodius (c. 53–c. 69)

3.     Ignatius (c. 70–c. 108), who was martyred in the reign of Roman Emperor Trajan. His seven epistles are unique sources for the early Church.

4.     Herodion (107–127)

5.     Cornelius (127–154)

6.     Eros of Antioch (154–169)

7.     Theophilus (c. 169–c. 182)

8.     Maximus I of Antioch (182–191)

9.     Serapion (191–211)

10. Asclepiades the Confessor (211–220)

11. Philetus (220–231)

12. Zebinnus (231–237)

13. Babylas the Martyr (237–c. 250), who, according to Nicephorus, was martyred in the reign of Roman Emperor Decius.

14. Fabius (253–256)

15. Demetrius (256–260), who was taken captive by the Persians under Shapur

16. Paul of Samosata (260–268) supported by the Palmyra Empress Zenobia, deposed by Roman Emperor Aurelian.

17. Domnus I (268/9–273/4), supported by Aurelian

18. Timaeus (273/4–282)

19. Cyril I (283–303)

20. Tyrannion (304–314)

21. Vitalius (314–320)

22. Philogonius (320–323)

23.  Eustathius (324–330). In 325, the 6th canon of the First Ecumenical Council granted to Antioch the jurisdiction over all the provinces of the East.

24.  Paulinus I (330, six months), formerly bishop of Tyre, a Semi-Arian follower of the Christian dogma of Arianism, and friend of Eusebius of Caesarea

25.  Eulalius (331–332)

26.  Euphronius (332–333)

27.  Facellius (333–342), in whose time, construction of the Great Church of Antioch was complete (341). It acted as the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Church for the next 250 years.

28.  Stephanus I of Antioch (342–344), Arian and opponent of Coptic (Egyptian) Patriarch Athanasius of Alexandria, deposed in 344.

29.  Leontius the Eunuch (344–358), Arian

30.  Eudoxius (358–359), formerly bishop of Germanicia, later (360–370) bishop of Constantinople, follower of the Arian Christian sect of Homoians

31.  Anianus (359), immediately deposed

32.  Meletius (360/1–381), during his reign, the followers of Eustathius, strictly adhering to the Nicene creed, elected their own bishops until 393 starting a schism in the church. They were recognized by the bishops of Alexandria and Rome. Meletius was deposed during the reign of Roman Emperor Valens for Homoiousian Christian leanings.

This deposition resulted in the Meletian Schism, which saw several groups and several claimants to the see of Antioch. The largest grouping, centered on Meletius. It moved towards an acceptance of the Nicene creed and participated in the Council of Constantinople, but was not recognized by Alexandria or Rome. Meletius was succeeded by:

·         Flavian I (381–404), who obtained the recognition of Alexandria and Rome in 399

·         Porphyrus (404–412)

Alexander (412–417), ended the schism with the Eustathians in 415

·         Theodotus (417–428) (alternately 420–429)

·         John I (428–442), condemned the First Council of Ephesus in the Nestorian controversy

·         Domnus II (442–449), deposed by the Second Council of Ephesus.

·         Maximus II (449–455), appointed by Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, accepted the Council of Chalcedon, deposed under unclear circumstances.

·         Basil of Antioch (456–458), Chalcedonian

·         Acacius of Antioch (458–461), Chalcedonian

·         Martyrius (461–469), Chalcedonian, deposed by Byzantine general, later Emperor, Zeno

·         Peter the Fuller (469/470–471), Non-Chalcedonian, appointed by Zeno, deposed by Byzantine Emperor Leo I

·         Julian I (471–476), Chalcedonian, exiled by Peter the Fuller

·         Peter the Fuller (476), restored by usurper Basiliscus, exiled by Zeno

·         John II Codonatus (476–477), Non-Chalcedonian, who held the see only three months and was exiled

·         Stephen II of Antioch (477–479), Chalcedonian

·         Calendion (479–485), Chalcedonian, opposed the Henoticon church document, exiled by Zeno, replaced by Peter the Fuller

·         Peter the Fuller (485–488), restored by Zeno and condemned the same year (485) by a synod at Rome

·         Palladius (488–498), Chalcedonian, accepted the Henoticon,

·         Flavian II (498–512), Chalcedonian, accepted the Henoticon, deposed by Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I.

·         Severus (512–518), Non-Chalcedonian, appointed by Emperor Anatasius I, deposed and exiled by Emperor Justin I. Since then, the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch moved to different monasteries including Qartmin, Qenneshrin (Chalkis, near Aleppo), Malatya, and Amid (Diyarbakir).

·         Paul the Jew (518–521), Chalcedonian

·         Euphrasius (521–528), Chalcedonian

·         Ephrem of Amid (528–546), Chalcedonian. The Syriac non-Chalcedonians recognized Severus as the legitimate Patriarch until his death in 538. In 544, non-Chalcedonian leader Jacob Baradaeus consecrated:

·         Sergius of Tella as bishop of Antioch, opening the lasting schism between the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, part of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church, part of Oriental Orthodoxy. Sergius of Tella was succeeded by:

  1. Paul II (c. 551/564–578)

vacant (578–581)

  1. Peter III (578/581–591)
  2. Julian II (591–594)

vacant (594-603)

  1. Athanasius I Gammolo (594/595/603–631)
  2. John III (631–648)
  3. Theodore (649–666/667)
  4. Severus II bar Masqeh (667/668–680/684)

vacant (680–684)

  1. Athanasius II Baldoyo (683/684–687)
  2. Julian III (687–707/708)
  3. Elias I (709–723/724)
  4. Athanasius III (724–739/740)
  5. Iwannis I (739/740–754/755)

Isaac I (755–756)

Athanasius Sandalaya (756–758)

  1. George I (758/759–789/790)

John of Raqqa (758–762)

David of Dara (762–774)

  1. Joseph (790–791/792)
  2. Quriaqos of Tagrit (793–817)

Abraham (807/808–837)

  1. Dionysius I Telmaharoyo (818–845)

Simeon (c. 837)

  1. John IV (846/847–873/874)

vacant (874–878)

  1. Ignatius II (878–883)

vacant (883–887)

  1. Theodosius Romanus (887–896)

vacant (896–897)

  1. Dionysius II (896/897–908/909)
  2. John V (910–922)
  3. Basil I (923–935)
  4. John VI (936–953)
  5. Iwannis II (954–957)
  6. Dionysius III (958–961)
  7. Abraham I (962–963)

vacant (963–965)

  1. John VII Sarigta (965–985)
  2. Athanasius IV Salhoyo (986/987–1002/1003)
  3. John VIII bar Abdoun (1004–1030/1031/1033)
  4. Dionysius IV Yahyo (1031–1042)

vacant (1042–1049)

  1. John IX bar ʿAbdun (1042/1048/1049–1057)
  2. Athanasius V Yahyo (1057/1058–1062/1064)
  3. John X bar Shushan (1063/1064–1072/1073)
  4. Basil II (1074–1075)

John bar ʿAbdun (1075–1076/1077)

  1. Dionysius V Lazarus (1077–1078/1079)

vacant (1078/1079–86)

  1. Iwannis III (1086–1087/1088)
  2. Dionysius VI (1088–1090)
  3. Athanasius VI bar Khamoro (1090/1091–1129)
  4. John XI bar Mawdyono (1129/1130–1137)
  5. Athanasius VII bar Qatra (1138/1139–1166) under whose reign, the patriarchal seat was transferred to the Dayro d’Mor Hananyo Monastery in the town of Mardin, today in southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border.
  6. Michael I (1166–1199)

Theodore bar Wahbun (1180–1193)

  1. Athanasius VIII bar Salibi (1199–1207)

Michael II the Younger (1199/1200–1215)

  1. John XII (1207/1208–1219/1220)

vacant (1220–1222)

  1. Ignatius III David (1222–1252)

Dionysius VII ʿAngur (1252–1261)

  1. John XIII bar Ma'dani (1252–1263)
  2. Ignatius IV Yeshu (1264–1282/1283)

83.  Philoxenus I Nemrud (1283–1292), upon his death, the Syriac Orthodox Church split into the patriarchates of Antioch, Mardin, and Melitene.

  1. Michael II (1292–1312)

85. Michael III Yeshu (1313–1349)

86. Basil III Gabriel (1349–1387)  The patriarchate of Melitene ended in c. 1360. A separate patriarchate of Tur Abdin broke off from the patriarchate of Mardin in 1364.

87. Philoxenus II (1387–c. 1421)

88.  Basil IV Simon (1421/1422–1444/1445)

89.  Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo (1445-1455)

90.  Ignatius Khalaf Maʿdnoyo (1455/1456–84)

91. Ignatius John XIV (1484–1493)

92. Ignatius Noah of Lebanon (1493/1494–1509)

93. Ignatius Yeshu I (1509–1510/1519)

  1. Ignatius Jacob I (1510/1512–1517/1519); Athanasius bar Subay appointed as rival patriarch (1511–between 1514 and 1518)

95. Ignatius David I (1519–1521)

96. Ignatius Abdullah I (1521–1557)

97. Ignatius Nimat Allah (1557–1576)

98. Ignatius David II Shah (1576–1591)

99. Ignatius Pilate (1591–1597)

100.                     Ignatius Hidayat Allah (1597/1598–1639/1640)

  1. Ignatius Simon (1640–1653); Ignatius Shukrallah I appointed as rival patriarch (1640–1670)

102.                     Ignatius Yeshu II (1653/1655–1661)

103.                     Ignatius Abdulmasih I (1661/1662–1686)

104.                     Ignatius George II (1687–1708)

105.                     Ignatius Isaac II (1709–1722)

106.                     Ignatius Shukrallah II (1722/1723–1745)

107.                     Ignatius George III (1745/1746–1768)

108.                     Ignatius George IV (1768–1781)

109.                      Ignatius Matthew (1782–1817/1819). Catholicism was introduced in 1783.

110.                     Ignatius John (1817–1818)

111.                     Ignatius George V (1819–1836/1839)

112.                     Ignatius Elias II (1836/1839–1847)

113.                     Ignatius Jacob II (1847–1871)

114.                     Ignatius Peter IV (1872–1894)

115.                     Ignatius Abdulmasih II (1894/1895–1903)

116.                     Ignatius Abdullah II (1906–1915)

vacant (1915–1917)

117.                     Ignatius Elias III (1917–1932/1933)

118.                     Ignatius Aphrem I (1933–1957); patriarchal seat moved to Homs.

119.                     Ignatius Jacob III (1957–1980); patriarchal seat moved to the Cathedral of Saint George in the district of Bab Touma in Damascus.

120.                     Ignatius Zakka I (1980–2014)

121.                     Ignatius Aphrem II (2014–present)

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