Syriac Orthodox Church

The Syriac Orthodox Church (Classical Syriac: ܥܺܕܬܳܐ ܣܽܘܪܝܳܝܬܳܐ ܬܪܺܝܨܰܬ݂ ܫܽܘܒܚܳܐ, romanized: ʿIdto Sūryoyto Trīṣath Shubḥo; Arabic: الكنيسة السريانية الأرثوذكسية, Malayalam: സുറിയാനി ഓർത്തഡോക്സ് സഭ, romanized: Suriyāni ōrtḥdōx Sabḥa), also known as West Syriac Church or West Syrian Church, officially known as the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and informally as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox church that branched from the Church of Antioch. The bishop of Antioch, known as the patriarch, heads the church and possesses apostolic succession through Saint Peter (Classical Syriac: ܫܡܥܘܢ ܟܐܦܐ, romanized: Šemʿōn Kēp̄ā), according to sacred tradition. The church upholds Miaphysite doctrine in Christology, and employs the Liturgy of Saint James, associated with James the Just (also called James the Less and James, son of Alphaeus). Classical Syriac is the official and liturgical language of the church.

The church gained its hierarchical distinctiveness in 512, when pro-Chalcedonian patriarch Flavian II of Antioch was deposed by Byzantine emperor Anastasius I Dicorus, and a synod was held at Laodicea in Syria in order to choose his successor, a prominent Miaphysite theologian Severus the Great (d. 538). His later deposition (in 518) was not recognized by the Miaphisite party, and thus a distinctive (autocephalous) Miaphysite patriarchate was established, headed by Severus and his successors. During the sixth century, Miaphysite hierarchical structure in the region was further straightened by Jacob Baradaeus (d. 578), while the pro-Chalcedonian faction would form to become the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch (part of the wider Eastern Orthodox Church) and the Maronite church (an Eastern Catholic church).

In 1662, the vacant Syriac Patriarchate of Antioch was filled by individuals who aligned themselves with the Catholic Church. Andrew Akijan was elected in that year, and was succeeded by another Catholic in Gregory Peter VI Shahbaddin. The non-Catholic Syriac party elected the rival Abdulmasih I, Shahbaddin's uncle, as a competing patriarch. Upon Shahbaddin's death in 1702, the Catholic line died out for several decades until the Holy Synod in 1782 elected Michael III Jarweh, who again aligned the Syriacs with the pope. Following a period of violence and intrigue, the non-Catholic party was again recognized with their own patriarch and the Catholic line continued independently as the Syriac Catholic Church).

Mor Hananyo Monastery was the headquarters of the church from c. 1160 until 1932. The patriarchate was transferred to Homs due to the Sayfo genocide and the effects of World War I. The current see of the church is the Cathedral of Saint George, Bab Tuma, Damascus, Syria, since 1959. Since 2014, Ignatius Aphrem II is the current Patriarch of Antioch. The church has archdioceses and patriarchal vicariates in countries covering six continents. Being an active member of the World Council of Churches, the church participates in various ecumenical dialogues with other churches.