Patriarch of Antioch

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Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title carried by the Bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" (επισκοπος, episkopos, from which the word 'bishop' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in the church from its earliest period. This diocese is one of the few for which the names of its bishops from the apostolic beginnings have been preserved.

1 History
2 Current patriarchs
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

It was in the city of Antioch (modern day Antakya in southeast Turkey) that Christians were first so called (Acts 11:26). Traditionally, Saint Peter established the church in Antioch, and was the city's first bishop. Ignatius of Antioch (martyred c.107) was also bishop of the city, and a prominent apostolic father. By the 4th century, the bishop of Antioch had become the most senior bishop in a region covering modern-day eastern Turkey, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran. His hierarchy served the largest number of Christians in the known world at that time. In consideration of this and its ancient origins, the Patriarchs of Antioch were considered the most senior of the various Patriarchs of Christendom, which included those of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Patriarch of Constantinople, the Patriarch of Alexandria, and the Patriarch of Rome.

Despite being overshadowed in ecclesiastical authority by the Patriarch of Constantinople in the later years of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Antiochene Patriarch remained the most independent, powerful, and trusted of the Eastern Patriarchs until the conquest of Eastern Christianity by Islamic armies began in the late 7th century. The Antiochene church was a centre of Christian learning, second only to Alexandria. In contrast to the Hellenistic-influenced Christology of Alexandria, Rome, and Constantinople, Antiochene theology was greatly influenced by Rabbinic Judaism and other modes of Semitic thought — emphasizing the single, transcendent divine οὐσια (substance), which in turn led to adoptionism in certain extremes, and to the clear distinction of Christ of δύο φύσεις (two natures: dyophysitism): one participating in humanity, the other in divinity. Lastly, compared to the Popes in Constantinople, Rome, and Alexandria which for various reasons became mired in the theology of imperial state religion, many of its Popes managed to straddle the divide between the controversies of Christology and imperial unity through its piety and straightforward grasp of early Christian thought which was rooted in its primitive Church beginnings.

However, with the advent of internal schisms such as that over Monophysitism and followed by the Islamic conquests, the Patriarch's ecclesiastical authority became entangled in the politics of imperial authority and later Islamic occupation. Being considered independent of both Byzantine Imperial and Arab Moslem power but in essence occupied by both, the de facto power of the Antiochene patriarchs faded. Additionally, the city suffered several natural disasters including major earthquakes throughout the 4th and 6th centuries and anti-Christian conquests beginning with the Zoroastrian Persians in the 6th century, then the Muslim Arabs in the 7th century, then the Muslim Seljuks in the 11th century, and culminating in its final obliteration by Muslim Mamluks in the 13th century. Lastly, the ecclesiastical schisms between Rome and Constantinople and between Constantinople and Alexandria and Antioch left the Patriarch's authority isolated, fractured and debased, a situation which further increased when the Franks took the city in 1099 and installed a Latin Patriarch of Antioch.

[edit] Current patriarchs

Today, no fewer than five church hierarchs claim the title of Patriarch of Antioch, three of whom are in full communion with the Pope of Rome. (These three head churches that are part of the Catholic Communion of Churches and are self-governing; though they are in communion with the Holy See of the Catholic Church, they are not the part of the Roman rite which is in itself a member of the communion.) All five see themselves as part of the Antiochene heritage and claim a right to the Antiochene See through apostolic succession, although none are actually based in the city of Antakya. This multiplicity of Patriarchs of Antioch as well as their lack of location in Antioch, reflects the troubled history of Christianity in the region, which has been marked by persecution and internecine struggles since the Islamic conquest. Indeed, the Christian population in the original territories of the Antiochene patriarchs has been all but eliminated by assimilation and expulsion, with the region's current Christians forming a small minority.

The current Patriarchs of Antioch are:

His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. Ignatius Zakka I is the Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, which is part of the Oriental Orthodox communion. His see is based in Damascus.
His Beatitude Ignatius IV (Hazim), Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. Ignatius IV is the leader of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, and thus is one of the four most prestigious hierarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church. His see is based in Damascus.
His Beatitude Ignace Pierre VIII Abdel-Ahad, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Syrians. Ignace Pierre VIII is the leader of the Syrian Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church that is in full communion with Catholic Church's Holy See at the Vatican and uses the Antiochene liturgy. His see is based in Beirut.
His Beatitude Nasrallah Pierre Cardinal Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Maronites. Nasrallah Sfeir is the leader of the Maronite Church, an Eastern Catholic Church that is in full communion with the Catholic Church and uses the Antiochene liturgy. His see is based in Bkerké, Lebanon.
His Beatitude Gregory III Laham, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Alexandria, and Jerusalem of the Greek Melkites. Gregory III is the leader of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church that is in full communion with the Catholic Church and uses the Byzantine liturgy. His see is based in Damascus.

At one point, there was at least nominally a sixth claimant to the Patriarchate. When the Western European Crusaders established the Principality of Antioch, they established a Latin Rite church in the city, whose head took the title of Patriarch. After the Crusaders were expelled by the Mamelukes in 1268, the Pope continued to appoint a titular Latin Patriarch of Antioch, whose actual seat was the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. The last holder of this office was Roberto Vincentini, who died without a successor in 1953. The post itself was abolished in 1964.