Syriac Catholic Church

The Syrian Catholic Church ( Syro -Aramaic: ܥ ܕ ܬ ܐ ܣ ܘ ܪ ܝ ܝ ܬ ܐ ܩ ܬ ܘ ܠ ܝ ܩ ܝ ܬ ܐ Ito suryaiṯo qaṯolīqaiṯo ) is an Eastern Catholic Church united with Rome.

Its members include the world about 150,000 believers in, especially in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, the United States and in other diaspora. Their leader is the Syrian Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, currently Ignatius Joseph III SS Mar. Younan, based in Beirut, Lebanon. The Syrian Catholic Church follows the West Syrian rite in worship. Liturgical language is Syriac. Although in everyday Arabic is used very often, but in some areas of northern Iraq and in northeastern Syria, a Syrian language is still spoken.

History

Since 1628, the Jesuits, Capuchins and other religious were active in Aleppo ( Syria). Quite a few Syriac Orthodox believers were converted to Catholicism. 1662 was elected Patriarch Ignatius Andreas Akhidjan a representative of the Catholic group. After his death, both groups elected their own patriarch. After the death of the Catholic Patriarch Peter Gregory (formerly Syrian Orthodox Archbishop of Jerusalem) in 1702 allowed the Ottomans no election of a Catholic patriarch. 1782 joined the newly elected Syrian Orthodox Patriarch to Catholicism, which the Syrian Catholic Church justified its patriarchal line of succession.

The Syrian Catholic Church was thus in the 17th century from the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, as the educated in Rome Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, Mor Ignatius Andreas Akhidjan ( 1662-1677 ), could be ordained by the Catholic Maronite Patriarch and a Catholic creed sent to Rome. Since 1783 there is a stable line of succession to the Syrian Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, first based in Lebanon, from 1850 to 1920 in Mardin, since 1920 with Ignatius Ephrem II Rahmani ( 1898-1929 ) in Beirut.

Present situation

The Syrian Catholic Church, in addition to the Patriarch thirteen bishops (as of 2008 ). The liturgical language is Syriac - Aramaic. It is followed the Julian calendar. The date of Easter is the old style. Many diaspora communities adapt to the environment and therefore follow some of the Gregorian calendar.

The Syrian Catholic Church investigated since the mid 1990s, the union with the Mother Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch.