Syrian Orthodox

Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch
Syriac: ܥܺܕܬܳܐ ܣܽܘ̣ܪܝܳܝܬܳܐ ܬܪܺܝܨܰܬ ܫܽܘ̣ܒ̥ܚܳܐ‎
Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus, Syria, headquarters of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch since 1959.
Classification	Oriental Orthodox
Orientation	Syriac Christianity
Scripture	Peshitta
Theology	Miaphysitism
Polity	Episcopal
Primate	Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II
Catholicate of India	Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church
Region	Levant, India Diaspora: notably in Sweden, Germany, United States, Canada, Guatemala, Brazil, and Australia
Language	Syriac
Headquarters	Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus, Syria (since 1959) Historically: Antioch
Founder	Patriarch Severus of Antioch; Claims apostolic succession from Saint Peter, and Saint Paul, by Syriac Orthodox tradition
Origin	Circa 512 Antioch, Byzantine Empire
Members	5 million
Official website	Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate

The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch (Syriac: ܥܺܕܬܳܐ ܣܽܘ̣ܪܝܳܝܬܳܐ ܬܪܺܝܨܰܬ ܫܽܘ̣ܒ̥ܚܳܐ‎), or Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is an Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East. Employing the Divine Liturgy of Saint James with Syriac as its official and liturgical language, it is part of the Syriac Christianity by heritage. The church is led by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Aphrem II since 2014, seated in Cathedral of Saint George, Bab Tuma, Damascus, Syria.

The Syriac Orthodox Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodoxy, a distinct full communion of churches since the schism following the Council of Chalcedon in 451.

Patriarch Severus of Antioch was a significant bishop in the establishment of the organisation of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, Byzantine Empire, around 512, while Bishop Jacob Baradaeus (died 578) is credited for consolidating its miaphysite theology in the 6th century. However, the church itself claims apostolic succession through the prior Patriarchate of Antioch to the first Christian communities established by Saint Peter in Antioch, Roman Empire, in 37, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (New Testament, Acts 11:26). Around 1665, many Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India, affirmed allegiance to the Syriac Orthodox Church, establishing the Malankara Syrian Church. In the Levant, controversy occurred in 1783, when the majority of its hierarchy entered in full communion with the Catholic Church, establishing the Syriac Catholic Church as part of the Eastern Catholic Churches. However, another part of clergy gained permission from the Ottoman authorities in Istanbul to reestablish the Syriac Orthodox Church soon after.