Syria's communities and civilizations – history, sites and heritage
Syriac Catholics
السريان الكاثوليك
Religious communities
The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic church of the West Syriac rite, present in Aleppo, Al-Hasakah and Damascus. Its heritage includes the desert monastery of Deir Mar Musa and the Monastery of Mar Elian at al-Qaryatayn.
MRG lists Syriac Catholics among Syria's Christian denominations, with communities in Aleppo, Hasakah and Damascus.
Sources and details
Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi near Nabk, with frescoes of 1058-1208, was revived in 1992 as an ecumenical community. The 5th-century Monastery of Mar Elian at al-Qaryatayn was bulldozed by the Islamic State in August 2015 and later rebuilt.
No separate reliable membership figure was found.
Sites connected with this community 5
- Syriac Catholic Cathedral, HasakahHasakah · Churches & monasteries
Syriac Catholic cathedral, Hasakah.
- Syriac Catholic Church of the Assumption, HasakahHasakah · Churches & monasteries
Syriac Catholic Church of the Assumption, Hasakah.
- Mar Assia al-Hakim Church (al-Jdayde, Aleppo)Aleppo · Churches & monasteries
Mar Assia al-Hakim church, Aleppo.
- Monastery of Mar Elian, al-Qaryataynal-Qaryatayn, Homs · Churches & monasteries
Monastery of Mar Elian, destroyed 2015, rebuilt.
- Deir Mar Musa al-Habashinear Nabk, Rif Dimashq · Churches & monasteries
Desert monastery near Nabk with medieval frescoes.
These categories describe history, language and faith – not exclusive identities. Many Syrians belong to several, and some names refer to civilizations of the past.