Syria's communities and civilizations – history, sites and heritage
Syriac Orthodox Christians
Self-designation: ܣܘܪܝܝܐ (Suryoye) – standard rendering, not verified in a fetched source
السريان الأرثوذكس
Religious communities
The Syriac Orthodox Church is the largest Oriental Orthodox church in Syria, with its liturgy in Syriac. Its patriarchate has been seated at St George's Cathedral in Bab Tuma, Damascus, since 1959; its faithful live mainly in Al-Hasakah and Qamishli, Homs, Aleppo and Damascus.
The church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox (Miaphysite) family; the Ghassanid phylarch al-Harith helped revive the Syrian Miaphysite church in the 6th century. Qenneshre on the Euphrates was a historic centre of Syriac learning.
Sources and details
After leaving Turkey the patriarchate was re-established in Homs and moved in 1959 to the Cathedral of St George in Bab Tuma. Homs keeps the Um al-Zunnar church with the relic venerated as the Virgin's belt; the Monastery of Mor Ephrem at Maarat Saidnaya belongs to the patriarchate.
No reliable current membership figure was found. Wikipedia describes its members as mostly Assyrians in Al-Hasakah and Qamishli.
Sites connected with this community 6
- St George Syriac Orthodox Cathedral, HasakahHasakah · Churches & monasteries
St George cathedral, Hasakah.
- Qenneshre MonasteryAleppo · Churches & monasteries
Historic centre of Syriac learning (identity only in atlas data).
- Syriac Orthodox Cathedral of St Ephrem, AleppoAleppo · Churches & monasteries
Cathedral of St Ephrem, Aleppo.
- Syriac Orthodox Cathedral of St George, Damascus (Patriarchal)Damascus · Churches & monasteries
Patriarchal cathedral of St George, Bab Tuma, seat since 1959.
- Church of Saint Mary of the Holy Belt (Umm al-Zunnar), HomsHoms (Bustan al-Diwan), Homs · Churches & monasteries
Cathedral of Homs with the relic of the Virgin's belt.
- Monastery of Mor Ephrem the Syrian, Maarat Saidnaya (Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate)Maarat Saidnaya, Rif Dimashq · Churches & monasteries
Monastery of Mor Ephrem, Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate complex.
These categories describe history, language and faith – not exclusive identities. Many Syrians belong to several, and some names refer to civilizations of the past.