Syriacs (Suryoye; also Arameans)

Syriac writers often treated Suryaye and Aramaye as synonyms, mostly for the language, and in modern times some circles have adopted 'Aramean' as an ethnic identity, partly as a counterweight to 'Assyrian' (e-GEDSH). Syriac-heritage Christians in Syria use several names for themselves. The common endonym Suryoye/Suraye (Syriac script ܣܘܪܝܝܐ) is shared across churches; 'Assyrian' is used especially by members of the Church of the East and by secular nationalist movements; 'Aramean' is favoured in parts of the Syriac Orthodox milieu, whose hierarchy has generally opposed the Assyrian name; 'Chaldean' is primarily the name of the Chaldean Catholic Church and, for some, an ethnic label. Scholars describe the dispute as mainly one over names rather than over separate peoples, and this atlas lists each self-designation as its own entry with cross-references, without ruling on the question.

Sources and details

The Syriac Orthodox Church, the second-largest Christian community in Syria according to MRG, is present mainly in the Jazira, Homs, Aleppo and Damascus; Syriac Catholics form smaller communities in Aleppo, Hasakah and Damascus. After the massacres of 1915 (Sayfo), which devastated Tur Abdin, the Syriac Orthodox patriarchate moved from near Mardin to Homs in 1933 and to Damascus in 1957; the patriarch now resides at Maarat Saidnaya. Many Christians of Qamishli and Hasakah descend from refugees from Tur Abdin. Turoyo (Central Neo-Aramaic) is spoken in many families, Classical Syriac is the liturgical language, and Arabic is in everyday use.

There is no reliable separate count of Syriac Christians; published estimates mix church membership and ethnic labels and diverge widely. Since 2011 the community has been affected by war, emigration and attacks such as the IS destruction of the Syriac Catholic monastery of Mar Elian at al-Qaryatayn in 2015; MRG reported that Syriac Orthodox church attendance had fallen by more than half outside protected Christian-majority areas.

Sites connected with this community 13

• Churches in the Qamishli (Zalin) countryside: Mar Melki (Gardouka), Virgin Mary (Tel Jehan), Virgin Mary (Zalin)Qamishli countryside, Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Syriac village churches in the Qamishli countryside damaged during the war.

• QamishliHasakah · Historic architecture

  Main Christian centre of the Jazira (Syriac: Beth Zalin), largely settled by refugees from Tur Abdin.

• Saint George's CathedralHasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Syriac Orthodox cathedral of Hasakah in the Jazira.

• Mariä-Himmelfahrt-KathedraleHasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Syriac Catholic church of the Assumption in Hasakah.

• Mar Assia al-Hakim ChurchAleppo · Churches & monasteries

  Syriac Catholic church in Aleppo's al-Jdayde quarter.

• Qenneshre MonasteryAleppo · Churches & monasteries

  Historic Syriac Orthodox monastery on the Euphrates, a late-antique centre of Syriac learning.

• Syriac Orthodox Cathedral of St Ephrem, AleppoAleppo · Churches & monasteries

  Syriac Orthodox Cathedral of St Ephrem in Aleppo.

• Saint George Cathedral in DamascusDamascus · Churches & monasteries

  Syriac Orthodox patriarchal cathedral of St George in Damascus, seat of the patriarchate after its move to Damascus.

• Syriac Catholic cathedralDamascus · Churches & monasteries

  Syriac Catholic cathedral of Damascus.

• Monastery of St. ElianHoms · Churches & monasteries

  Syriac Catholic monastery of Mar Elian at al-Qaryatayn, destroyed by IS in 2015 and rebuilt.

• St. Mary Church of the Holy BeltHoms · Churches & monasteries

  Syriac Orthodox cathedral of Homs, the city to which the patriarchate moved in 1933.

• Monastery of Saint Moses the AbyssinianRif Dimashq · Churches & monasteries

  Syriac Catholic desert monastery of Deir Mar Musa near Nabk.

• دير مار أفرام السريانيRif Dimashq · Churches & monasteries

  Monastery at Maarat Saidnaya where the Syriac Orthodox patriarch now resides.

Sources (8)

1. Coakley, J. F. – Assyrians, Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage, electronic edition (e-GEDSH)
2. Brock, S. P. & Coakley, J. F. – Arameans, e-GEDSH
3. Kiraz, George A. – Syriac Orthodox Church, e-GEDSH
4. Ṭur ʿAbdin, e-GEDSH
5. Minority Rights Group International – Syria: Christians, Armenians and Assyrians updated 2018-03
6. Assyrian Policy Institute – Syria (advocacy organisation)
7. Wikipedia – Assyrians in Syria (secondary pointer)
8. Wikipedia – Assyrian naming dispute (secondary pointer; cites Atto 2011, Gaunt 2010, Donabed & Makko 2009)