Church of Antioch

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The Church of Antioch (Arabic,كنيسة أنطاكية) is one of the five Christian churches that composed the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church before the East-West Schism.

History

The Church traces its origins to the Christian community founded in Antioch by the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. It later became one of the five major patriarchates of early Christianity.

In the Bible, according to Acts 11:19-26, the Christian community at Antioch began when Christians who were scattered from Judea because of persecution fled to Antioch. They were joined by Christians from Cyprus and Cyrene who migrated to Antioch. It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first referred to as Christians.

The seat of the patriarchate was formerly Antioch, in what is now Turkey. However, in the 15th century, it was moved to Syria in response to the Ottoman invasion.

Modern Branches of the Church of Antioch

The patriarchate of Antioch is claimed by at least five major Eastern Christian churches, three of which- the Melkite, Syriac, and Maronite Catholic churches- are in communion with the Catholic Church and thus recognize each other's claims. The Antiochian Orthodox Church belongs to the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church is a member of the Oriental Orthodox Communion.

The five branches are:

• the Antiochian Orthodox Church
• the Syriac Orthodox Church
• the Melkite Greek Catholic Church
• the Syriac Catholic Church
• the Maronite Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church also claimed the patriarchate and appointed titular Latin rite patriarchs for many centuries until it renounced those claims in 1964.