Intro to the Eastern Catholic Churches Part V: The Antiochene Rite

As we probe deeper and deeper into the various liturgical traditions of the Catholic Church, we come to one of the most historically important liturgical traditions of the Church. Today, we will take a look at the Antiochene, or West Syrian Rite of the Catholic Church. The Church in Antioch is traditionally the oldest patriarchy in the world, older than even Rome, as tradition holds that St. Peter e stablished the Church in Antioch, and was its first bishop until he moved on to Rome. A very rich liturgy developed in this region, and three of the 23 sui iuris (self-governing) Eastern Catholic Churches utilize the West Syrian Rite. Those Churches are the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and the two patriarchal Churches which still have the Patriarch of Antioch as their leaders today, the Syriac Catholic Church and the Maronite Catholic Church. To recap, the Catholic Church is divided into six distinct rites, and within those six rites, there are 24 distinct and autonomous Churches. The 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches defines a rite as “the liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony, culture and circumstances of history of a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the faith is manifested in each Church sui iuris.” Therefore, these three particular Churches share the same patrimony, but have a few different ways of expressing it, as we will see detailed in this essay.

Pope St. John Paul II noticed the close relationship between the Church in Rome and the Church in Antioch when he met with several Maronite Catholic clergy and laity in 2000: “…[T]oday's audience, strengthens the close bond that exists between the Sees of Rome and of Antioch, that ancient city where ‘the disciples were for the first time called Christians’ (Acts 11: 26) and where St. Peter himself lived. Therefore, spurred by an "inner command" that stems from your faith, you have come ‘to visit Cephas’ (Gal 1: 18) in order to live your ecclesial communion with him. Indeed, your full communion with the Church of Rome is a tangible expression of your awareness of unity. In these days you are having a powerful experience of this ecclesial unity, which will help you in turn to be more and more committed to evangelizing the world, since the Maronite tradition is also ‘a privileged opportunity for reviving the dynamism and missionary zeal which each of the faithful must share’.” This essay will serve to briefly demonstrate how the Church is truly One, and how the liturgical tradition and histories of the Churches that use the West Syrian Rite contribute a wonderful treasure to the universal Catholic Church.

History

Maronite Catholic Church

Probably the most interesting thing about the Maronite Catholic Church is that it is one of only two Eastern Catholic Churches that have never broken communion with the Pope in Rome. Thus, the Maronite Catholic Church has no counterpart in the Oriental or Eastern Orthodox Churches. After spending a few centuries isolated from the rest of the universal Catholic Church, communion was re-affirmed with Rome in 1182. But there’s much more to the Maronite’s history prior to 1182. The Maronite Catholic Church traces its roots back to St. Maron in the 4^th century. A contemporary and friend of St. John Chrysostom, St. Maron was a monk who followed in the ascetic footsteps of the Desert Fathers and lived as a hermit after retiring to a mountain range outside of Antioch. Many people followed his example and after his death in 410, his followers built a monastery at Apamea, in what is now the northwestern region of Syria. The Byzantine Emperor Marcian funded the construction of this monastery, and dedicated it in 452.

The Maronites quickly became known as defenders of orthodoxy, as they held to the teachings of the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451, specifically on the Christological issues. The region began to destabilize over the next 150 years following the council with the Monophysites attacking the Maronite community on several occasions, and the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire of Persia. During the fighting, the Patriarch of Antioch, St. Anastasius the Younger, was killed in 609. This was the spark the Maronites needed, as they had been left without a true leader for some time, due to the fact that Constantinople had (roughly 70 years earlier) decided to assign titular bishops to the region since the Monophysites there had increased in number, sending those bishops who followed Chalcedon into exile. After many years of this, the Maronites finally elected their own Patriarch, St. John Maron, and with the approval of Pope St. Sergius I, St. John Maron began the line of Maronite Catholic patriarchs in Antioch which continues to this very day with the official title of Patriarch of Antioch and All the East.

Soon after this, many more Maronites began to retreat to Lebanon to escape the persecution of the Arab Muslims and the Maronites became cut off, for the most part, from the rest of the Church for the next 400 or so years. It wasn’t until 1099 when a contingent of Crusaders from the West encountered the Maronites, and rejoiced in their common faith. Some of the Maronites actually joined the Crusaders in their quest to restore the Holy Land to Christendom. With Crusader States coming into effect around this time, the Maronites were able to come out of hiding, and started settling in cities along the eastern Mediterranean coast, leading to more contact with Western culture. In 1182, they reconfirmed their union with Rome, even though some historical sources say that the Maronites had to reject Monophysitism first. This is a point of contention for those Maronite Catholics who insist that they had never broken communion in the first place, and therefore had nothing to reject as they were orthodox in their theology. Whatever the case, the patriarch of Antioch was once again recognized by Rome, and in fact, Patriarch Jeremias II Al-Amshitti became the first Maronite Catholic patriarch to visit Rome when the Fourth Council of the Lateran was held in 1215.

In 1736 the Synod of Mount Lebanon was held where a Code of Canons was drawn up, the liturgy was reformed, and a restructuring of the diocesan system also took place. Since then, many Maronite Catholics have moved from Lebanon to foreign countries, as we will see when we take a look at what’s going on in the Maronite Catholic Church is today.

Syriac Catholic Church

The Syriac Catholic Church is another patriarchal sui iuris Church that traces its lineage all the way back to St. Peter. Just like the Maronite Catholics, Syriac Catholics recognize their first patriarch as St. Peter. The Syriac Catholic Church, having an Antiochene heritage, can also lay claim to the patriarchal seat of Antioch just as the Maronite Catholics do. The Syriac Catholic patriarch’s official title is the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Syrians. It might sound confusing at first, but just like we see an archbishop for the Latin Church in the archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Ukrainian-Greek Catholic Church has an archbishop in the archeparchy of Philadelphia. Two bishops in one area for two different groups of people. It is the same, as far as the different patriarchs go, in what was once Antioch.

As we’ve seen in other particular Churches, the Council of Chalcedon in 451 was a watershed event, and the Church in Syria was no more immune to it than others. As was mentioned above concerning the Maronite Catholics, the Monophysites rejected the declarations of Chalcedon that Christ had two natures, one divine and one human, and the fighting led to several breaks in the Church at this time. Those who upheld Chalcedon were mainly the Greeks and the Maronites. We’ve seen that the Maronites wanted their own patriarch, as the non-Chalcedonian/Monophysite Syrian bishops and the Chalcedonian Greek bishops were both sent into and brought back from exile over this time period. This shows how turbulent the region was during these years after Chalcedon. Not one, but three separate claimants to the see of Antioch came into existence in the aftermath of the council. The non-Chalcedonian Syrian line of bishops began with Severus, who was exiled in 518 in favor of the Greek bishop, but what became the Syriac Orthodox Church recognized Severus until his death in 538. This schism between the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church was complete when Sergius of Tella was consecrated patriarch of Antioch in 544. For more detailed information on this subject, check out Wikipedia’s entry on the episcopal succession of the Antiochene patriarchate.

After this event happened, there were multiple attempts at reunion with Rome, some during the Crusades, and again in 1444 at the Ecumenical Council of Florence. These reunions were usually incomplete, ignored and resulted in mostly individual conversions. Real reunion didn’t happen until the 17^th century when the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate became vacant in 1662. A few decades earlier, Jesuit and Capuchin missionaries began to preach in the city of Aleppo, and soon enough a pro-Catholic contingent grew in Syria which petitioned for reunion with the Catholic Church. The pro-Catholic contingent elected Ignatius Andrew Akijan as Patriarch of Antioch, who had previously been consecrated as bishop of Aleppo for all Syriac Catholics by the Maronite Catholic Patriarch a few years earlier. The Pope in Rome gave his confirmation of Akijan’s election in 1663, and this first attempt at reunion had produced great fruit.

Unfortunately, the Syriac Orthodox Church and the government of the Ottoman Empire harassed and persecuted the Syriac Catholics, and Akijan’s successor was most likely assassinated through a poisoned drink after he and many of his fellow clergy were tortured and imprisoned in 1702. For over 80 years, the Syriac Catholic community had to go into hiding and was without a leader as no Syriac Catholic bishops were left that could elect a patriarch. Finally, in 1783, some stability came to the persecuted Catholics in Syria. Ignatius Michael III Jarweh, who was the bishop of Aleppo, had converted to Catholicism after making a profession of faith in front of the Melkite Catholic archbishop of Aleppo in 1774. This was confirmed by Pope Pius VI the following year, and Jarweh continued to promote reunion with Rome at every opportunity he could. When the Syrian Orthodox patriarch died in 1781, Jarweh was elected patriarch, and accepted his election only after a Catholic declaration of faith was made in the church he was elected. The Syriac Catholic Church finally had a patriarch again, and Jarweh’s election was confirmed by Pope Pius VI in 1783 when he received the pallium from the Pope. There were however, two bishops who opposed the election and did not want reunion with the Catholic Church. A couple days later, one of these bishops ordained four monks to the bishopric, and these men elected and consecrated another patriarch for the Syriac Orthodox Church. This Orthodox Patriarch and his envoy arrived at the Ottoman palace in Istanbul before Patriarch Jarweh could, and received the approval of the Ottoman authorities, making the Syriac Catholics outlaws once again.

It wasn’t until 1829 when the Ottoman government gave legal recognition to both the Armenian and Syriac Catholic Churches that Catholics in Syria were able to worship freely, and the Church exploded in growth during this time. That expansion was halted during World War I and its aftermath during the Assyrian Genocide (or Sayfo), where tens of thousands of Christains and other religious minorities were slaughtered by the Ottoman Empire. Following these events, the Syriac Catholic Patriarchal See was moved to Beirut, Lebanon, where it remains to this day. The members of the Syriac Catholic Church became more scattered after WWI, but the faith and tenacity of these Christians never diminished.

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

After the Eritrean Catholic Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is the newest of the particular Catholic Churches, founded in 1930. Interestingly enough, the Syro-Malankara Church shares much of its history with the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church of the Chaldean (or East Syrian) Rite. Both of these sui iuris Churches are considered St. Thomas Christians. To get a full history of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, check out my previous essay in the Syro-Malabar Catholic section. Our history here will pick up in the 20^th century. As mentioned in the previous essay, most of the St. Thomas Christians resumed reunion with the Pope in Rome following the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653. Those Christians that did not reunite with Rome became the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, and pledged their assent to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. Over the next three centuries, several more splits happened in this line, as the Malankara Orthodox moved farther away from their Assyrian and Chaldean roots, and became more aligned with the liturgy of the Antiochenes, that is, the West Syrian Rite.

By the turn of the 20^th century, the splits had become so numerous, that it was becoming a source of scandal to many Christians in the area. To see a more detailed list of how and when these breaks happened, check out the graph over on Wikipedia’s page for the Malankara Orthodox. One Orthodox priest had grown tired of the divisions, and wanted to reunite the St. Thomas Christians in India and bring them into “one fold” as Jesus Christ truly wanted it to be. Geevarghese Ivanios was the Malankara Orthodox bishop of Bethany, and after serving only a few years in that post, decided to petition Rome for a full reunion. Bishop Ivanios contacted Rome in 1926, asking only that their liturgy remain intact, and that their eparchial structures remain the same. After some deliberation, Bishop Ivanios, along with another bishop, and three others, came back into full communion with the Catholic Church in 1930. In 1932, Bishop Ivanios traveled to Rome to receive the pallium from Pope Pius XI, and was consecrated as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Trivandrum, the first head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Following Bishop Ivanios’ consecration, more bishops, clergy and laity converted to Catholicism and the bishop spent the rest of his life trying to unify the splintered St. Thomas Christians.

The Churches of the West Syrian Rite Today

Maronite Catholic Church

Currently, the Maronite Catholic Church is still growing, but much of that growth comes from outside of Lebanon. Many Maronites have fled the area due to an increased presence of militant Islamists, with the 2015 Beirut bombings that killed over 40 people still a recent memory in the minds of many. For example, according to the 2015 Annuario Pontificio, the Eparchy of Jbeil-Byblos had 469,750 Maronite Catholics in its jurisdiction. Today, that number has fallen to a 165,000. The Archeparchy of Antelias has seen an even sharper decline in a five year period, which had a population of 297,283 in 2010 and is now down to 192,260 as of 2015. But with many people leaving the area, new eparchies have been established recently around the world such as the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles in 1994 and the Eparchy of Notre Dame du Liban de Paris in 2012.

Keeping in line with St. John Paul II’s call to the Eastern Catholic Churches to “rediscover their full identity”, the Maronite Catholic Church has started to roll back many of the Latinizations that have come into their liturgy. Spearheaded by Cardinal Patriarch Emeritus Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, a new Maronite Missal was published in 1992, giving Maronites a chance to connect once again to the ancient Antiochene traditions of their Church. The Maronite Patriarchal Synod in 2003 confirmed the fact that Maronites across the world should share in the fullness of their Antiochene traditions. The current patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church is Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi. He is one of eight Eastern Catholic bishops that are also cardinals, and is the only cardinal-elector from the Maronite Catholic Church.

Syriac Catholic Church

Today, many Syriac Catholics who still live in Syria are dealing with a multitude of sufferings as the area continues to be unstable. Thousands have fled other ancestral lands such as Mosul and Baghdad to escape militant Islamists, and some have even gone overseas at the prospect of a safer life. According to the Annuario Pontificio, the Archeparchy of Baghdad had 23,000 faithful in 1990, and that number is down to about 6,000 in 2015. But some eparchies in the region have seen some growth from migrants. As far as overseas jurisdictions go, an Apostolic Exarchate for Venezuela was created in 2001, and has grown from 5,000 faithful since its creation to 20,600 today. Another apostolic exarchate exists in Canada, and an eparchy based in Newark, New Jersey has seen a fair amount of growth in recent years as well.

The current patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church is Ignatius Joseph III Yonan who has held this position since 2009. He has spoken out vociferously against the support of insurgents in Syria in order to make the Assad regime fall and has asked Christians overseas to be more supportive of their brothers and sisters in the Syrian region.

Syro-Malankara Church

In recent years, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church has seen major growth. In 2005, Pope St. John Paul II raised the Church to the rank of Major Archepiscopal Church. The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is now one of four Eastern Catholic Churches to be designated as Major Archepiscopal Church, and is now headed by a major archbishop. The current major archbishop is Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal. He was elected in 2007, and was created cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, making him the first Syro-Malankara Catholic cardinal in history.

This growth has led to the creation of four new eparchies since 2002, including the new eparchy in New York, which was just raised from the level of apostolic exarchate earlier this year. There are currently 445,381 faithful in the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, located mostly in India. The Church is very active in the education of all peoples, with around 270 schools and 13 hospitals which cater to Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Liturgy and Traditions

Although the three Churches we’ve looked at are different in many ways due to how they evolved, they all share a common bond in their liturgy in that they all use the West Syrian Rite. The Holy Sacrifice is called the Holy Qurbono in these particular Churches. This common root liturgy is the very ancient Liturgy of St. James. The West Syrian Rite in the Syriac language is very similar to the ancient Antiochene Rite; this is why the two terms can be used interchangeably when talking about this specific rite. This rite was originally said in Greek, but after the Council of Chalcedon, many of the Churches in the region began using Syriac as the main language of the liturgy. The Melkite Catholic Church (of the Byzantine Rite) still uses the Liturgy of St. James at times, but in the original language of Greek. Still, today, there are some Greek terms that have been left over in the Syrian-language liturgy, such as the Kyrie. The languages used in each of these liturgies differ between the three Churches. The Maronite Catholic Church’s liturgical language is Aramaic, but the liturgy is typically said in Arabic in modern times, and the vernacular is able to be used as well. Aramaic is also used at times in the Syriac Catholic Church, but the liturgical language is Syriac, with some allowances for the vernacular. In the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the liturgical language is also Syriac, but the liturgy is most often said in either Malayalam or English.

This liturgy has been traditionally ascribed to St. James the Less. There are several other different liturgies that differ almost exclusively in the anaphoras that are used in the West Syrian Rite. In the Syriac Catholic Church, for instance, there are only seven that are used today. The main one is, of course, the Liturgy of St. James, but also allowed for use are the Liturgies of St. John, St. Peter, St. John Chrysostom, St. Sixtus, St. Mathew, and St. Basil. For example, the Liturgy of St. John is only used on certain important holy days throughout the liturgical year. The Maronite Catholic Church has no less than 72 different anaphoras. The one that is mainly used is the Anaphora of the 12 Apostles, but a few others (including the full Liturgy and anaphora of St. James) are used as well, and the Maronite Catholic Church is attempting to translate the others so that they may be used more frequently in the liturgy.

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church had their use of the liturgy evolve in a slightly different way. This Church’s liturgical style could be called a variant of the West Syrian Rite, and is at times called the Malankara Rite. This is the variant that is used by both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches that did not follow the Syro-Malabar Catholics (of the Chaldean or East Syrian Rite) back into communion with Rome following the Coonan Cross Oath in the 17^th century. The Malankara Orthodox Church was trying to roll back the liturgical changes of the Portuguese, but as they were now under the jurisdiction of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, aspects of the West Syrian liturgy began to sneak in, first with the use of West Syrian as opposed to Chaldean (or East Syrian) priestly vestments, followed by the introduction of the Liturgy of St. James. More and more inclusions of aspects of the West Syrian rite entered the Orthodox Churches in India, and by the 19^th century, it had been completely adopted by the Churches there and Malayalam eventually became the principle language for the liturgy. The Major Archiepiscopal Curia of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church had this to say regarding their unique liturgy:

“Ours is a liturgy rich in symbols, symbolic gestures and symbolic language. It is an ancient and apostolic liturgy. It is also the liturgy unique to an ecclesia sui iuris (autonomous Church) in the Universal Church with a long history. The liturgical and spiritual patrimony of the Malankara Catholic Church is that of the Antiochene Rite, though its celebration is uniquely Indian.”

There are still some variations that are found in the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church from the others that use the West Syrian rite, most notably that the Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts is still used on weekdays throughout Great Lent.

As far as traditions go, all three of these Churches have the Holy Qurbono said facing the altar, to the East. A curtain is also used in the West Syrian Rite, instead of a rood screen as was seen at one time in the Latin Rite, or the iconostasis in the Byzantine Rite. The parish of Our Lady’s Maronite Catholic Church goes into a bit more detail on what one might find if they attend the Holy Qurbono:

“The first thing you will notice is the layout of the church itself. There is a platform extending from the altar, called a bema. The early churches were former synagogues, and the bema was the raised platform on which the elders stood and read scripture. You will also notice the richness of the priestly vestments. The design of the Maronite vestments is indigenous to the Holy Land.

“The priest and deacon sit at the end of the bema facing the altar rather than presiding over the congregation. The semicircular seating arrangement dates back to the two monastic choirs of the early church. It encourages the congregation to be participants in the liturgy, rather than spectators. The liturgy is throughout a dialogue between the people and the priest. The priest serves as the prayer leader in much the same way as Moses served the Israelites. The congregation stands or sits during the liturgy as the liturgy is chanted back and forth between the priest and the congregation. In Eastern Catholic Churches, kneeling is done on Pentecost, in private prayer and can be done during Confession.”

The Eucharist is usually given through intinction at these Churches as well. Traditionally, the three Sacraments of Initiation are to be given all at the same time, to adults and infants alike. To learn more on the specifics, a fascinating study of Christian initiation in the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church can be found at the following link. The Maronite Catholic Church on the other hand, typically only administers the Sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation (or Confirmation) together, without the Eucharist. This has been seen as a Latinization by some, but the current practice typically seen in the Maronite Catholic Church is for First Communion to be given when the baptized child reaches the age of reason. The Sacrament of Holy Orders can be conferred upon married men in these Churches, although it appears to be a bit rarer to see married priests in the Syriac Catholic Church.

In regards to the liturgical calendar, most Fridays throughout the year (including outside of Great Lent) are considered days of abstinence, and there are several more fasts (such as the Nineveh Fast) throughout the year as opposed to the Latin liturgical tradition. Typically, when one abstains from meat in the West Syrian Rite, Catholics are also obliged to abstain from dairy and eggs. The seasons in each of the three Churches are mostly the same, with the Christmas season lasting about seven weeks, as well as a season devoted to the Holy Cross. The Exaltation of the Holy Cross is an important feast in these Churches, and is considered a Holy Day of Obligation, unless the feast is transferred to the next nearest Sunday. Other Holy Days in these Churches include the Ascension of our Lord and the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul. While the Maronite Catholic Church considers All Saints’ Day a Holy Day of Obligation, the Syriac and Syro-Malankara Catholic Churches do not, but the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, at least, includes the Feast of the Transfiguration and the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord on their calendar. The traditional founders of these Churches also have their feasts celebrated as Holy Days, with the Feast of St. Maron and the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle celebrated in the Maronite Catholic Church and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church respectively.

Great Saints

Maronite Catholic Church

While we’ve already briefly reviewed the lives of some Maronite saints such as St. Maron, and St. John Maron, there are actually quite a few saints over the past couple centuries that have been beatified and canonized in modern times. Probably the most famous of these recent saints is St. Charbel Makhlouf. Born in 1828, St. Charbel lived in the high mountains of Lebanon. His father died at a young age, but his mother remarried a man who later became ordained a priest. The example of St. Charbel’s stepfather and his uncles led him to enter the Lebanese Maronite Order at the Monastery of Our Lady in Mayfouq in 1851. He eventually entered the seminary where he studied under another great Maronite saint, St. Nimatullah Kassab, and was ordained to the priesthood on July 23, 1859. He went back to living the monastic life, and lived as a hermit for the last 20 years of his life. When he died in 1898, he was interred at St. Maron’s Monastery, and a few months after his death, a bright light was said to have emanated from his tomb, and when it was opened, it was revealed that his body had not decomposed. At his beatification, Blessed Pope Paul VI said, “A hermit of Mount Lebanon is enrolled in the number of the blessed… a new eminent member of monastic sanctity has by his example and his intercession enriched the entire Christian people.” He was later canonized in 1877 and his feast day is celebrated on July 24^th in the Roman Calendar.

A great female saint in the Maronite tradition was a pious young woman named St. Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès, also known as Rebecca. St. Rebecca was a Lebanese Maronite nun born in 1832 who refused the marriage arrangements prepared by her family so that she would be able to dedicate her life solely to Christ. She lived with the Mariamette Sisters for a number of years before she professed her perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in 1873 in the Baladita Order. She dealt with severe illnesses and pain, including blindness, in the latter part of her life, which she happily received and offered up to our Lord. On one miraculous occasion, St. Rebecca was asked by her superior if she wished to see, to which she answered, “I would like to see for at least an hour, to be able to look at you.” Immediately, St. Rebecca smiled as she was able to see her superior’s face, and she was quickly put to the test in describing objects, but soon after fell into a deep sleep which alarmed her fellow sisters. After she awoke with her blindness back again, she was asked why she came back after receiving a beautiful vision of what can be described as heaven. She answered that she obeyed the call of her Mother Superior to come back. She finally died in 1914, a few moments after receiving her final absolution following Extreme Unction. She was canonized in 2001 and her feast is celebrated on March 23^rd.

One other great holy man who was very recently beatified would be Blessed Stephen Nehmé. He was a pious monk, born in 1889, and entered the novitiate of the Order of Maronites at the Monastery of Ss. Cyprian and Justina in Kfifan, Lebanon. During World War I, he attended to many disaffected and displaced people with his Christ-like love and charity. He died in 1938, and since then his body has been determined to be incorrupt. He was beatified by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2010, and his feast is commemorated on March 8^th.

Syriac Catholic Church

Many beatified and canonized saints from the Syrian region are from the first millennium A.D. Probably foremost among these holy people is St. Ephrem the Syrian, who was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. St. Ephrem was born in the early 3^rd century in what is now considered Turkey. He was a deacon who composed hundreds of hymns, wrote beautiful prose and produced hefty defenses of the one true faith against various heresies, as well as several biblical commentaries. He is venerated to this day as a perfect example of monastic discipline. His feast day is commemorated in the Roman Catholic Church on June 9^th.

It may surprise some to know that there have actually been a handful of Syriac popes in history, and three of those also happen to be a saints venerated in the Church. Those popes are St. Anicetus, St. Sergius I, and St Gregory III. St. Gregory III was the last Pope to be born outside of Europe until Pope Francis’ election 1,272 years later. St. Gregory was present at the funeral of Pope St. Gregory II in 731, and all in attendance were in awe of his piety. His listing in Butler’s Lives of the Saints reads: “[He] was so well known for his holiness, learning and ability that the people spontaneously carried him off from the procession and elected him by acclamation to the vacant see.” St. Gregory’s papacy was troubled by the heresy of iconoclasm, and he valiantly fought for the legitimacy of icons and statues in the churches. At one point while he was having various churches redecorated, he had a row of pillars erected inside St. Peter’s Basilica, with images of Jesus and the saints on them, in silent protest against iconoclasm. He was also known as a great preacher who spoke both Latin and Greek. He died in 741, and his feast is celebrated on November 28^th.

A saint from more modern times in the Syriac Catholic Church is Blessed Flavianus Michael Malke. Born in 1858 just outside of Mardin, Turkey, he was born to a Syriac Orthodox family, but converted to Catholicism shortly after being ordained a deacon. He was later ordained as bishop of the Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Gazireh, and refused to flee from the city of his flock when he heard of the massacre which would surely come to be during the height of the Assyrian Genocide in 1915. He, along with the Chaldean Catholic bishop of the city, were arrested by the Ottoman government on August 28^th. They were given the choice to convert to Islam or die. Both refused, and Bl. Michael was beaten until he became unconscious, and was subsequently beheaded. Pope Francis approved his decree of martyrdom, and on behalf of the Pope, Bl. Michael was beatified by Cardinal Angelo Amato in Lebanon on August 29^th, 2015. He is considered the patron saint of persecuted Christians and his feast is commemorated on August 29^th.

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

As this Church is still fairly young, most of the great saints for Syro-Malankara Catholics come from the first millennium. St. Thomas the Apostle is, of course, highly revered. But one man on the path to sainthood, is none other than Servant of God Geevarghese Ivanios. The first head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church was declared a Servant of God back in 2007, and his cause for sainthood continues to this day. As part of the canonization process, the tomb of the Servant of God Ivanios was opened in 2014 for inspection. He is commemorated in the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church on July 15^th.

Although these three particular Eastern Catholic Churches grew and evolved in different and unique ways, they still share a common bond with each other through the ancient Antiochene Rite. In addition, they all share a common bond with the other 21 sui iuris Catholic Churches throughout the world, confessing one baptism in full union with the Pope in Rome. To see that these Churches have come from the cradle of Christianity should give us pause to acknowledge and celebrate the great men and women who passed the faith down in this beautiful tradition, to the advantage of the Universal Church. The next part in this series will deal with the remaining 14 Eastern Catholic Churches, all of which belong to the Byzantine Rite.