Ancient Church of the East

Last updated
Ancient Church of the East
Church Church of the Virgin Mary in Baghdad.jpg
Cathedral of the Virgin Mary
Baghdad, Iraq
AbbreviationACE
Classification Eastern Christianity
Orientation Syriac Christianity
Catholicos-Patriarch Gewargis III Younan
Language Syriac
Liturgy East Syriac Rite
Headquarters Baghdad, Iraq
Separated from Assyrian Church of the East
Members70,000 in 1968; [1] approx. 75 000, of which 45 000 in Iraq and 20 000 in India (1999) [2]

The Ancient Church of the East is an Eastern Christian denomination. It branched from the Assyrian Church of the East in 1964, under the leadership of Mar Toma Darmo (d. 1969). It is one of three Assyrian Churches that claim continuity with the historical Church of the East (the ancient Patriarchal Province of Seleucia-Ctesiphon), the others being the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church. Since 1969, the see of the Ancient Church of the East is headquartered in Baghdad. [2]

Contents

History

The Ancient Church of the East is yet another name historically used for the Church of the East. This name became officially used when a schism happened in 1964, due to a decision made by the Patriarch Mar Shimun XXIII Eshai, to switch over from the traditional Julian Calendar which the church has been following since its establishment before the mid first century CE to the Gregorian Calendar. Part of the Church of the East, then led by the Patriarch Mar Shimun XXIII Eshai, continued with the Patriarch's decision. This became the reason for the schism. The Ancient Church of the East in 1968 consecrated their own Patriarch, Mar Toma Darmo, who strongly opposed to the system of hereditary succession of the position of patriarch of the Church of the East, as well as its adoption of the Gregorian calendar "and other modernizing measures". Mar Darmo was also joined by "various other groups opposed to Mar Shimun." [2]

Mar Yacob III Daniel was elected as new patriarch in June 2022. [3] In the month of August, patriarch-elect Mar Yacob III Daniel abdicated, [4] and on 12 November 2022 the Holy Synod elected Mar Gewargis Younan to take his place. The consecration of the Patriarch-elect is scheduled to take place in Baghdad in June 2023. [5]

Organisation

Holy Synod

The Holy Synod is as follow:

List of catholicos-patriarchs

Prior to 1964

Since 1968

Relationship with the Assyrian Church of the East

Under the tenure of Addai II, the Ancient Church of the East has made several gestures towards reunification with the Assyrian Church of the East. The most prominent of these is undoubtedly the declaration made in June 2010 stating that the Ancient Church of the East would now celebrate Christmas in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Previously, the church used the traditional Julian date for the Christmas Day (December 25 of the Julian calendar currently corresponds to January 7 of the Gregorian Calendar), as the Church of the East had throughout its history. The decision was to be implemented later that year, on December 25, 2010. [9]

Dialogue for reunification

Following the death (March 2015) of Dinkha IV, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, [10] dialogue of unification continued between the churches.

On May 22, 2015, a meeting involving prelates of both Holy Councils took place in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the library of St. Andrew's Assyrian Church of the East. Present were Yacoub Daniel, Zaia Khoshaba, and Gewargis Younan representing the Ancient Church of the East, and Gewargis Sliwa, Awa Royel, and Iskhaq Yousif representing the Assyrian Church of the East. Archdeacon William Toma served as the meeting's common secretary. Yacoub Daniel flew in from Australia for the meeting, and Zaia traveled from Canada. [11]

On June 1, 2015, the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East met in Erbil, Iraq, to discuss the future of the church. The date had previously been arranged for the election of the new Catholicos-Patriarch. Awa Royel issued a statement on the same day, notifying the public that a response to the Ancient Church of the East's recommendations for reunification had been delivered to their prelates. The letter requested a prompt response to the terms, and the election of the new Patriarch was suspended until the following week, on June 8, 2015. [12]

On June 5, 2015, Aprem Mooken issued a formal statement announcing that the election of the next Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East was suspended until September (2015), pending the unification of the churches. [13]

It turned out that unification was not achievable. On 18 September, Assyrian Church of the East elected Gewargis III as the new head of the Church, and he was consecrated and enthroned as Catholicos-Patriarch on 27 September 2015. [14]

In spite of the fact that unification was not achieved, leaders of both Churches have continued to promote various forms of mutual cooperation. [15]

After the death of Mar Addai II, reunification failed in May 2022 and the election of a new patriarch was therefore launched. [16] [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assyrian Church of the East</span> Eastern Christian denomination

The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (HACACE), is an Eastern Christian church that follows the traditional Christology and ecclesiology of the historical Church of the East. It belongs to the eastern branch of Syriac Christianity, and employs the Divine Liturgy of Saints Addai and Mari belonging to the East Syriac Rite. Its main liturgical language is Classical Syriac, a dialect of Eastern Aramaic, and the majority of its adherents are ethnic Assyrians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Catholic Church</span> Eastern Catholic Church

The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is headed by the Chaldean Patriarchate. Employing in its liturgy the East Syriac Rite in the Syriac dialect of the Aramaic language, it is part of Syriac Christianity. Headquartered in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows, Baghdad, Iraq, since 1950, it is headed by the Catholicos-Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako. In 2010, it had a membership of 490,371, of whom 310,235 (63.27%) lived in the Middle East.

A catholicos is the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and, in some cases, it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient Greek καθολικός, derived from καθ' ὅλου from κατά and ὅλος, meaning "concerning the whole, universal, general"; it originally designated a financial or civil office in the Roman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinkha IV</span> 20th- and 21st-century Patriarch of the Church of the East

Mar Dinkha IV, born Dinkha Khanania was an Eastern Christian prelate who served as the 120th Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. He was born in the village of Darbandokeh (Derbendoki), Iraq and led the Church in exile in Chicago for most of his life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Syrian Church</span> Eastern Christian Church based in Thrissur, India

The Chaldean Syrian Church of India is an Eastern Christian denomination, based in Thrissur, in India. It is organized as a metropolitan province of the Assyrian Church of the East, and represents traditional Christian communities of the East Syriac Rite along the Malabar Coast of India. It is headed by Mar Awgin Kuriakose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thoma Darmo</span> Catholicos-Patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East from 1968 to 1969

Thoma Darmo was the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East, from 1968 to 1969. Prior to that, he served as Metropolitan of India, from 1952 to 1964, within the Church of the East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yosip Khnanisho</span> Iraqi metropolitan bishop

Mār Yōsip Khnanisho, the twelfth Metropolitan or Matran of Shemsdin from 1918 to 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gewargis III</span> 21st-century Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East

Mar Gewargis III served as the 121st Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. On 18 September 2015, the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East elected Mar Gewargis Sliwa to succeed the late Mar Dinkha IV as the head of the Church. On 27 September 2015, he was formally consecrated and enthroned as Catholicos-Patriarch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Syriac Rite</span> Christian religious rite

The East Syriac Rite, or East Syrian Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy of Saints Addai and Mari and utilizes the East Syriac dialect as its liturgical language. It is one of the two main liturgical rites of Syriac Christianity, along with the West Syriac Rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Addai II Giwargis</span> Iraqi Catholicos-Patriarch (1948–2022)

Mar Addai II was Catholicos-Patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East. He resided in the Apostolic See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in Baghdad, Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eliya Abuna</span>

Mar Eliya Abuna of Alqosh was a bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East and Chaldean Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shimun XX Paulos</span>

Mar Shimun XX Paulos served as the 118th Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the East</span> Church of the East Syriac Rite of Christianity

The Church of the East or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian Church, is one of three major branches of Nicean Eastern Christianity that arose from the Christological controversies of the 5th and 6th centuries, alongside the Miaphisite churches and the Chalcedonian Church. Having its origins in the pre-Sassanian Mesopotamia, it developed its own unique form of Christian theology and liturgy. During the early modern period, a series of schisms gave rise to rival patriarchates, sometimes two, sometimes three. In the latter half of the 20th century the traditionalist patriarchate of the church underwent a split into two rival patriarchates, namely the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East, which continue to follow the traditional theology and liturgy of the mother church. The Chaldean Catholic Church based in Iraq and the Syro-Malabar Church in India are two Eastern Catholic churches which also claim the heritage of the Church of the East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shimun XXIII Eshai</span> 119th Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East

Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII, sometimes known as Mar Eshai Shimun XXI, Mar Shimun XXIII Ishaya, Mar Shimun Ishai, or Simon Jesse, served as the 119th Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East from 1920, when he was a youth, until his murder on 6 November 1975.

Mar Narsai Toma was the late Metropolitan of the Ancient Church of the East of the diocese of Kirkuk, Iraq. Mar Narsai served as Metropolitan for forty-six years before his death in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awa III</span> Current Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East

Mar Awa III is an Assyrian-American prelate who serves as the 122nd Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. He previously served as the secretary of the Holy Synod, is one of five trustees of the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization (ACERO), and is president of both the Commission on Inter-Church Relations and Educational Development (CIRED) and of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Assyrian Church of the East Youth Association (ACEYA) of the United States of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abimalek Timotheus</span>

Mar Abimalek Timotheus was an Assyrian priest of the Church of the East who served as Metropolitan of Malabar and All India from 1907 until his death in 1945. Born in the village of Mar Bisho in the Ottoman Empire, he was sent to India by Catholicos-Patriarch Shimun XIX after Shimun received a petition to appoint a bishop from the Chaldean Syrian Church in Trichur.

References

  1. Baumer 2006, p. 272.
  2. 1 2 3 Parry, Ken; Melling, David J.; Brady, Dimitri; Griffith, Sidney H.; Healey, John F., eds. (2017-09-01) [1999]. "Church of the East". The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. pp. 122–3. doi:10.1002/9781405166584. ISBN   978-1-4051-6658-4.
  3. Fides, Agenzia. "ASIA/IRAQ - Mar Yakoob III Danil elected new Patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East - Agenzia Fides". www.fides.org. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  4. SyriacPress (2022-08-15). "Patriarch of Ancient Church of the East Mar Yakoob III Danil abdicates two months after election". SyriacPress. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  5. SyriacPress (2022-11-15). "Mor Gorgis Younan elected as new Patriarch of Ancient Church of the East". SyriacPress. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  6. ""Thou art Peter (Pétros), and upon this rock (Pétra) I will build my church." (Matthew 16:18 KJV)". 23 June 2021.
  7. "رئيس الديوان يحضر مراسيم تكريس الاب دانيال الخوري طيماثيوس أسقفا على ايبارشية العراق للكنيسة الشرقية القديمة". www.cese.iq. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  8. "New era for the Ancient Church of the East: The inauguration of His Grace Mar Gewargis Younan".
  9. The Assyrian: Ancient Church of the East moves to change calendar Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Decree of the Holy Synod". Assyrian Church News. 14 April 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  11. "PRESS RELEASE". Assyrian Church News. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  12. "Press Release from the holy Council of Bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East". Assyrian Church News. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  13. "Statement of the Council of Hierarchs of the Assyrian Church of the East (2015)" (PDF). Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  14. Royel, Mar Awa. "Biography of His Holiness Mar Gewargis III". Holy Catholic Apostolic Assyrian Church of the East Official News Website. Assyrian Church of the East. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  15. "Chicago Commemorates the 100th Martyrdom Anniversary of Mar Benyamin Shimun XXI". Assyrian Church News. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  16. "Ancient Church of the East picks new patriarch, puts brakes on reunification". AsiaNews. 4 June 2022.
  17. "New patriarch elected for the Ancient Church of the East". SyriacPress. 2022-06-04. Retrieved 2022-06-04.

Sources

Further reading