Church of Saint Thomas, Jerusalem

Last updated
Church of Saint Thomas
Latin: Ecclesia Sancti Thomae
Holy Land 2018 (2) P048 Jerusalem Syriac Catholic Saint Thomas Church.jpg
Church of Saint Thomas, Jerusalem
31°47′05″N35°13′42″E / 31.7847°N 35.2284°E / 31.7847; 35.2284 Coordinates: 31°47′05″N35°13′42″E / 31.7847°N 35.2284°E / 31.7847; 35.2284
Location Jerusalem
Denomination Syriac Catholic Church
History
Dedication Saint Thomas
Architecture
Completed1986
Administration
Diocese Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem

The Church of Saint Thomas (Latin : Ecclesia Sancti Thomae) is a Syriac Catholic church building located in the city of Jerusalem in the Holy Land. It serves as the cathedral and headquarters of the Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem. The exarchate moved several times and is now at the House of Abraham (French : Maison d'Abraham) at Ras al-Amud in East Jerusalem.

Contents

History

The Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem was created in 1890 after the Syriac Catholic Church accepted the Pope in Rome as its head in 1782. The Syriac Catholic Church is thus one of the first communities in Christianity. It had shares the Liturgy of Saint James and the Syriac language spoken by Jesus and the apostles. Saint Thomas was the apostle who preached in Mesopotamia (now Iraq and north of Syria and south of Turkey). [1]

The wars and revolutions that took place between 1900 and 1973 caused the headquarters of the exarchate to be moved several times. [2] In 1948, it had its center at the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem's Old City, then moved to Bethlehem, and 1965 again to Jerusalem. In 1986, the Church of Saint Thomas was built at Ras al-Amud in East Jerusalem, along with other facilities, including a building for pilgrims and a youth center. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syriac Orthodox Church</span> Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch

The Syriac Orthodox Church, officially known as the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and informally as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox church that branched from the Church of Antioch. The bishop of Antioch, known as the patriarch, heads the church, claiming apostolic succession through Saint Peter in the c. 1st century, according to sacred tradition. The church upholds Miaphysite doctrine in Christology, and employs the Divine Liturgy of Saint James, associated with James, the brother of Jesus. Classical Syriac is the official and liturgical language of the church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syriac Catholic Church</span> Eastern Catholic church of the West Syriac Rite

The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Christian jurisdiction originating in the Levant that uses the West Syriac Rite liturgy and has many practices and rites in common with the Syriac Orthodox Church. Being one of the twenty-three Eastern Catholic Churches, the Syriac Catholic Church is a self-governed sui iuris particular church church, while it is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exarch</span> Former political and military office; now an ecclesiastical office

An exarch was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem</span> Catholic episcopal see

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was originally established in 1099, with the Kingdom of Jerusalem encompassing the territories in the Holy Land newly conquered by the First Crusade. From 1374 to 1847 it was a titular see, with the patriarchs of Jerusalem being based at the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura in Rome. A resident Latin patriarch was re-established in 1847 by Pius IX.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch</span> Eastern Orthodox patriarchate currently headquartered in Damascus, Syria

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Headed by the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch, it considers itself the successor to the Christian community founded in Antioch by the Apostles Peter and Paul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syro-Malabar Church</span> Eastern Catholic Major Archiepiscopal Church

The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. The Syro-Malabar Church is an autonomous particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, including the Latin Church and the 22 other Eastern Catholic churches, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO). The Church is headed by the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar, currently George Alencherry. The Syro-Malabar Synod of Bishops canonically convoked and presided over by the Major Archbishop constitutes the supreme authority of the Church. The Major Archiepiscopal Curia of the Church is based in Kakkanad, Kochi. Syro-Malabar is a prefix reflecting the church's use of the East Syriac Rite liturgy and origins in Malabar. The name has been in usage in official Vatican documents since the nineteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Catholic Church</span> Eastern Syriac particular church of the 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melkite Greek Catholic Church</span> Eastern Catholic church

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church or Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Its chief pastor is Patriarch Youssef Absi, headquartered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition, Damascus, Syria. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, formerly part of Syria and now in Turkey, of the 1st century AD, where Christianity was introduced by Saint Peter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Syria</span> Overview of the role of the Catholic Church in Syria

The Catholic Church in Syria is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Israel</span> Overview of the role of the Catholic Church in Israel

The Catholic Church in Israel is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, in full communion with the Holy See in Rome.

Assyrians in Israel are Assyrians that are citizens of the Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacobite Syrian Christian Church</span> Malankara Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church in India

The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC), or the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India also known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Jacobite Syrian Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, is a catholicate based in Kerala, India, of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and part of the Oriental Orthodox Church. It recognizes the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East as supreme head of the church. It functions autonomously within the church, administered by the Metropolitan Trustee, under the authority of the Maphrian of India, Baselios Thomas I. Following schism with the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, is currently the only church in Malankara that is directly under a Syriac Christian Antiochian hierarchy, claiming continuity to the 1665 schism. The church employs the West Syriac Rite Liturgy of Saint James.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ras al-Amud</span> Neighborhood in East Jerusalem

Ras al-Amud is a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, located southeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, overlooking the Palestinian neighborhoods of Silwan to the south and Abu Dis and al-Eizariya to the east, and bordering the Jewish neighborhood of Ma'ale HaZeitim to the north, which overlooks the Temple Mount. There were about 11,922 Arabs living in the neighborhood in 2003.

Maronites in Israel are an Arabic-speaking minority who belong to the Maronite Catholic Church, which has historically been tied with Lebanon. They derive their name from the Syriac Saint Maron, whose followers moved to Mount Lebanon from northern Syria, establishing the Maronite Church, most of whose members currently reside in Lebanon. The Maronites in Israel encompass the long-existing Maronite community in Jish, Haifa, and Nazareth areas, as well as the families of former South Lebanon Army members, 7,000 of whom fled South Lebanon in April–May 2000 to Israel. Of these approximately 7,000 migrants, just 2,700 have remained in Israel: over the years, most of them have decided to either return home to Lebanon or to move to Europe or the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Detroit</span> Eparchy

The Chaldean Catholic Eparchy (Diocese) of Saint Thomas the Apostle U.S.A. is the sole eparchy of the Chaldean Catholic Church sui iuris for the eastern half of the United States and is exempt, i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See, not part of an ecclesiastical province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Church, Meenangadi</span> Church in Kerala, India

E. A. E St. Mary's Soonoro Syriac Orthodox Church, Meenangadi, is a Marian Pilgrim center of the Syriac Orthodox Church located at Meenangadi in Kerala, India. The church is under E.A.E Arch Diocese, the first missionary association of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and is currently under the direct control of Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. In 2006, the church was elevated to the status of "Marian Pilgrim Centre", and in 2018, it celebrated its diamond jubilee. It is the first church to adopt the 8 Day Lent in Malabar Region.

Paul Nabil El-Sayah is an Archeparch of the Maronite Church and Curial Bishop of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch</span>

The Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch is the seat of the Patriarch of the Maronite Church. It is currently governed by the Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, OMM.

The Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem is a Patriarchal exarchate of the Syriac Catholic Church for Palestine and Jordan.

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

The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic sui iuris particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The current head of the Maronite Church is Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, who was elected in March 2011 following the resignation of Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. The current seat of the Maronite Patriarchate is in Bkerke, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon. Officially known as the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church, it is part of Syriac Christianity by liturgy and heritage.

References

  1. "The Catholic Church Of The Holy Land » Syro-Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem". catholicchurch-holyland.com. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  2. St. Thomas Church in Jerusalem
  3. Cheney, David M. "Jerusalem {Gerusalemme} (Patriarchal Exarchate) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2016-05-20.