Eastern Orthodox patriarchate currently headquartered in Damascus, Syria
"Orthodox Church of Antioch" redirects here. For the Syriac Orthodox church, see Syriac Orthodox Church. For the early Orthodox Church, see Church of Antioch.
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East بطريركيّة أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الأرثوذكس
Mariamite Cathedral, Damascus, Syria, headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch since 1342 AD, with the 'Umariyya Minaret at the front, to the right
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch (Greek: Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the RūmOrthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (Arabic: بطريركيّة أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الأرثوذكس, romanized: Baṭriyarkiyyat ʾAnṭākiya wa-Sāʾir al-Mašriq li-r-Rūm al-ʾUrṯūḏuks, lit. 'Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East for the Orthodox Rum'[6]), is an autocephalousGreek Orthodox church within the wider communion of Eastern OrthodoxChristianity that originates from the historical Church of Antioch. Headed by the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch, it considers itself the successor to the Christian community founded in Antioch by the ApostlesPeter and Paul. It is one of the largest Christian denominations of the Middle East, alongside the Copts of Egypt and the Maronites of Lebanon.[7]
^Arman Akopian (11 December 2017). "Other branches of Syriac Christianity: Melkites and Maronites". Introduction to Aramean and Syriac Studies. Gorgias Press. p. 217. ISBN9781463238933. The main center of Aramaic-speaking Melkites was Palestine. During the 5th-6th centuries, they were engaged in literary, mainly translation work in the local Western Aramaic dialect, known as "Palestinian Christian Aramaic", using a script closely resembling the cursive Estrangela of Osrhoene. Palestinian Melkites were mostly Jewish converts to Christianity, who had a long tradition of using Palestinian Aramaic dialects as literary languages. Closely associated with the Palestinian Melkites were the Melkites of Transjordan, who also used Palestinian Christian Aramaic. Another community of Aramaic-speaking Melkites existed in the vicinity of Antioch and parts of Syria. These Melkites used Classical Syriac as a written language, the common literary language of the overwhelming majority of Christian Arameans.
^All the metropolitans are now required to be proficient in Arabic per the Church's statutes.