Syriac Catholic Church

Leadership

As of 2013, the patriarch of Antioch (an ancient major see, where several Catholic and Orthodox patriarchates nominally reside) was Moran Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan, resident in Beirut, Lebanon. The Syriac Catholic patriarch always takes the name "Ignatius" in addition to another name.

In modern history the leaders of the Syriac Catholic Church have been: Patriarch Michael III Jarweh, Archbishop Clemens Daoud, Patriarch Ephrem Rahmani, Vicomte de Tarrazi, Monsignor Ishac Armaleh, Ignatius Gabriel I Tappouni, Chorbishop Gabriel Khoury-Sarkis, Ignatius Antony II Hayyek, Ignatius Moses I Daoud, Ignatius Peter VIII Abdalahad, and Ignatius Joseph III Yonan. Eminent Syriac saints, scholars, hermits, martyrs and pastors since 1100 also include Dionysius Bar Salibi (1171), Gregorius X Bar Hebraeus (1286) and more recently Bishop Mor Flavianus Michael Malke.

The Syriac Church leadership has produced a variety of scholarly writings in a variety of topics. For example, Patriarch Ephrem Rahmani was widely praised for his work in Syriac and is responsible for Pope Benedict XV recognising Saint Ephrem as a Doctor of the Catholic Church. Likewise Patriarch Ignatius Behnam II Beni is known for imploring Eastern theology to defend the primacy of Rome.

The patriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syriacs presides upon the Patriarchal Eparchy of Beirut and leads spiritually all the Syriac Catholic community around the world.

The community includes two archdioceses in Iraq, four in Syria, one in Egypt and Sudan, a patriarchal vicariate in Palestine, a patriarchal vicariate in Turkey and the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in the United States and Canada.

Current jurisdictions

The Syriac Catholic Church was formally united with the Holy See of Rome in 1781.

Middle East diocesan jurisdictions

• Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch
  • Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Eparchy of Beirut, Lebanon
• Metropolitan Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Damascus, Syria (without suffragan)
• Metropolitan Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Homs, Syria (without suffragan)
• Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Aleppo, Syria
• Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Hassaké-Nisibi, Syria
• Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Mossul, Iraq
• Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Baghdad, Iraq
• Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Hadiab-Erbil, Iraq
• Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Cairo, Egypt

Old World missionary jurisdictions

• Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Basra, Iraq and the Gulf
• Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem (Palestine and Jordan)
• Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Turkey
• Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Dependency of Sudan and South Sudan (formerly 'of Sudan')

Overseas diaspora

• Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark, New Jersey for the US, which has 11 parishes in the United States.
• Syriac Catholic Apostolic Exarchate for Canada (6 parishes)
• Syriac Catholic Apostolic Exarchate for Venezuela

Former jurisdictions

Other suppressed jurisdictions

• Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Gazireh, Turkey
• Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Mardin and Amida, Turkey
• Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Lebanon

Current hierarchy

• Moran Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan (Patriarch of Antioch)
• Jihad Mtanos Battah (Curial Bishop of Antioch)
• Basile Georges Casmoussa (Archbishop {personal title} and Curial Bishop of Antioch)
• Flavien Joseph Melki (Curial Bishop of Antioch)
• Jules Mikhael Al-Jamil (Auxiliary Bishop of Antioch)
• Gregorios Elias Tabé (Archbishop of Damascus)
• Théophile Georges Kassab (Archbishop of Homs; deceased)
• Denys Antoine Chahda (Archbishop of Aleppo)
• Jacques Behnan Hindo (Archbishop of Hassaké-Nisibi)
• Youhanna Boutros Moshe (Archbishop of Mossul)
• Ephrem Yousif Abba Mansoor (Archbishop of Baghdad)
• Athanase Matti Shaba Matoka (Archbishop Emeritus of Baghdad)
• Clément-Joseph Hannouche (Bishop of Cairo and Protosyncellus of Sudan and South Sudan)
• Yousif Benham Habash (Bishop of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark)
• Timoteo Hikmat Beylouni (Apostolic Exarch of Venezuela)
• Iwannis Louis Awad (Apostolic Exarch Emeritus of Venezuela; deceased)
• Michael Berbari (Patriarchal Vicar of Australia and New Zealand)

As of 2010 the church was estimated to have 159,000 faithful, 10 bishoprics, 85 parishes, 106 secular priests, 12 religious-order priests, 102 men and women in religious orders, 11 permanent deacons and 31 seminarians.