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independence=Traditional|

recognition= Traditional |

hq=Damascus, Syria|

territory=Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, parts of Turkey|

}}

The '''Church of Antioch''' is one of the five [[patriarchate]]s (i.e., the [[Pentarchy]]) that constituted the [[One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church|one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church]] before the [[Great Schism|schism]] between Rome and Antioch in 1098 and between Rome and the other patriarchates at around the same general period. Today it is one of the [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] Orthodox churches. In English translations of official documents, the Church of Antioch refers to itself as the '''Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East'''. The literal translation into English of the Arabic name is "Roman" (in Arabic, ''[[Rüm]]'') Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East." However, the literal name "Rüm" does not actually mean Roman but Greek. The Arabs and the Turks refer to the Christians who belong to the Greek Orthodox Church (both Arabs and Greeks) as Rüm because the Byzantine Greek-speaking Orthodox have historically referred to themselves as Romioi.The Arabic word "Rum" derives from the Greek word "Romioi". This is one of the reasons why the Church of Antioch refers to itself as '''Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East'''. The other reason is because it belongs to the family of the Greek Orthodox Churches which are: the [[Church of Constantinople]] (patriarchate), the '''Church of Antioch''' (patriarchate), the [[Church of Jerusalem]] (patriarchate), the [[Church of Alexandria]] (patriarchate), the [[Church of Cyprus]], the [[Church of Sinai]], the [[Church of Greece]], and the [[Church of Albania]].

[[Image:Balamand.jpg|left|thumb|250px|[[Our Lady of Balamand Monastery (Tripoli, Lebanon)|Our Lady of Balamand Monastery]]]]

The Church of Antioch is the continuation of the Christian community founded in Antioch by the [[Apostles]] [[Apostle Peter|Peter]] (who served as its first bishop) and [[Apostle Paul|Paul]], who are its [[patron saint]]s. In terms of hierarchical order of precedence, it currently ranks third among the world's Orthodox churches, behind [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]] and [[Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]].

<!-- [[Image:St George Beirut.jpg|right|thumb|450px|The Church of St. George in Beirut]] -->

===The Antiochian school===

Major figures associated with the origin of the Antiochian school include [[Lucian of Antioch]] and [[Paul of Samosata]], but its real formation was found with writers such as [[Diodore of Tarsus]], [[John Chrysostom]], [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]], [[Nestorius]], and [[Theodoret of Cyrrhus]]. At times, this difference in emphasis caused conflicts within the Church as the tension between the two approaches came to a head, especially regarding the doctrinal disputes over [[Arianism]] and [[Nestorianism]]. Saints such as [[John Chrysostom]] are somewhat regarded as synthesizers of the Antiochian and Alexandrian approaches to theology, and the Antiochian school of theology, whose more deviant proponents produced [[Arianism]] and [[Nestorianism]], also enabled the Orthodox fight against the Alexandrian school's deviances, namely [[Apollinarianism]] and [[Eutychianism]].

===The Antiochian church today===

The [[St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology (Tripoli, Lebanon)|St. John of Damascus Patriarchal Institute of Theology (Tripoli, Lebanon)]] was established by the patriarchate in 1970, and in 1988 it was fully incorporated into the University of Balamand. The Institute functions as the primary [[seminary]] for theological schooling for the patriarchate's [[clergy]] and [[laity|lay]] leaders.

The members of the holy synod of Antioch continue to explore greater communication and more friendly meetings with their Syriac, Melkite, and Maronite brothers and sisters, who all share a common heritage.

===Expansion abroad===

Extensive 20th and 21st century Arab immigration to the New World has further increased the size, vigor and influence of the Church of Antioch, and the majority of Antiochian faithful now reside outside the Middle East and include numerous non-Arabic converts to the Orthodox Christian faith. As a result, besides its Middle Eastern territories in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, the Arabian Peninsular, and parts of Turkey, the Church of Antioch also includes missionary dioceses in Central, North, and South America, in Europe, and in Australia and the Pacific. The archdiocese with the largest population is [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America|North America]]. It is also the only one with internal [[diocese]]s. The archdiocese with the largest area is [[Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand|Australia and New Zealand]]. Estimates of the membership of the patriarchate range from 750,000 to over 1,000,000 in Syria alone.

Over the centuries, the Church of Antioch has been associated with many [[saint]]s on the Church's calendar. These include the following:

[[Image:Antiochian saints.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Synaxis]] of the Great [[Saint]]s of the Holy Church of Antioch]]

:*[[Diocese of Worcester and New England (Antiochian)]]

*[[Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Santiago and All Chile|Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Santiago and All Chile]]

*[[Metropolis of Damascus]]: Patriarchal diocese

*[[Archdiocese of Aleppo|Metropolis of Beroea (Aleppo) and Alexandretta]]: Paul Yazigi (2000–present)

*[[Archdiocese of Tripoli and Al-koura|Metropolis of Tripoli and Al-Koura]]: [[Ephraim Kyriakos]] (2009–present)

*[[Metropolis of Tyre and Sidon]]: Elias Kfoury (1995–present)

*[[Metropolis of Amida]]:(Diyarbakır) vacant

*[[Metropolis of Theodosioupolis]](Erzurum): vacant

{{churches}}

==External links==

* [http://www.antiochpat.org/ Patriarchate of Antioch] (Official Website)(Arabic and English)

*[http://www.cc.uoa.gr/theology/html/english/pubs/doctrsec/scouteris/27/27.pdf The Spiritual Tradition of the Antioch Patriarchate], by Prof. [[Constantine Scouteris]]

*[http://www.antiochcentre.net/ 'Antioch']: A Centre for Antiochian Orthodox Christian Studies and Research (Oxford, UK)