Topic summary

Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East

The Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch and All the East (Syriac: ܦܛܪܝܪܟܐ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ ܘܕܟܠܗ̇ ܡܕܢܚܐ Paṭriarḵo ḏ-Anṭiuḵia waḏ-kuloh madnho) is the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church. He presides over the Holy Synod, which is the Church's highest authority. The current patriarch is Ignatius Aphrem II, who was enthroned on 29 May 2014 as the 122nd Successor to Saint Peter.

The position of the patriarch of Antioch was established and first held by Peter the Apostle (Syriac: ܫܹܡܥܘܿܢ ܟܹ݁ܐܦ݂ܵܐ Šemʿōn Kēp̄ā). He officially oversees the Holy Apostolic See at Antioch (modern-day Antakya, in Turkey), though the patriarch currently resides in Damascus; the patriarch fled to Syria during the 1915 Assyrian genocide.

The Patriarchate of Antioch is one of three Petrine Sees of the Christian Church as affirmed by the Council of Nicaea, alongside the patriarch of Alexandria and the patriarch of Rome. He is considered primus inter pares (first among the equals) of the Diocese of the East.