In the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Archbishop of Jerusalem (originally Bishop of Jerusalem) today bears the additional title of Patriarchal Vicar of the Holy Land and Jordan.[1] The see is currently held by Anthimos Jack Yakoub.
Archbishop of Jerusalem Patriarchal Vicar of the Holy Land and Jordan
The first Syriac Orthodox church in Jerusalem was probably built between the Sasanian conquest (614) and the Islamic conquest (637). The Patriarch Michael the Syrian (died 1199) implies that the church torn down by Harun al-Rashid in 806/807 predated the Islamic conquest. It was soon rebuilt by an Egyptian named Macarius of Naburwah. Since almost all of the known bishops were monks, there must also have been at least a rudimentary monastic community.[2]
The church appears to have been destroyed at the time of the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In 1092, Mansur of Tilbana, another Egyptian, built what was then the only Syriac Orthodox church in the city. In the first quarter of the 12th century, Bishop Ignatius II rebuilt the destroyed church and monastery. It was dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene and later also to Simon the Pharisee. Shortly after 1125, Ignatius III constructed a hostel with a courtyard across from the church.[2] According to John of Würzburg, writing later in the century, this church was believed to have formerly been the house of Simon the Leper.[3] It is located near the Church of Saint Anne on the northeastern side of the city.[4]
After the Ayyyubid conquest in 1187, the church and monastery were transformed into a Muslim school. The bishops were only able again to occupy it again briefly when the city was in Christian hands between the Sixth Crusade (1229) and the Khwarazmian conquest (1244). Thereafter the Syriac Orthodox used the small church of Saint Thomas of the Germans until it was handed over to the Muslim authorities by the incumbent monk, who converted to Islam in 1451/1452.[2]
The Syriac Orthodox patriarch acquired the Monastery of Saint Mark from the Coptic Orthodox in 1472 and this has served ever since as the church of the bishops of Jerusalem.[5] There was a deputy metropolitan bishop of Jerusalem from the early 18th century to the office's abolition in 1858, who resided at the Monastery of Saint Mark, whilst the metropolitan bishop resided at the monastery of Saint Ananias in Tur Abdin.[6]
Ecclesiastical propertiesedit
The following ecclesiastical properties belong to the archdiocese:
The Syriac Orthodox Register of Episcopal Ordinations only goes back to 793. Michael the Syrian appended to his Chronicle a list of bishops of Jerusalem from James, brother of Jesus, down to his own time. It is identical to the Register for the bishops after 793. The bishops were of metropolitan rank.[9]
In the following list, a date range like 792×818 means "ordained between 792 and 818". Bishops before 793 cannot be dated at all. The list begins with the first bishop elected in opposition to the Council of Chalcedon (451), but the numbering takes into account the earlier bishops of Jerusalem.[10]
^"Consecration of Archbishop Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem". Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
^"WCC mourns passing of Archbishop Mor Gabriel Dahho". World Council of Churches. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^"Two Patriarchal Delegates appointed by Syriac Orthodox Church to Holeb Archdiocese and Jerusalem, Jordan, and Holy Lands Archdiocese". Syriac Press. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
^"WCC congratulates Archbishop Mor Anthimos Jack Yakoub, patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem, Jordan, and the Holy Land". World Council of Churches. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
Bibliographyedit
Barsoum, Ephrem (2003). The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences. Translated by Matti Moosa (2nd ed.). Gorgias Press. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
Barsoum, Aphrem (2008). History of the Za'faran Monastery. Translated by Matti Moosa. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
Barsoum, Aphrem (2009a). History of the Syriac Dioceses. Vol. 1. Translated by Matti Moosa. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
Barsoum, Aphrem (2009b). The Collected Historical Essays of Aphram I Barsoum. Vol. 1. Translated by Matti Moosa. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
Chabot, Jean-Baptiste, ed. (1905). Chronique de Michel le Syrien. Vol. III. Paris: Ernest Leroux.
Ignatius Jacob III (2008). History of the Monastery of Saint Matthew in Mosul. Translated by Matti Moosa. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
Kiraz, George A. (2011). "ʿAbdullāh II Saṭṭūf". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts; George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage. Gorgias Press, electronic edition by Beth Mardutho. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
Kiraz, George A.; Van Rompay, Lucas (2011). "Jerusalem". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts; George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage. Gorgias Press, electronic edition by Beth Mardutho. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
Palmer, Andrew (1991). "The History of the Syrian Orthodox in Jerusalem". Oriens Christianus. 75: 16–43.
Palmer, Andrew (1992). "The History of the Syrian Orthodox in Jerusalem, Part II: Queen Melisende and the Jacobite Estates". Oriens Christianus. 76: 74–94.