List Of Syriac Catholic Patriarchs Of Antioch

Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch is the head of the Syriac Catholic Church, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches in union with Rome since 1783. The full official title is Patriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syrians.

The following is a list of primates who have held that office.

Patriarchs of Antioch and Syriac Patriarchs of Antioch before 1783

Initial attempts at union with the Catholic Church

While there were occasional attempts for a union, such as the Council of Florence in 1444, during this period there was no distinct Syriac Catholic Church separate from the Syriac Orthodox Church.

Renewed attempts (17th century - beginning of 8th century)

Later on, from 1662 to 1702, a separate Syriac Catholic hierarchy existed based in Aleppo in the Ottoman Empire:

Ignatius Andrew Akijan (1662–1677)
Ignatius Gregory Peter VI Shahbaddin (1679–1702)

However, the full communion with the Catholic Church did not persist.

After Shahbaddin's death on 4 March 1702, the maphrian and Archbishop of Nineveh Isaac Basilios Joubeir (or Basil Ishaq ibn Jubair) was elected as new Patriarch on 23 November 1703, later confirmed as Patriarch on 17 November 1704 by Rome. But the newly-elected patriarch did not accept the title and considered himself only as Maphrian, waiting for a "better time" and in 1706 he moved to Rome where he died on 18 May 1721. The Syrian Catholic Church had a new Patriarch only in 1783 with Ignatius Michael III Jarweh.

Syriac Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch (1783 to present)

Ignatius Michael III Jarweh established full communion with the Holy See and the Catholic Church, and brought with him much of his congregation while creating a line of Syriac Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch separate from the Syriac Orthodox Church. Ever since, it is known as the Syriac Catholic Church.