St. Peter establishes the Church at Antioch (AD 37)

St. Peter establishes the Church at Antioch (AD 37)

February 22nd is the commemoration of Establishment of the Holy Apostolic See of Antioch in 37AD by St. Peter the chief of the Holy Apostles, according to the liturgical calendar of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ said to Simon, "I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Mathew 16:18 KJV) Additionally, after the Feast of Pentecost it was, "In Antioch the disciples were first called Christians" (Acts 11:26 KJV) According to ecclesiastical tradition, the Church of Antioch is the second established Church in Christendom after Jerusalem, & the prominence of its Apostolic See is well documented. 1. Establishment of Holy Throne of Antioch A. Biblical basis: It is Christ who established Peter as the chief of the Holy Apostles and caretaker of His Holy Church. In the Gospel of St. John 21:15-17, Christ commands St. Peter to feed His sheep for Him (refer to Syriac Peshito Holy Bible). This is a very important distinction. Christ is the Lord God and Master of both this domain and the heavenly realm. He personally entrusts St. Peter to watch over the sheep on his behalf. Christ the good shepherd, has effectively established that St. Peter and his successors have been entrusted to be the caretaker of the Church on Christ's direct behalf, something not told to the other Holy Apostles. Mor Moses bar Kifo commentating on the Gospel of St. John 21:15-19, states the lambs are shepherds and prelates of the Church and that St. Peter is their chief. He carries on saying that the special role of the Patriarch is as Christ entrusted to St. Peter to "strengthen your brethren" (Luke 22:32) B. Interpretation of fathers of Christendom It is through tradition that Church fathers have confirmed the Apostolic Sees of each Holy Apostle. As Orthodox Christians we rely on the church fathers to interpret the scripture. The Holy Apostolic See of Antioch being established by St. Peter is confirmed by the following fathers (among many others) and church historians: - Eusebius of Caesarea - St. Jerome - St. John Chrysostom - Pope Innocent of Rome - Origen C. Syriac fathers and Syriac Orthodox Liturgy Likewise the earliest Syriac fathers of the undivided Antiochian Church are - Aphrahat - St. Ephrem - Marutha of Maiperkat These 3 early Syriac fathers attest in their theological poetry and hymns that St. Peter is the successor to Christ on earth, Peter is the chief of the Holy Apostles, and he is the foundation upon which the Church is built. Aphrahat in reference to the Transfiguration (Hido d-Mtalé/Koodara Perunaal) says, "Christ took with him Simon Kepha the foundation of the Church" likewise in reference to repentance Aphrahat speaking about St. Peter states, "Our Lord accepted him and made him a foundation and called him Kepha, the building of the Church". St. Ephrem in "Hymns of the Virginity" says, "Let us consider what happened to Simon, thanks to his chastity; for [Jesus] made him the foundation of the Church and made him hold authority, made him the chief of the Apostles and gave him the keys of souls. From Syriac Orthodox Liturgy: i) Sh'himo of Saturday Qolo of Safro (Prabatha Namaskaram) "On that rock of the house of Simon, the head of the apostles, I am built and l am not afraid, the Church answered and said; the waves and tempests beat against me but they do not shake me; the accursed Nestorius fought against me and received a fall." ii) Sh'himo of Saturday Qolo is of Thloth sho'in (3 am mani Namaskaram) "Lovely is the word of our Lord which he spoke to Simon, the head of the apostles, concerning the priesthood: behold, I have made you the master of the house and I have given into your hands the keys of the heights, and the depths, that you may bind and loose; it you bind, I will bind, and if you loose, I will loose, and if you pray for sinners your prayer shall be heard" iii) A memra of St. Ephrem recited during Holy Week Liturgy describes the importance of Peter: “The Simon, my disciple, have I set as foundation of the Holy Church, I called thee Kepha that thou mightest bear all buildings. Thou art the overseer (baharo) of those who build for me the Church on earth. If they build anything hateful the foundation restrains them. Thou art the foundation-head of my disciples. By thee I will give drink to all nations thou hast the sweetness of life which I will give I have given thee keys of my kingdom. Behold. Thou rulest over all my possession.” iv) The beginning of the Liturgical Calendar of the Syriac Orthodox Church is on Qudosh Idto. The Gospel for the morning is from St. Matthew 16:13-23. Additionally, the special hymn of that day 'Al taryak ito' references St. Peter as the foundation on which the Church is built. "At your doors O Church, the watchers do stand, By night and day and guard you from Satan. Simon the foundation..." Finally by the year 354AD, church calendars already listed February 22nd as the feast of his throne in Antioch. St. Peter the chief of the Holy Apostles is firmly established to be Christ's primary successor on earth. The first miracle after the Feast of Pentecost was performed by St. Peter (commemorated on Golden Friday) Accordingly, the Church fathers affirm that St. Peter established the Holy See in Antioch and such belief is held even today by the Syriac Orthodox Church. Likewise, the earliest Church fathers of the Syriac Orthodox Church and also later fathers reaffirm this indisputable belief. The Liturgy of the Syriac Orthodox is full of countless examples, only a few being mentioned here. In the mid of the 5th century, the Bishop of Antioch, & his counterparts in Alexandria, & Rome were raised to Patriarchal status. The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch used to be known by his name of Chrismation; however, since 1293 the Patriarchs of Antioch adopted the name Ignatius, after Mor Ignatius Noorono. The See of Antioch continues to flourish till our day, with His Holiness Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, being the 123rd in the line of legitimate canonical Patriarchs. The Apostolic See of Antioch is knows as that of 'All the East' because the Patriarch of Antioch also had authority over areas outside of the Roman Empire. In the Holy Ecumenical Synod of Nicea, Canon 6 reaffirmed that the Patriarch of Antioch within the Roman Empire had authority on the Roman geopolitical 'diocese of the East'. Additionally, the Antiochian Patriarchate had authority in territories which were outside the privy of the Roman Empire, that is in the Persian Empire & beyond. Therefore, the Patriarch of Antioch had authority not only in Roman East, but specifically 'All the East' of the known world, whether in Roman territory or not; and reaching as far west as the border of Bulgaria. Words of Paulose Mar Gregorios (modern day scholar and theologian): Ref. Shema Vartha, 1968 October: "We in India belong to this Patriarchate even if we have our own Catholicose and are autonomous [not autocephalous]. We have no other source from which to receive our ancient tradition - except the tradition of Antioch, of the great Syrian Church which once had spread through the length and breadth of Asia right up to China and Korea" The Patriarchate was forced to move from Antioch in ca. AD 518 after a period of turbulent history, to various locations in the Near East until it settled in the saffron monastery Dayro d-Mor Hananya (Kurkmo Dayro, Deir az-Za’faran–Syriac and Arabic respectively) in Mardin Turkey, during the 13th century. After another period of heinous violence during & after World War I, which took the lives of more than half a million Syriac Orthodox faithful (Sayfo the Syriac Genocide), the patriarchate was transferred to Homs, Syria, in 1933, then later to Damascus in 1957. The Syriac Orthodox Church is the mother of all the churches. Let us all pray for His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East and the Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. Tihe Moran Paṭriarḵo! Tihe Idto Suryoyto!