Antiochian Orthodox Chirstian Archdiocese of North America
A Brief History
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
A Brief History:
Who We Are
Spiritually we are descents of Antioch, of St. Peter & Paul, “And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Acts 11:26.
We are a diverse group of believers from every walk of life – physicians, doctors, musicians, social workers, teachers, parents, public servants, business owners, and bankers – united by our shared faith in a loving God.
Welcome to St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church of Jacksonville, a parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America: http://www.antiochian.org/
The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is an Archdiocese of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. http://antiochpatriarchate.org/en/home/
We trace our roots to first century Antioch, the city in which the disciples of
A Brief History THE CITY OF ANTIOCH on-the-Orontes was the most important city of the Roman Province of Syria, and, as such, served as the capital city of the Empire’s civil “Diocese of the East.” The Church in Antioch dates back to the days of the foremost apostles, SS. Peter and Paul, as is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Scripture refers to Antioch as the place where the followers of Jesus Christ were first called “Christians” (Acts 11:26), and records that Nicholas, one of the original seven deacons, was from that city—and may have been its first convert (Acts 6:5). During the persecution of the Church, which followed the death of St. Stephen the Proto-Martyr, members of the infant community in Jerusalem sought refuge in Antioch (Acts 11:19). While St. Peter served as the first bishop of the city, SS. Paul and Barnabas set out on their great missionary journeys to Gentile lands (Acts 13:1) -- establishing a tradition which would last for centuries, as from Antioch missionaries planted churches throughout greater Syria, Asia Minor, the Caucasus Mountains, Mesopotamia, Greece The Balkans, Italy and most of the Mediterranean Region. At the first Ecumenical Council, convened in the year 325 by Emperor Constantine the Great, the primacy of the bishop (patriarch) of Antioch over all bishops of the civil Diocese of the East was formally sanctioned. The Great Schism of 1054 resulted in the separation of Rome, the seat of the Patriarchate of the West, from the four Eastern Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. During the reign of the Egyptian Mamelukes, conquerors of Syria in the 13th century, the Patriarchal residence was transferred to the ancient city of Damascus, where a Christian community had flourished since apostolic times (Acts 9), and which had succeeded earthquake-prone Antioch as the civil capital of Syria. The headquarters of the Patriarchate, which has jurisdiction over all dioceses within its ancient geographic boundaries (Syria, Lebanon Turkey, Iraq, and the Arabic Peninsula) as well as others in the Americas, Australia, and Europe, is located in Damascus on “the street called Straight” (Acts 9:11).
The Church of Antioch The Church of Antioch was established by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas in 42 A.D., with St. Peter serving for the next eight years as its first prelate. The Church of Antioch is one of the five ancient Patriarchates of the Christian Church, along with Jerusalem, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Rome. Many of the great saints of the Church, including St. Ignatius and St. John Chrysostom, have come from Antioch. The Patriarchate has endured despite centuries of oppression, and today shepherds over a million Christians in Syria, Lebanon, and other countries in the Middle East, along with communities throughout the Americas, Australia, and Europe. The Church is led by His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch and all East.