List of Syriac Orthodox patriarchs of Antioch


The Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch and All the East is the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to tradition, the patriarchate of Antioch was established by Saint Peter in the 1st century AD, but split into two separate lines of patriarchs after the deposition of Patriarch Severus of Antioch in 518 over the issue of the Council of Chalcedon of 451. The non-Chalcedonian supporters of Severus went on to form what is now known as the Syriac Orthodox Church, whilst the Chalcedonians developed the church now known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.
The Syriac Orthodox Church underwent schism in the medieval era, first, after the death of Patriarch Philoxenus I Nemrud in 1292 with the formation of separate patriarchates of Mardin and Melitene, and again in 1364 due to the emergence of a patriarchate of Tur Abdin. Unity was restored to the church gradually as the patriarchate at Melitene came to an end in, and the patriarchate of Mardin lapsed after its patriarch Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo was acknowledged as patriarch of Antioch in 1445. A line of patriarchs in communion with the Catholic Church split permanently in 1782, and thus formed the Syriac Catholic Church.
The current patriarch of Antioch of the Syriac Orthodox Church is Ignatius Aphrem II.

List of patriarchs

Patriarchs of Antioch before 512

Syriac patriarchs from 512 to 1292

Unless otherwise stated, all information is from the Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage and the list provided in The Syriac World as noted in the bibliography below. Numeration includes incumbents deemed legitimate by the Syriac Orthodox Church prior to the schism in 518.
  2. Severus I
  3. :vacant
  4. Sergius of Tella
  5. :vacant
  6. Paul II
  7. :vacant
  8. Peter III
  9. Julian II
  10. :vacant
  11. Athanasius I Gammolo
  12. John III
  13. Theodore
  14. Severus II bar Masqeh
  15. :vacant
  16. Athanasius II Baldoyo
  17. Julian III
  18. Elias I
  19. Athanasius III
  20. Iwannis I
  21. :Isaac I
  22. :Athanasius Sandalaya
  23. George I
  24. :John of Raqqa
  25. :David of Dara
  26. Joseph
  27. Quriaqos of Tagrit
  28. :Abraham
  29. Dionysius I Telmaharoyo
  30. :Simeon
  31. John IV
  32. :vacant
  33. Ignatius II
  34. :vacant
  35. Theodosius Romanus
  36. :vacant
  37. Dionysius II
  38. John V
  39. Basil I
  40. John VI
  41. Iwannis II
  42. Dionysius III
  43. Abraham I
  44. :vacant
  45. John VII Sarigta
  46. Athanasius IV Salhoyo
  47. John VIII bar Abdoun
  48. Dionysius IV Yahyo
  49. :vacant
  50. John IX bar ʿAbdun
  51. Athanasius V Yahyo
  52. John X bar Shushan
  53. Basil II
  54. :John bar ʿAbdun
  55. Dionysius V Lazarus
  56. :vacant
  57. Iwannis III
  58. Dionysius VI
  59. Athanasius VI bar Khamoro
  60. John XI bar Mawdyono
  61. Athanasius VII bar Qatra
  62. Michael I
  63. :Theodore bar Wahbun
  64. Athanasius VIII bar Salibi
  65. :Michael II the Younger
  66. John XII
  67. :vacant
  68. Ignatius III David
  69. :Dionysius VII ʿAngur
  70. John XIII bar Ma'dani
  71. Ignatius IV Yeshu
  72. Philoxenus I Nemrud

    Syriac Orthodox patriarchs from 1292 to 1445

On the death of Patriarch Philoxenus I Nemrud in 1292, the Syriac Orthodox Church split into the patriarchates of Antioch, Mardin, and Melitene. A separate patriarchate of Tur Abdin broke off from the patriarchate of Mardin in 1364. The patriarchate of Melitene ended in, and the patriarch of Mardin Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo was acknowledged as the patriarch of Antioch in 1445, thus ending the schism.
Patriarchate of Antioch
  2. Michael II
  3. Michael III Yeshu
  4. Basil III Gabriel
  5. Philoxenus II
  6. Basil IV Simon
Patriarchate of Mardin
  • Ignatius bar Wahib
  • Ignatius Ismail
  • Ignatius Shahab
  • Ignatius Abraham bar Garib
  • Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo
Patriarchate of Melitene
  • Ignatius Constantine
  • Ignatius Philoxenus
'''Patriarchate of Tur Abdin'''

Syriac Orthodox patriarchs from 1445 to 1782

  2. Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo
  3. Ignatius Khalaf Maʿdnoyo
  4. Ignatius John XIV
  5. Ignatius Noah of Lebanon
  6. Ignatius Yeshu I
  7. Ignatius Jacob I
  8. :Athanasius bar Subay
  9. Ignatius David I
  10. Ignatius Abdullah I
  11. Ignatius Ni'matallah
  12. Ignatius David II Shah
  13. Ignatius Pilate
  14. Ignatius Hidayat Allah
  15. Ignatius Simon
  16. :Ignatius Shukrallah I
  17. Ignatius Yeshu II
  18. Ignatius Abdulmasih I
  19. Ignatius George II
  20. Ignatius Isaac II
  21. Ignatius Shukrallah II
  22. Ignatius George III
  23. Ignatius George IV

    Syriac Orthodox patriarchs from 1782 to present

  25. Ignatius Matthew
  26. Ignatius Yunan
  27. Ignatius George V
  28. :vacant
  29. Ignatius Elias II
  30. Ignatius Jacob II
  31. Ignatius Peter IV
  32. Ignatius Abdulmasih II
  33. Ignatius Abdullah II
  34. :vacant
  35. Ignatius Elias III
  36. Ignatius Aphrem I
  37. Ignatius Jacob III
  38. Ignatius Zakka I
  39. Ignatius Aphrem II