Brief History of the Church | Malankara Archdiocese of The Syrian Orthodox Church In North America

Brief History of the Church | Malankara Archdiocese of The Syrian Orthodox Church In North America: The foundation of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch can be traced back to the very dawn of Christianity. It is the first established church in Christendom which gathered, converted Jews and Gentiles in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and second church after that of Jerusalem.

According to ecclesiastical history and tradition, St. Peter the Apostle established a bishopric in Antioch and became its first bishop and was succeeded by Evodius for the converted Jews and St. Ignatius the Illuminator for the converted Gentiles. After the martyrdom of St. Peter in Rome, he was succeeded by St. Evodius and St. Ignatius respectively. Likewise, St. Peter was succeeded by a line of distinguished Patriarchs, most of whom amazed the world with their sanctity, wonderful writings and other accomplishments in many fields. The See of Antioch then becomes the first, the oldest, and the most famous Church in Christianity. It was the foundation of the Christianity in the East and mother of the gentile churches and the headquarters of Christianity in Asia. It is proud to be the origin of the word Christian; it was in Antioch, after all, that the followers of Jesus Christ were called Christians as we are told in the New Testament, “The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” (Acts 11:26).