For the verb "to mar", see wikt:mar

Mar or Mor (as pronounced respectively in eastern and western dialects, from Syriac: ܡܪܝ, Mār(y), written with a silent final yodh) is a title of respect in Syriac, literally meaning 'my lord'. It is given by custom to all bishops and saints.^[1] The corresponding feminine form given to women saints is Mart or Mort (Syriac: ܡܪܬܝ, Mārt(y)). The title is placed before the Christian name, as in Mar Aprem/Mor Afrem and Mart/Mort Maryam. This is the original meaning of the name Martha 'A Lady'.

The variant Maran or Moran (Syriac: ܡܪܢ, Māran), meaning 'Our Lord', is a particular title given to Jesus, either alone or in combination with other names and titles. Likewise, Martan or Mortan (Syriac: ܡܪܬܢ, Mārtan, 'Our Lady') is a title of Mary.

Occasionally, the term Maran or Moran has been used of various patriarchs and catholicoi. The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, the Malankara Orthodox Catholicos and the Syro-Malankara Major Archbishop Catholicos use the title Moran Mor. Sometimes the Indian bearers of this title are called Moran Mar, using a hybrid style from both Syriac dialects that reflects somewhat the history of Syrian Christians in Kerala. The Pope of Rome is referred to as Mar Papa.

The obscure variant Marya or Moryo (Syriac: ܡܪܝܐ, Māryā) is used in the Peshitta Old Testament to render the Tetragrammaton. Although this word is clearly a derived form of the above, there is a fanciful derivation found in early Syriac lexica, that the word is an initialism as follows:

• ܡ — ܡܪܘܬܐ, māruṯā, 'lordship'
• ܪ — ܪܒܘܬܐ, rabbuṯā, 'majesty'
• ܝ ܐ — ܐܝܬܝܐ, iṯyā, 'self-existence'

In Mishnaic Hebrew through todate this aramaic word is pronounced [mar] (Hebrew: מָר), and it is used as a formal way of addressing or referring to a male person. In Rabbanical circles of Jews from the Middle East, the aramaic word מָרָן (Aramaic: our lord) is a title to a highly appreciated Rabbis, such as Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of Shas party. But some interpret this title, מָרָן, as an abbreviation of the expression מֵאָה רַבָּנים נִסְמָךְ ('is ordinated by 100 rabbis'), which is, of course, a backronym.

See also[link]

• Syriac Christianity
• Syriac language

References[link]

• Catafago, Joseph (1873). An English and Arabic dictionary. Quaritch. http://books.google.com/books?id=cZwCAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA323&dq=mar+saint+arabic&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&cd=3#v=onepage&q=mar%20&f=false. 

Look up Moran or moran in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Moran may refer to:

Places[link]

• Moran, Israel
• Moran Hill in North Korea
• Morán Municipality in Venezuela
• Moran Station in Seongnam, South Korea
• Moran Town in Assam, India
• Moran, British Columbia, a locality in Canada, at Moran Canyon on the Fraser River

United States[link]

• Moran, California
• Moran, Indiana
• Moran, Kansas
• Moran, Texas
• Moran, Wyoming
• Moran Township, Michigan
• Moran Township, Minnesota
• Moran State Park, Washington
• Mount Moran, Wyoming

Other[link]

• Moran (Maasai) or Il-murran, warriors among the Maasai of Kenya
• Moran (surname), Irish surname (and list of people with that name)
• Morán, Spanish surname
• Moran (Syriac), Syriac title for Jesus Christ
• Baron Moran, British peerage title
• Moran, a female Irish Quidditch player in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Moran Dam, a proposed dam on the Fraser River at Moran, British Columbia, Canada
• MORAN, an acronym for Multi-Operator Radio Access Network

See also[link]

• All pages beginning with "Moran"
• All pages with titles containing "Moran"
• Moren (disambiguation)
• Morin (disambiguation)
• Moron (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Syriac
ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Leššānā Suryāyā
Leššānā Suryāyā in written Syriac (Esṭrangelā script)
Pronunciation	/lɛʃːɑːnɑː surjɑːjɑː/
Spoken in	Mesopotamia, Assyria, Roman Syria
Ethnicity	Assyrians/Syriacs
Extinct	marginalized by Arabic from the 8th century, evolved into Neo-Aramaic vernaculars around AD 1200 (conventional date).
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic Central Semitic Northwest Semitic Aramaic Eastern Aramaic Syriac
Writing system	Syriac abjad
Language codes
ISO 639-3	syc
This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

This article contains Syriac text, written from right to left in a cursive style with some letters joined. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined Syriac letters written left-to-right instead of right-to-left or other symbols instead of Syriac script.

Syriac (ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ leššānā Suryāyā) is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries,^[1] Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from the 4th to the 8th centuries,^[2] the classical language of Edessa, preserved in a large body of Syriac literature.

It became the vehicle of Syriac Christianity and culture, spreading throughout Asia as far as the Indian Malabar Coast and Eastern China,^[3] and was the medium of communication and cultural dissemination for Arabs and, to a lesser extent, Persians. Primarily a Christian medium of expression, Syriac had a fundamental cultural and literary influence on the development of Arabic,^[4] which replaced it towards the end of the 8th century. Syriac remains the liturgical language of Syriac Christianity.

Syriac is a Middle Aramaic language, and as such a language of the Northwestern branch of the Semitic family.

Syriac is written in the Syriac alphabet, a derivation of the Aramaic alphabet.

Geographic distribution[link]

Syriac was originally a local Aramaic dialect in Persian-ruled Assyria (Asuristan) and northern Mesopotamia that has evolved under the influence of Christianity into its current form. Before Arabic became the dominant language, Syriac was a major language among Christian communities in the Middle East, Central Asia and Kerala.

Although once a major language in the Fertile Crescent, Syriac is now limited to enclaves in the Nineveh plains, Tur Abdin, the Khabur plains and around the Syrian town of Ma'loula

History[link]

The history of Syriac can be divided into three distinct periods:

• Old Syriac (the language of the kingdom of Osroene),
• Middle Syriac (ܟܬܒܢܝܐ Kṯāḇānāyâ: Literary Syriac), which divided into:
  • Eastern Middle Syriac (the literary and ecclesiastical language of Chaldean, Syro-Malabar and Assyrian Christians),
  • Western Middle Syriac (the literary and ecclesiastical language of Syriac and Maronite Christians).

Origins[link]

Syriac began as an unwritten spoken dialect of Old Aramaic in Assyria/northern Mesopotamia. The first evidence we have of such dialects is their influence on the written Imperial Aramaic from the 5th century BC. After the conquest of Mesopotamia and Aramea (Syria) by Alexander the Great, Syriac and other Aramaic dialects lost their status as imperial languages but continued to flourish a lingua franca alongside Ancient Greek.

In 132 BC, the kingdom of Osroene was founded in Edessa with Syriac as its official language. Syriac-speakers still look to Edessa as the cradle of their language.^[5] There are about eighty extant early Syriac inscriptions, dated to the first three centuries AD (the earliest example of Syriac, rather than Imperial Aramaic, is in an inscription dated to AD 6, and the earliest parchment is a deed of sale dated to AD 243). All of these early examples of the language are non-Christian. As an official language, Syriac was given a relatively coherent form, style and grammar that is lacking in other Old Eastern Aramaic dialects.

Literary Syriac[link]

The sixth beatitude (Matthew 5:8) from an East Syriac Peshitta.
ܛܘܼܒܲܗܘܿܢ ܠܐܲܝܠܹܝܢ ܕܲܕܟܹܝܢ ܒܠܸܒܿܗܘܿܢ܄ ܕܗܸܢܼܘܿܢ ܢܸܚܙܘܲܢ ܠܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ܂‎
Ṭûḇayhôn l'aylên daḏkên b-lebbhôn: d-hennôn neḥzôn l'allāhâ.
'Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.'

In the 3rd century, churches in Edessa began to use Syriac as the language of worship. There is evidence that the adoption of Syriac, the language of the people, was to effect mission. Much literary effort was put into the production of an authoritative translation of the Bible into Syriac, the Peshitta (ܦܫܝܛܬܐ Pšîṭtâ). At the same time, Ephrem the Syrian was producing the most treasured collection of poetry and theology in the Syriac language.

In 489, many Syriac-speaking Christians living in the Roman Empire fled to Persia to escape persecution and growing animosity with Greek-speaking Christians.^{[citation needed]} The Christological differences with the Church of the East led to the bitter Nestorian schism in the Syriac-speaking world. As a result, Syriac developed distinctive western and eastern varieties. Although remaining a single language with a high level of comprehension between the varieties, the two employ distinctive variations in pronunciation and writing system, and, to a lesser degree, in vocabulary.

An 11th-century Syriac manuscript.

Western Syriac is the official language of the West Syrian rite, practiced by the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Syrian Catholic Church, the Maronite Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Mar Thoma Church, and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Eastern Syriac is the liturgical language of the East Syrian rite, practiced in modern times by the Assyrian Church of the East, the Chaldean Syrian Church, the Ancient Church of the East, the Chaldean Catholic Church, and the Syro-Malabar Church.

	Abûn d-ḇašmayâ The Lord's Prayer, Abûn d-ḇašmayâ, sung in Syriac
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Syriac literature is by far the most prodigious of the various Aramaic languages. Its corpus covers poetry, prose, theology, liturgy, hymnody, history, philosophy, science, medicine and natural history. Much of this wealth remains unavailable in critical editions or modern translation.

From the 7th century onwards, Syriac gave way to Arabic as the spoken language of the region. The Mongol invasions of the 13th century further contributed to the rapid decline of the language. In many places outside of northern Mesopotamia, even in liturgy, it was replaced by Arabic.

Current status[link]

Although Syriac isn't used as an everyday language, there have been several attempts to revive it. Revivals of Syriac in recent times have led to some success with the creation of newspapers in literary Syriac (ܟܬܒܢܝܐ Kthābānāyā), similar to the Arabic Fuṣḥā has been used since the early decades of the 20th century. Modern literary Syriac has also been used not only in religious literature but also in secular genres often with nationalistic themes.^[6]

Syriac has been recognised as an official minority language in Iraq.^[7] It is also taught in some public schools in Iraq, Israel and Sweden.^[8][9]

Among the Syriac churches of Kerala, Malayalam often replaces Syriac. Literary Syriac is often used as a spoken language by clerics who do not speak the vernacular dialects.

Grammar[link]

Many Syriac words, like those in other Semitic languages, are built out of triliteral roots, collations of three Syriac consonants with variable vowel sets as a "glue". For example, the root ܫܩܠ, ŠQL, has the basic meaning of taking, and so we have the following words that can be formed from this root:

• ܫܩܠ – šqal: "he took"
• ܢܫܩܘܠ – nešqōl: "he will take"
• ܫܩܠ – šāqel: "he takes, he is taking"
• ܫܩܠ – šaqqel: "he has lifted/raised"
• ܐܫܩܠ – ašqel: "he has set out"
• ܫܩܠܐ – šqālâ: "a taking, burden, recension, portion or syllable"
• ܫܩ̈ܠܐ – šeqlē: "takings, profits, taxes"
• ܫܩܠܘܬܐ – šaqlûṯā: "a beast of burden"
• ܫܘܩܠܐ – šûqālâ: "arrogance"

Nouns[link]

Most Syriac nouns are built from triliteral roots. Nouns carry grammatical gender (masculine or feminine), they can be either singular or plural in number (a very few can be dual) and can exist in one of three grammatical states. These states correspond, in part, to the role of grammatical cases in some other languages.

• The absolute state is the basic form of the noun – ܫܩܠܝ̈ܢ, šeqlîn, "taxes".
• The emphatic state usually represents a definite noun – ܫܩ̈ܠܐ, šeqlē, "the taxes".
• The construct state marks a noun in relationship to another noun – ̈ܫܩܠܝ, šeqlay, "taxes of...".

However, very quickly in the development of Classical Syriac, the emphatic state became the ordinary form of the noun, and the absolute and construct states were relegated to certain stock phrases (for example, ܒܪ ܐܢܫܐ/ܒܪܢܫܐ, bar nāšâ, "man", literally "son of man").

In Old and early Classical Syriac, most genitive noun relationships are built using the construct state. Thus, ܫܩܠܝ̈ ܡܠܟܘܬܐ, šeqlay malkûṯâ, means "the taxes of the kingdom". Quickly, the construct relationship was abandoned and replaced by the use of the relative particle ܕ, d-. Thus, the same noun phrase becomes ܫܩ̈ܠܐ ܕܡܠܟܘܬܐ, šeqlē d-malkûṯâ, where both nouns are in the emphatic state. Very closely related nouns can be drawn into a closer grammatical relationship by the addition of a pronominal suffix. Thus, the phrase can be written as ܫܩܠܝ̈ܗ ܕܡܠܟܘܬܐ, šeqlêh d-malkûṯâ. In this case, both nouns continue to be in the emphatic state, but the first has the suffix that makes it literally read "her taxes" ("kingdom" is feminine), and thus is "her taxes, those of the kingdom".

Adjectives always agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. Adjectives are in the absolute state if they are predicative, but agree with the state of their noun if attributive. Thus, ܒܝܫܝ̈ܢ ܫܩ̈ܠܐ, bîšîn šeqlē, means "the taxes are evil", whereas ܫܩ̈ܠܐ ܒܝ̈ܫܐ, šeqlē ḇîšē, means "evil taxes".

Verbs[link]

Most Syriac verbs are built on triliteral roots as well. Finite verbs carry person, gender (except in the first person) and number, as well as tense and conjugation. The non-finite verb forms are the infinitive and the active and passive participles.

Syriac has only two true morphological tenses: perfect and imperfect. Whereas these tenses were originally aspectual in Aramaic, they have become a truly temporal past and future tenses respectively. The present tense is usually marked with the participle followed by the subject pronoun. However, such pronouns are usually omitted in the case of the third person. This use of the participle to mark the present tense is the most common of a number of compound tenses that can be used to express varying senses of tense and aspect.

Syriac also employs verb conjugations such as are present in other Semitic languages. These are regular modifications of the verb's root to express other changes in meaning. The first conjugation is the ground state, or Pə`al (this name models the shape of the root). form of the verb, which carries the usual meaning of the word. The next is the intensive state, or Pa``el, form of the verb, which usually carries an intensified meaning, The third is the extensive state, or Ap̄`el, form of the verb, which is often causative in meaning. Each of these conjugations has its parallel passive conjugation: the Eṯpə`el, Eṯpa``al and Ettap̄`al respectively. To these six cardinal conjugations are added a few irregular forms, like the Šap̄`el and Eštap̄`al, which generally have an extensive meaning.

Phonology[link]

Phonologically, like the other Northwest Semitic languages, Syriac has 22 consonants and 3 vowels. The consonantal phonemes are:

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Phonetically, there is some variation in the pronunciation of Syriac in its various forms. The various Modern Eastern Aramaic vernaculars have quite different pronunciations, and these sometimes influence how the classical language is pronounced, for example, in public prayer. Classical Syriac has two major streams of pronunciation: western and eastern.

Consonants[link]

Syriac shares with Aramaic a set of lightly contrasted plosive/fricative pairs. In different variations of a certain lexical root, a root consonant might exist in plosive form in one variation and fricative form in another. In the Syriac alphabet, a single letter is used for each pair. Sometimes a dot is placed above the letter (qûššāyâ, or strengthening; equivalent to a dagesh in Hebrew) to mark that the plosive pronunciation is required, and a dot is placed below the letter (rûkkāḵâ, or softening) to mark that the fricative pronunciation is required. The pairs are:

• Voiced labial pair – /b/ and /v/
• Voiced velar pair – /ɡ/ and /ɣ/
• Voiced dental pair – /d/ and /ð/
• Voiceless labial pair – /p/ and /f/
• Voiceless velar pair – /k/ and /x/
• Voiceless dental pair – /t/ and /θ/

As with other Semitic languages, Syriac has a set of five emphatic consonants. These are consonants that are articulated or released in the pharynx or slightly higher. The set consists of:

• Voiceless pharyngeal fricative – /ħ/
• Pharyngealized voiceless dental plosive – /tˤ/
• Voiced pharyngeal fricative – /ʕ/
• Pharyngealized voiceless alveolar fricative – /sˤ/
• Voiceless uvular plosive – /q/

Syriac also has a rich array of sibilant consonants:

• Voiced alveolar fricative – /z/
• Voiceless alveolar fricative – /s/
• Pharyngealized voiceless alveolar fricative – /sˤ/
• Voiceless postalveolar fricative – /ʃ/

Vowels[link]

As with most Semitic languages, the vowels of Syriac are mostly subordinated to consonants. Especially in the presence of an emphatic consonant, vowels tend to become mid-centralised.

Classical Syriac had the following set of distinguishable vowels:

• Close front unrounded vowel – /i/
• Close-mid front unrounded vowel – /e/
• Open-mid front unrounded vowel – /ɛ/
• Open front unrounded vowel – /a/
• Open back unrounded vowel – /ɑ/
• Close-mid back rounded vowel – /o/
• Close back rounded vowel – /u/

In the western dialect, /ɑ/ has become /o/, and the original /o/ has merged with /u/. In eastern dialects there is more fluidity in the pronunciation of front vowels, with some speakers distinguishing five qualities of such vowels, and others only distinguishing three. Vowel length is generally not important: close vowels tend to be longer than open vowels.

The open vowels form diphthongs with the approximants /j/ and /w/. In almost all dialects the full sets of possible diphthongs collapses into two or three actual pronunciations:

• /aj/ sometimes monophthongized to /e/
• /aw/ usually becomes /ɑw/
• /ɑj/ usually becomes /aj/, but the western dialect has /oj/
• /ɑw/ sometimes monophthongized to /o/

See also[link]

	Assyrians portal
	Syriac Christianity portal

• Syriac alphabet
• Syriac literature
• Peshitta
• Ephrem the Syrian
• Syriac music
• Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium
• Turoyo
• Syrian Arabic

References[link]

• Journal of Sacred Literature, New Series [Series 4] vol. 2 (1863) pp. 75–87, The Syriac Language and Literature
• Beyer, Klaus (1986). The Aramaic language: its distribution and subdivisions. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht. ISBN 3-525-53573-2.
• Brock, Sebastian (2006). An Introduction to Syriac Studies. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. ISBN 1-59333-349-8.
• Brockelmann, Carl (1895). Lexicon Syriacum. Berlin: Reuther & Reichard; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
• Healey, John F (1980). First studies in Syriac. University of Birmingham/Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 0-7044-0390-0.
• Maclean, Arthur John (2003). Grammar of the dialects of vernacular Syriac: as spoken by the Eastern Syrians of Kurdistan, north-west Persia, and the Plain of Mosul: with notices of the vernacular of the Jews of Azerbaijan and of Zakhu near Mosul. Gorgias Press. ISBN 1-59333-018-9.
• Nöldeke, Theodor and Julius Euting (1880) Kurzgefasste syrische Grammatik. Leipzig: T.O. Weigel. [translated to English as Compendious Syriac Grammar, by James A. Crichton. London: Williams & Norgate 1904. 2003 edition: ISBN 1-57506-050-7].
• Payne Smith, Jessie (Ed.) (1903). A compendious Syriac dictionary founded upon the Thesaurus Syriacus of Robert Payne Smith. Oxford University Press, reprinted in 1998 by Eisenbraums. ISBN 1-57506-032-9.
• Robinson, Theodore Henry (1915). Paradigms and exercises in Syriac grammar. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-926129-6.

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Syriac language

Syriac language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• Syriacdictionary.net, Syriac Dictionary in four languages
• Langues araméennes on wikisyr.com
• Beth Mardutho – The Syriac Institute
• New Aramaic Bibel in mp3 and Worshipsongs
• Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies
• Payne Smith's Compendious Syriac Dictionary
• Ethnologue report on Syriac
• Suryoyo Online – Online Journal of Syrian Orthodox Church, Syriac Studies and Aramaeans
• Introduction To The Syriac-Aramaic Language – an introduction and resources from a popular Maronite website
• Syriac–English–French Online Dictionary – poor general coverage
• Beth Sapra: A Scribe's Library: contains two old Syriac grammars in the public domain and the Gospels in Syriac
• Other Public Domain Syriac grammars at the Internet Archive

Ignatius Zakka I Iwas (Syriac: ܐܝܓܢܐܛܝܘܣ ܙܟܝ ܩܕܡܝܐ ܥܝܘܐܨ, Arabic: إغناطيوس زكا الأول عيواص‎, Zakkà ‘Īwāṣ, born Sanharib Iwas (Arabic: سنحريب عيواص‎) on 21 April 1933) is the 122nd reigning Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and, as such, Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. Also known by his traditional episcopal name, Severios, he was enthroned as patriarch on 14 September 1980 in St. George's Patriarchal Cathedral in Damascus. He succeeded Ignatius Ya`qub III. As is traditional for the head of the church, Severios has adopted the name Ignatius.

Iwas is known for his involvement in ecumenical dialogue. He is a president of the World Council of Churches^{[citation needed]} and is also a prolific author. He was an observer at Second Vatican Council before becoming metropolitan bishop of Mosul. At the time of his election as patriarch, Iwas had been archbishop of Baghdad and Basra.

As patriarch, he established a monastic seminary, met with Pope John Paul II during the Roman Pope's trip to Syria in 2001, and installed numerous metropolitans, including Baselios Thomas I as Catholicos of India. He celebrated his Silver Jubilee in 2005.

Early life and studies[link]

Iwas was born on 21 April 1933 in Mosul, Iraq.^[1] His parents named him Sanharib Iwas at birth after the ancient Assyrian King and Christian convert Sennacherib II.^[2] He completed his elementary studies at the school of Our Lady's Parish and was transferred to St. Thomas Syriac Orthodox Church School, both in Mosul. In 1946, he began his theological studies in the city's Mor Ephrem seminary. At the seminary, his birth name was replaced by the name Zakka. There, in 1948, he was ordained as a deacon with the rank of Reader. In the year 1953, he was promoted to the rank of half-deacon. The following year saw Iwas take monastic vows. He left Mosul at that time to become secretary to the patriarchs, Afram Barsoum and then Ya`qub III. In 1955 he was promoted to the rank of deacon.^[1]

On 17 November 1957, Patriarch Ya`qub III ordained Iwas a priest and, two years later, gave him the pectoral cross as rabban. In 1960, Iwas pursued further study in New York. There, he studied oriental languages and completed a master's degree in English at City University and a further master's in pastoral theology at the General Theological Seminary.^[1]

Metropolitan bishop and patriarch[link]

In 1962 and 1963, Iwas was delegated by the patriarch as observer at Second Vatican Council. On 17 November 1963, he was ordained by Patriarch Ya`qub III as metropolitan bishop of Mosul. As is the tradition in the church, he took an episcopal name, Severios. The next year, during renovation work on the sanctuary wall of the metropolitan church in Mosul, what were reputed to be the remains of the Apostle Thomas were found. In 1969, Iwas was transferred to be archbishop of Baghdad and Basra. Nine years later, he was given additional responsibility for the new diocese of Australia.^[1]

Following the death of Patriarch Ya`qub III on 25 June 1980, Iwas was elected by the synod of the church to be the 122nd Syriac Patriarch of Antioch. He was enthroned as patriarch on 14 September, the feast of the Cross, by Baselios Paulose II, Catholicos of the East, in St. George's Patriarchal Cathedral in Damascus.^[1] As is traditional for the head of the church, he adopted the name Ignatius at this time. Being the first patriarch to be named Zakka, his name is often written as Ignatius Zakka I Iwas. His full titulary is:

Syriac: ܩܕܝܫܘܬܗ ܡܪܢ ܡܪܝ ܐܝܓܢܐܛܝܘܣ ܙܟܝ ܩܕܡܝܐ ܥܝܘܐܨ܃ ܦܛܪܝܪܟܐ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ

transliteration: Qaddîšûṯeh Îgnaṭyûs Zakkay Qaḏmoyo ʿÎwaṣ, Paṭryarḵo d-Anṭyuḵya

English: His Holiness Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church

As Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I, he has been involved in ecumenical dialogue and is a president of the World Council of Churches. The Chalcedonian schism is not seen to have great relevance any more and, from dialogue with the Roman pope, a reconciling declaration emerged that stated, in part:

Iwas is a member in different Eastern and Western Academies and has authored a number of books on Christian education, theology, history, and culture in Syriac and the Arabic and English languages.^[1] He established a monastic seminary, the Monastery of St. Ephrem The Syrian, at Marret Saidnaya. Inaugurated on 14 September 1996, this Monastery forms part of a larger project which will include different centers and facilities.^[1] During the visit of Pope John Paul II to Syria in 2001, the Pope paid an historic visit to Iwas in Damascus. The meeting took place on 6 May in Saint George's Patriarchal Cathedral at Bab Touma. The following year, Iwas installed Dionysius Thomas, the president of the Episcopal Synod of Indian Church, as the Catholicos of India with the title Baselios Thomas I. Celebrations were held for Iwas's Silver Jubilee on 14 September 2005.

See also[link]

• List of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch
• Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church
• Ignatius Elias III

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ignatius Zakka I Iwas

• Biography from Margonitho: Syriac Orthodox Resources
• Biography of the Holy father