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The Ancient Church of the East
List of Patriarchs Mar Addai II
Headquarters Baghdad Iraq
Territory Iraq, Iran
Language Assyrian
Followers 50,000–70,000[1]
Website http://www.karozota.com/

The Ancient Church of the East (Template:Lang-syr, Arabic: كنيسة المشرق القديمة‎) separated from the Assyrian Church of the East in 1964, after Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII, the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East introduced reforms which were not supported by a certain number of traditionalist followers of the church. Baghdad is the seat of the Ancient Church of the East and Mar Thoma Darmo its first Catholicos-Patriarch (1968-1969). The present head of the church is Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Addai II since 1970.

Establishment[]

File:Patriarch Mar Thoma Darmo.jpg

His Holiness Mar Thoma Darmo

The Ancient Church of the East was established in opposition to reforms introduced in the Assyrian Church of the East including using the new Roman liturgical calendar rather than the traditional calendar. The schism arose in the Assyrian Church of the East in 1964 in resistance to these changes made to the church, thereby causing a separate Ancient Church of the East to be established and centered in Baghdad. In 1968, the followers of the newly established church elected a rival catholicos-patriarch Mar Thoma Darmo while Mar Shimun XXIII continued as the official head of the Assyrian Church of the East.

The elected catholicos-patriarch was a native of Mesopotamia, a former Metropolitan of the Assyrian Church of the East in India from 1952 to 1968 based at Thrissur, India. He became the head of the Ancient Church of the East in October 1968 and relocated to Baghdad. Following his death in 1969, Mar Addai II was elected to head the Ancient Church of the East in February 1970.

Organization[]

The Ancient Church of the East is divided into a number of archdioceses and dioceses as follows:

  • Patriarchal Archdiocese of Baghdad (Baghdad, Iraq) - Overseen by H.H. Mar Addai II Catholicos Patriarch
  • Archidiocese of Kirkuk (Kirkuk, Iraq) - Overseen by Archbishop Mar Narsai Toma
  • Archidiocese of Nineveh (Mosul, Iraq) - Overseen by Archbishop Mar Toma Gewargis
  • Archidiocese of Syria and Lebanon
  • Archidiocese of Europe (Mainz, Germany) - Overseen by Archbishop Timothaus Mar Shallita
  • Diocese of USA and Canada (Chicago, Illinois) - Overseen by Bishop Mar Emmanuel Eilya
  • Diocese of California (Modesto, California) - Overseen by Bishop Mar Daniel Yako
  • Diocese of Australia and New Zealand - Overseen by Archbishop Mar Yacoub Daniel

List of Catholicoi-Patriarchs of the Ancient Church of the East[]

See also[]

References[]

  • Mar Aprem Mooken, The Assyrian Church of the East in the Twentieth Century. Mōrān ’Eth’ō, 18. (Kottayam: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2003).
  • Bishop James Hess, Nestorian Apostolic Bishop, "Bishops at Large", by Bishop Alan Bain published in the UK. 1985
  • Most Rev James H Hess, "A Directory of Autocephalous Bishops" by Bishop Karl Pruter, St Willibrord Press, USA, 1985
  • Rev George Badger (Anglican priest and protege of the Archbishop of Canterbury), "Nestorians and Their Rituals", published by Oxford University circa 1860.
  • The Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England, as published in the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England, Cambridge University Press, 1968
  • "The Pearl (Marganitha), On The Truth of Christianity" Written in the year 1298 AD by Mar Odisho, Metropolitan of Suwa and Armenia. Translated and published in English by the late Patriarch, Shimun (Simon) XXIII, in 1964.
  1. Baumer, Christoph (2006) (in English) (Hardback), The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity (1st ed.), London, England, United Kingdom: I.B. Tauris, p. 272, ISBN 1-84511-115-X 

External links[]


ar:كنيسة المشرق القديمة frp:Anciana Égllése du Levant da:Østens Gamle Kirke ml:പുരാതന പൗരസ്ത്യ സഭ simple:Ancient Church of the East

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