The Church of Antioch is the most ancient Christian Church because, as the Acts of the Apostles tells us, it was at Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called Christian.

City of Antioch

The city of Antioch is situated on the banks of the Orontes River, near the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The city itself was built by Seleucus Nicotor, "The Conqueror," a general of Alexander the Great, and one of his successors who divided the vast empire that Alexander and his generals had conquered.

After Alexander's death Seleucus acquired Syria for his share and founded Antioch as his capital in the year 300 bc. He named it in honour of his father Antiochus. From that time it became the metropolis of all Syria.

During the era of the Roman Empire, Antioch became the third capital of the whole Empire, after Rome and Alexandria.

When Syria was organized into a province of the Roman Empire by Pompey in 64 bc, Antioch was designated as the provincial capital and residence of the Roman legate. In 27 bc Syria became an Imperial Province and the importance of Antioch increased.

Today, Antioch lies within the boundaries of Turkey, the area having been annexed from Syria in 1939.

Christian Importance of Antioch

Antioch is frequently mentioned throughout both the Old and New Testaments, but most frequently in the Acts of the Apostles. Saint Nicholas, one of the original seven deacons, was a convert from Antioch (Acts 6:5). Christian refugees fled to Antioch during the persecution of the Church in Jerusalem which saw the martyrdom of Saint Stephen (Acts 9).

It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called by the name "Christian" (Acts 11:26).

With Antioch's excellent location and communications by land and sea, and with its strong Christian community, it was only natural that it serve as the base for the missionary journeys of Saint Paul and his companions (Acts 13:1). No other city played such an important part in the earliest beginnings of non-Jewish Christianity.

Antioch was the centre from which the Christian faith was propagated all over the Roman world. "Now in the Church of Antioch there were prophets and teachers. While they were worshiping the Lord,  the Holy Spirit told them,   'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off" (Acts 13:1-9).

From Antioch, Saint Paul started his trips to Asia Minor and the western Roman world, including Rome itself. 

Church tradition maintains that the See of Antioch was founded by Saint Peter the Apostle in 34 AD (Acts 2:26). Saint Peter was either followed or joined by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas who preached there to both Jews and to non-Jews. Antioch had a vibrant Jewish community at the time. 

It was in Antioch that one of the first conflicts within the Church developed between the Apostles Peter and Paul. The conflict was about whether male converts to Christianity needed to follow all the Jewish law including being circumcised. It was the resolution of this conflict at the Council of Jerusalem under Saint James the Apostle that determined the direction of the Antiochian mission to the non-Jews, and the dynamic nature of that Christian community in its missionary outreach.

The Apostles directed a truly universal ministry. After spending some seven years in Antioch, Saint Peter left for Rome. To succeed him as bishop of Antioch, he consecrated his disciple Aphodus, who is thus counted from the earliest episcopal lists as the first successor to the Antiochian throne of Saint Peter. The multiple Apostolic foundation of the Christian community of Antioch, the early missions centred there and the active nature of the community, as recorded in the New Testament, are a unique heritage to all who trace their spiritual and ecclesiastical roots to the Antiochian Patriarchate.

The importance of Antioch for church administration is based on the fact that the first church in Christianity was established in Antioch. "So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul [who became later known as Saint Paul], and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large company of people. And in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians" (Acts 11:25-26).

Fathers of Antioch

The Church of Antioch continued its essential contributions to the universal Church by the numerous outstanding personalities it nurtured. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, for example, is revered as both a victorious martyr during the reign of Emperor Trajan (early second century) and as a reliable historical source for the structure of Church life. Saint Ignatius was the second successor to Saint Peter and may actually have been consecrated by that Apostle or Saint Paul.

Antioch was famous for its theological school which was one of the best in all of Christendom. It adopted the Realism system, which is one of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle's principles, while the school of Alexandria followed the Idealism system which is one of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato's principles. Many well-known fathers were educated in the school of Antioch, such as Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Saint John Chrysostom, and many others. On the same principles, St Ephram the Syrian, re-established the school of Edessa in the fourth century.

From that time on, Antioch was destroyed more than five times due to earthquakes, and ceased its commercial and strategic importance because of these.

1. Rome in the west, 
2. Constantinople in the north-east,
3. Alexandria in the south, 
4. Antioch in the east, and 
5. Jerusalem, the original city of God. 

The bishop in each of these major cities was recognized as having co-ordinating authority and appelate jurisdiction over other bishops in his specific region. As such, they were distinguished by the title "Patriarch" (from the Greek meaning "Chief Father"). 

The present Patriarch of Antioch, His Beatitude Ignatius IV, is the 165th successor of the first bishop of Antioch, Saint Peter the Apostle.

In the year 1268 ad, the Orthodox patriarchs left the city forever and  wandered from one place to another. Finally, they settled down in Damascus in the year 1366 ad. Damascus by that time was the main city in Syria, and it remains to this time the centre of the Antiochian Patriarchs.

As the country underwent deep changes in administration and most of the population shifted from one place to another because of the Arab conquest, the great majority were compelled to embrace Islam. The number of bishoprics were reduced. Before the Arabic conquest, almost the entire population of Syria was Christian.

Three centuries later, a great number of the remainder were compelled to embrace Islam by force, because Islam was the official religion of the state. Then in the period that followed and after the decomposition of the Arab empire, the Christians were the object of a long and severe persecution, directed by the small states, which emerged from the great Arab empires the Omayad, and from the Abbasides. This persecution reduced the Christians to a small minority.

The Patriarchate of Antioch has jurisdiction over 5 million Orthodox Christians, mainly in the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Kuwait), and in the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. It is grouped into 20 dioceses.

The Orthodox Church is the largest Christian body in the Middle East.

In 2005, the Orthodox Church in Europe had about the same number of followers as the Catholic Church in Europe.

The Patriarchate of Antioch is truly multi-national, multi-ethnic, and multi-language. Antioch does not have any hidden cultural agenda nor does it dream of the glories of former empire. 

The Church of Antioch is best able to offer Christian protection and guidance to people of all languages, cultures, ethnicities and nationalities, in the true Christian tradition of conciliarity and consensus, without heavy-handed direction from above.