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Syro-Arabian Orthodox Church

These are Syrians of the schismatic Greek Rite who use the Arabic language in their liturgy. They are nearly all from the Patriarchate of Antioch, which is quasi-schismatic towards Constantinople but closely affiliated with Russia. They of course began to immigrate to the United States at the time that the other Syrians, Melchites, and Maronites, came.

The Uniate Churches in Palestine

p>The Uniate Churches (Eastern Churches acknowledging the general supremacy of the Pope, but preserving in a greater or lesser degree their own liturgies and customs) represented in Palestine are the following: Melchites, Maronites, Armenian Uniates, Nestorian Uniates or Chaldaeans, Jacobite Uniates or Syrians and Abyssinian Uniates. These churches are represented in Palestine by very small flocks, principally resident in Jerusalem.

The most considerable of these communities as regards Palestine is that of the Melchites, who have a seminary connected with the Church of S. Anne in Jerusalem, governed since 1878 by the White Fathers. The Melchite Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem (Mgr. Kadi) generally lives in Damascus ; a Melchite Archbishop of Galilee resides at Haifa. The Armenian Uniates possess a handsome cathedral in Jerusalem (Our Lady of the Spasm), and are under a VicarGeneral ; from 1855 to 1867 there was an Armenian Uniate Archbishop of Jerusalem.

Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem

From early times there has been a Bishop of the Armenian (Gregorian) Church in Jerusalem, where the Armenians have a community of some hundreds and enjoy the ownership or part-ownership of several of the Holy Places. Their Cathedral of S. James the Less, together with a vast Patriarchate, schools, chapels, and gardens, occupies most of the south-west corner of the old city. In the seventh century, according to some authorities, the Armenian Bishops of Jerusalem obtained the title of Patriarch ; and there is record of the Patriarch Zacharias being taken prisoner by Chosroes. In 1006 the Patriarch was Arsen; in 1311, Sarkis (Sergius). The jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem extends over the Gregorian Armenians in Palestine, Cyprus, and parts of Syria. In September, 1921, His Beatitude Yeghiche' Turian, ex-Patriarch of Constantinople, was elected Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, after the throne had been vacant for eleven years, and was enthroned on the 7th November following after receiving the formal approval of the King to his appointment. This was the first occasion on which a British Sovereign off1cially approved the election of an Eastern Patriarch.

Jacobite Bishopric of Jerusalem

The Jacobites take their name from Jacob Baradai, who built up a Monophysite Church in Syria in the sixth century. They are in communion with the Copts. Their rite is a Syriac form of the ancient rite of Antioch, with the liturgy attributed to S. James the Less. We first hear of a Jacobite Bishop of Jerusalem at the end of the sixth century (Severus), and from 1140 onwards the succession is regularly maintained. For centuries the office of Bishop of Jerusalem was combined with that of 'Mafrian,' who was the principal auxiliary of the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch. The present Jacobite Bishop of Jerusalem is assisted by a Suffragan, and his residence is the convent built around the traditional house of S. Mark in Jerusalem.

Copts

The first Coptic Metropolitan of Jerusalem was appointed in the middle of the thirteenth century, since when there has been a regular succession, although at present the Metropolitan spends most of his time in Egypt, being represented in Palestine during his absences by a Vicar-General. The episcopal residence adjoins the eastern end of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, _and there is a large Coptic Convent at Jaffa, principally intended for the accommodation of Coptic pilgrims from Egypt.

Maronite Patriarchal Church of Antioch

The Maronite Church is a Christian community of Syrian origin, most of whose members live in Lebanon. It has been in union with the Roman Catholic Church since 1182, and is the only Eastern church which is entirely Catholic. As a uniate body (an Eastern church in communion with Rome, which retains its respective language, rites and canon law) it possesses its own liturgy, which is in essence an Antiochene rite in the Syriac language. Most members of the Maronite community in Israel reside in the Galilee. The Maronite Patriarchal Vicariate in Jerusalem dates from 1895.