The Holy Qurbono

In time, the Syrian Church, with its liturgy in Syriac, spread across the East, reaching Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, and even extending to China and India. While Antioch served as a central hub, Edessa, situated on the border of Syria and Mesopotamia, also became a prominent centre. In the 4th century, Edessa developed a flourishing school of Christian learning, with St. Ephrem as its renowned doctor. The liturgy in Edessa, differing significantly from that of Antioch, became known as the East Syrian or Chaldean Rite.

The Syrian liturgical tradition owes much to St. Ephrem and his successors, who enriched it with a vast array of hymns and spiritual songs, making it one of the richest sources of Christian poetry. The Syrian Church also upheld a strong ascetic tradition, emerging as a centre for monastic life. Its hermits and monks rivaled those of Egypt in the rigour of their ascetic practices and depth of spirituality. The liturgy, largely developed in monasteries, bore the imprint of the monastic ideal of Christian perfection.

The Church also faced intense persecution, particularly in Persia during the 4th and 5th centuries, resulting in a vast number of martyrs. This period gave the Syrian Church a distinctive calendar of martyrs and saints, enriching its unique character. Deeply connected to the world of the Bible due to its Semitic language and culture, the Church revered the Patriarchs and Prophets of the Old Testament alongside the Apostles of the New Testament. It held a profound devotion to Mary, the Mother of God, expressed through its poetic tradition.

The Syrian Church's liturgical, doctrinal, and spiritual wealth also fostered a spirit of missionary enterprise, propelling its influence across Asia to China and India. At its height, the Syrian Church was one of the most widespread in Christendom.

Unfortunately, theological disputes in the 5th and 6th centuries led to separations from the Catholic Church. Disagreements about the relationship between the divine and human nature in Christ caused divisions:

• The East Syrian Church, emphasizing the reality of Christ's human nature, came to be associated with Nestorianism, condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.
• The West Syrian Church, emphasizing the divine nature, was linked to Monophysitism, which argued for one nature in Christ. This doctrine was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. The West Syrian Church was later organized by Jacob Baradaeus in the 6th century, earning it the name Jacobite Church.

Today, it is widely acknowledged that these theological disputes were largely based on terminology, and both traditions maintained an essentially orthodox doctrine. Despite being divided from the broader Christian world, these churches preserved their rich liturgical, doctrinal, and spiritual heritage, which remains a significant treasure in Christian tradition.

In subsequent centuries, several groups from these separated churches reunited with the Catholic Church, leading to the establishment of Syrian churches in communion with Rome. These include:

• The Maronites,
• The Chaldeans,
• The Antiochene Syrians in the Middle East,
• The Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara churches in India.