View source for Ancient Church of the East

{{Short description|Eastern Christian denomination}}
{{distinguish|Assyrian Church of the East|Church of the East}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
| icon               =
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| name               = Ancient Church of the East
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| image              = Church Church of the Virgin Mary in Baghdad.jpg
| imagewidth         = 200px
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| caption            = Cathedral of the Virgin Mary<br /> [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]]
| abbreviation       = ACE
| main_classification = [[Eastern Christianity]]
| orientation        = [[Syriac Christianity]]
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| governance         =
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| leader_title       = [[Catholicos]]-[[Patriarch of the Church of the East|Patriarch]]
| leader_name        = Gewargis III Younan
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| language           = [[Syriac language|Syriac]]
| liturgy            = [[East Syriac Rite]]
| headquarters       = [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]]
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| separated_from     = [[Assyrian Church of the East]]
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| members            = <!-- or |number_of_followers = --> approx. 75,000, of which 45,000 are in Iraq and 20,000 in India (1999)<ref name="blackwell1" />
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The '''Ancient Church of the East''' ('''ACE''') is an [[Eastern Christian]] denomination. It branched from the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] in 1964, under the leadership of [[Mar (title)|Mar]] [[Thoma Darmo|Toma Darmo]] (d. 1969). It is one of three [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] Churches that claim continuity with the historical [[Church of the East]] (the ancient [[Patriarchal Province of Seleucia-Ctesiphon]]), the others being the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] and the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]]. Since 1969, the see of the Ancient Church of the East is headquartered in Baghdad.<ref name="blackwell1" />
== History ==
{{Update|section|date=November 2023}}
In 1964, a decision by [[Patriarch]] Mar [[Shimun XXIII Eshai]] of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] to switch over from the traditional [[Julian calendar]] to the [[Gregorian calendar]] led part of the Church of the East, to split off in a [[Schism in Christianity|schism]]. The breakaway group called itself the Ancient Church of the East and in 1968 [[Consecration|consecrated]] their own patriarch, [[Thoma Darmo|Mar Toma Darmo]], who strongly opposed to the system of hereditary succession of the position of patriarch of the Church of the East, as well as its adoption of the Gregorian calendar "and other modernizing measures". Mar Darmo was also joined by "various other groups opposed to Mar Shimun."<ref name="blackwell1">{{Cite book|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/9781405166584|title=The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity|date=2017-09-01|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-4051-6658-4|editor-last=Parry|editor-first=Ken|location=Oxford, UK|pages=122–3|language=en|chapter=Church of the East|doi=10.1002/9781405166584|orig-year=1999|editor2-last=Melling|editor2-first=David J.|editor3-last=Brady|editor3-first=Dimitri|editor4-last=Griffith|editor4-first=Sidney H.|editor5-last=Healey|editor5-first=John F.}}</ref>
Mar Yacob III Daniel was elected as new patriarch in June 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fides |first=Agenzia |title=ASIA/IRAQ - Mar Yakoob III Danil elected new Patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East - Agenzia Fides |url=http://www.fides.org/en/news/72313-ASIA_IRAQ_Mar_Yakoob_III_Danil_elected_new_Patriarch_of_the_Ancient_Church_of_the_East%7B%7BBare+URL+inline%7Cdate=December+2022%7D%7D |access-date=18 December 2022 |website=www.fides.org}}</ref> However, he abdicated two months later in August 2022,<ref>{{Cite web |last=SyriacPress |date=2022-08-15 |title=Patriarch of Ancient Church of the East Mar Yakoob III Danil abdicates two months after election |url=https://syriacpress.com/blog/2022/08/15/patriarch-of-ancient-church-of-the-east-mar-yakoob-iii-danil-abdicates-two-months-after-election/ |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=SyriacPress |language=en-US}}</ref> and on 12 November 2022 the Holy Synod elected Mar Gewargis Younan to take his place. The consecration of the patriarch-elect was scheduled to take place in Baghdad in June 2023,<ref>{{Cite web |last=SyriacPress |date=2022-11-15 |title=Mor Gorgis Younan elected as new Patriarch of Ancient Church of the East |url=https://syriacpress.com/blog/2022/11/15/mor-gorgis-younan-elected-as-new-patriarch-of-ancient-church-of-the-east/ |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=SyriacPress |language=en-US}}</ref> and on 9 June, Mar Gewargis III Younan was consecrated as the 110th Patriarch of the Ancient Church of The East.
== Organisation ==
=== Holy Synod ===
The [[Holy Synod]] is listed as follow:
* Mar Gewargis III Younan, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Whole World (seat in [[Baghdad, Iraq]])
* Mar Yacob Daniel, Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Baghdad and Basra (seat in [[Baghdad and Basra]])
* Mar Zaia Khoshaba, Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Canada and the United States (seat in [[Toronto, Canada]])
* Mar Toma Aramia, Metropolitan who resides in Canada (seat in [[Toronto, Canada]])
* Mar Shimun Daniel Alkhoury,<ref>{{Cite web|title=رئيس الديوان يحضر مراسيم تكريس الاب دانيال الخوري طيماثيوس أسقفا على ايبارشية العراق للكنيسة الشرقية القديمة|url=https://www.cese.iq/akhbar/CESE-arch-2021/akh-arch-90-26092021.htm|access-date=2022-01-13|website=www.cese.iq}}</ref> Bishop of Iraq and the Middle East.
== List of catholicos-patriarchs ==
=== Prior to 1964 ===
{{further|List of patriarchs of the Church of the East}}
=== Since 1968 ===
* [[Thoma Darmo]] (1968–1969)
* [[Addai II Giwargis]] (1972–2022)
* Yacob III Daniel (2022–2022)
* Gewargis III Younan (9 June 2023<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/assyrian/en/podcast-episode/the-inauguration-of-his-beatitude-mar-giwargis-younan-as-the-hundred-and-tenth-patriarch/cnd1m5grt | title=New era for the Ancient Church of the East: The inauguration of His Grace Mar Gewargis Younan }}</ref> – present)
==Relationship with the Assyrian Church of the East==
Under the tenure of Addai II, the Ancient Church of the East has made several gestures towards reunification with the Assyrian Church of the East. The most prominent of these is undoubtedly the declaration made in June 2010 stating that the Ancient Church of the East would now celebrate [[Christmas]] in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Previously, the church used the traditional Julian date for the Christmas Day (December 25 of the Julian calendar currently corresponds to January 7 of the Gregorian Calendar), as the Church of the East had throughout its history. The decision was to be implemented later that year, on December 25, 2010.<ref>[http://theassyrian.com.au/news/global/ancient-church-of-the-east-moves-to-change-calendar The Assyrian: Ancient Church of the East moves to change calendar] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706112523/http://theassyrian.com.au/global/ancient-church-of-the-east-moves-to-change-calendar |date=2011-07-06 }}</ref>
=== Dialogue for reunification ===
Following the death (March 2015) of [[Dinkha IV]], Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East,<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 April 2015|title=Decree of the Holy Synod|url=https://news.assyrianchurch.org/decree-of-the-holy-synod/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-13|website=Assyrian Church News|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116184510/http://news.assyrianchurch.org/decree-of-the-holy-synod/ |archive-date=2017-01-16 }}</ref> dialogue of unification continued between the churches.
On May 22, 2015, a meeting involving prelates of both Holy Councils took place in Chicago, Illinois, in the library of St. Andrew's Assyrian Church of the East. Present were Yacoub Daniel, Zaia Khoshaba, and Gewargis Younan representing the Ancient Church of the East, and Gewargis Sliwa, Awa Royel, and Iskhaq Yousif representing the Assyrian Church of the East. Archdeacon William Toma served as the meeting's common secretary. Yacoub Daniel flew in from Australia for the meeting, and Zaia traveled from Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|title=PRESS RELEASE|url=https://news.assyrianchurch.org/press-release/|access-date=2022-01-13|website=Assyrian Church News|language=en-US}}</ref>
On June 1, 2015, the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East met in Erbil, Iraq, to discuss the future of the church. The date had previously been arranged for the election of the new Catholicos-Patriarch. Awa Royel issued a statement on the same day, notifying the public that a response to the Ancient Church of the East's recommendations for reunification had been delivered to their prelates. The letter requested a prompt response to the terms, and the election of the new Patriarch was suspended until the following week, on June 8, 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Press Release from the holy Council of Bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East|url=https://news.assyrianchurch.org/press-release-from-the-holy-council-of-bishops-of-the-assyrian-church-of-the-east/|access-date=2022-01-13|website=Assyrian Church News|language=en-US}}</ref>
On June 5, 2015, Aprem Mooken issued a formal statement announcing that the election of the next Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East was suspended until September (2015), pending the unification of the churches.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.assyrianchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/COMMUNIQUE-IN-ENGLISH.pdf|title=Statement of the Council of Hierarchs of the Assyrian Church of the East (2015)|accessdate=18 December 2022}}</ref>
It turned out that unification was not achievable. On 18 September, Assyrian Church of the East elected [[Gewargis III]] as the new head of the Church, and he was consecrated and enthroned as Catholicos-Patriarch on 27 September 2015.<ref name="Biography of His Holiness Mar Gewargis III">{{cite web|last1=Royel|first1=Mar Awa|title=Biography of His Holiness Mar Gewargis III|url=http://news.assyrianchurch.org/2015/09/28/biography-of-hh-mar-gewargis-iii/12463|website=Holy Catholic Apostolic Assyrian Church of the East Official News Website|publisher=Assyrian Church of the East|access-date=29 September 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002025212/http://news.assyrianchurch.org/2015/09/28/biography-of-hh-mar-gewargis-iii/12463|archive-date=2 October 2015}}</ref>
In spite of the fact that unification was not achieved, leaders of both Churches have continued to promote various forms of mutual cooperation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chicago Commemorates the 100th Martyrdom Anniversary of Mar Benyamin Shimun XXI|url=https://news.assyrianchurch.org/chicago-commemorates-the-100th-martyrdom-anniversary-of-mar-benyamin-shimun-xxi/|access-date=2022-01-13|website=Assyrian Church News|language=en-US}}</ref>
After the death of [[Mar Addai II]], reunification failed in May 2022 and the election of a new patriarch was therefore launched.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 June 2022 |title=Ancient Church of the East picks new patriarch, puts brakes on reunification |url=https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Ancient-Church-of-the-East-picks-new-patriarch,-puts-brakes-on-reunification-55956.html |website=AsiaNews}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite web |date=2022-06-04 |title=New patriarch elected for the Ancient Church of the East |url=https://syriacpress.com/blog/2022/06/04/new-patriarch-elected-for-the-ancient-church-of-the-east/ |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=SyriacPress |language=en-US}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Assyrian people]]
* [[Chaldean Catholic Church]]
* [[Chaldean Syrian Church]]
* [[Church of the East]]
* [[East Syrian Rite]]
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
=== Sources ===
{{Refbegin|2}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Baum|first1=Wilhelm|author-link1=Wilhelm Baum (historian)|last2=Winkler|first2=Dietmar W.|title=The Church of the East: A Concise History|year=2003|location=London-New York|publisher=Routledge-Curzon|isbn=9781134430192|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnSCAgAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Baumer|first=Christoph|title=The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity|year=2006|location=London-New York|publisher=Tauris|isbn=9781845111151|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SQ7ZAAAAMAAJ}}
{{refend}}
== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book|last=Mooken|first=Aprem|author-link=Aprem Mooken|title=The History of the Assyrian Church of the East in the Twentieth Century|year=2003|location=Kottayam|publisher=St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofassyria0018mara}}
* {{Cite book|last=Hage|first=Wolfgang|title=Das orientalische Christentum|year=2007|location=Stuttgart|publisher=Kohlhammer Verlag|isbn=9783170176683|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jgz_NyvRFIUC}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Coakley|first=James F.|title=The Church of the East since 1914|journal=Bulletin of the John Rylands Library|year=1996|volume=78|issue=3|pages=179–198|doi=10.7227/BJRL.78.3.14|url=https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-man-scw:1m2407&datastreamId=POST-PEER-REVIEW-PUBLISHERS-DOCUMENT.PDF}}
{{Syriac Christianity}}
{{Eastern Christianity footer}}
{{Patriarchates in Christianity}}
{{Christianity footer}}
{{Assyrian topics}}
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[[Category:Ancient Church of the East| ]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1964]]
[[Category:1964 establishments in Iraq]]
[[Category:Christian denominations established in the 20th century]]