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A
brief historical review on
Syriac Orthodox Church of
Antioch
in USA & Canada
The presence of Syrian Orthodox faithful in America dates back to the
late Nineteenth Century, when religious persecution forced immigration
from Ottoman Turkey to the United States and Canada. Often locating
according to their trade skills, Syriac Orthodox faithful from
Diyarbakir, Turkey, qualified as silk weavers, settled in New Jersey,
a major area of the silk industry. Families from Harput, Turkey were
drawn to Massachusetts while faithful from the province of Turabdin,
bring chiefly weavers by trade, established themselves in Rhode Island
as workers in the local mills. During the same period of time,
faithful from Mardin, Turkey were to settle in Sherbrooke, Quebec,
Canada. Syricn Orthodox families from in and around Homs, (Fairouzeh &
Zaidal) Syria now came to settle in the Detroit, Michigan area.
On May 20, 1907, the Very Rev. Hanna Koorie was ordained in Jerusalem
by Archbishop Mar Iwanis Elias Hallouleh for the Syriac Orthodox
faithful in the United States. During the same period, the Very Rev.
Raban Gabriel Anto, a monk of the Church, arrived in Quebec for a
visit of six months and ministered to the spiritual needs of the local
faithful.
In 1922, the Very Rev. Naoum Koorie came to join his brother, the Very
Rev. Hanna Koorie, in America, and in April of 1927, Mor Severus
Ephrem Barsoum, Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan of Syria and Lebanon,
consecrated a church built by area faithful in West New York, New
Jersey in the name of the Virgin Mary. This parish was eventually to
relocate to Paramus, New Jersey in the 1960s. During the same period,
parish churches were built in both Worcester, Massachusetts and
Central Falls, Rhode Island. Moreover, during a visit to Detroit,
Archbishop Barsoum was to formally establish a parish for the local
Syriac Orthodox families. Within a few years some of the Detroit
faithful were to move to Jacksonville and Miami, Florida.
On January 29, 1949, His Eminence Archbishop Mor Athanasius Yeshue
Samuel, the Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan of Jerusalem, arrived in the
United States and immediately began to minster to the spiritual needs
of the faithful in North America.
On May 13, 1952, His Eminence was appointed
Patriarchal Vicar to the United States and Canada by His Holiness the
Patriarch Mor Ignatius Ephrem I.
Five
years later
on November 15, 1957,
he was formally
proclaimed by His Holiness
the Patriarch Mor Ignatius Yacoub III,
Archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of the USA and Canada,
and
by the official document His Holiness established the Archdiocese of
the Syriac Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada.
On September 7, 1958, a cathedral in the name of St. Mark was
consecrated in Hackensack, New Jersey for the new Archdiocese. In
1994, St. Mark Syriac Orthodox Cathedral relocated to a new complex in
Teaneck, New Jersey with St. Gabriel Syriac Orthodox Church taking
over the Cathedral’s former facilities in Hackensack.
From the 1960’s through the 1980s, new Syrian Orthodox parishes were
established in California, Southfield, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois;
West Roxbury, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon and Long Island, New
York as well as in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario
together with congregations in the Washington, DC area and in Calgary,
Alberta, Canada.
In 1980, the Archdiocesan residence was
moved from Hackensack to Lodi, New Jersey.
Following the death of His Eminence Archbishop Mor Athanasius Yeshue
Samuel in April 16, 1995,
the Syriac Holy Synod held in November 1995,
divided the Archdiocese of the United States and Canada
into three separate Patriarchal Vicariates
jurisdictions:
-
The Patriarchal Vicariate of the Eastern United
States (260 Elm Avenue, Teaneck, New Jersey 07666), is headed
by Metropolitan Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim.
-
The Patriarchal Vicariate of the Western United States (900 N.
Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, California 91501), is under the
pastoral care of Metropolitan Mor Clemis Eugene Kaplan.
-
The Patriarchal Vicariate of Canada (4375 Henri Bourassa
Ouest, St. Laurent, Quebec H4L 1A5), is headed by Metropolitan
Mor Timotheos Ephrem Aboodi which retired in 2008 and replaced
by His Eminence Metropolitan Mor Athanasius Elia Bahi.
Through the personal efforts of H. E. Archbishop Mor
Clemis Eugene Kaplan who started his duty in April 07, 1996, the
Church in the Western Archdiocese entered into a new era of spiritual
growth, activities and increasing parishes and churches.
The Western Archdiocese
Stride: Yesterday and Today in brief
Since his Eminence took over the
responsibilities of the Western Archdiocese in 1996 he never spared
any effort in shepherding the faithful of the Archdiocese by visiting
them wherever they were, exploring their situations, circumstances,
and concerns. And thus, the Archdiocese prospered and expanded due to
his continuous watch and efforts.
In the first year of his arrival in 1996 there were 5 churches in the
Archdiocese: St. Ephraim Cathedral, St. George church, St. Mary church
in Orange County, St. Ignatius of Antioch in Portland, and St. Thomas
church in San Jose. Due to the unfortunate situation in our
home-lands, many families immigrated to the US, many for work, others
for reunions. Therefore, the need to establish churches to take care
of the newly immigrated faithful increased because the church was and
will always be the tent under which all faithful are gathered seeking
the peace of mind and the salvation of the soul.
With sincerity and seriousness His Eminence Mor Clemis Eugene Kaplan
started visiting areas where the Syriac Orthodox faithful resided
throughout the Western region of the US. He succeeded in establishing
several churches and in securing priests and Parish Councils to
oversee the affairs of these immigrants. Until this day he is still
responding positively to the calls of these young churches by visiting
and inquiring about their needs from Diocese Center in Burbank, the
home of the Archdiocese.
The number of churches today exceeds twenty four in the Western
Archdiocese. Eighteen of them are shepherded by qualified priests who
have dedicated themselves to serve the Lord and His faithful by
fulfilling their spiritual and social needs, and the remaining two
churches are served by some of our local priests who have established
a rotating schedule. His Eminence assigned a monthly meeting for the
clergy of the local churches, which is hosted by one of the Diocese
church each time. All matters discussed at these meetings have
resulted in positive changes to our churches. The priests also express
their concerns to his Eminence and to their fellow clergy brethren,
looking for wise and realistic solutions. There are also monthly
meetings for Parish Council's Representatives for local churches as
well as the Archdiocese Council in which all matters are discussed to
ensure progress for the Archdiocese as a whole.
We still have to mention that there are great efforts exhorted to
encourage the churches' social organizations like the Ladies
Auxiliary, Scouts, Sunday Schools, Youth organizations, and a group of
deacons who are well educated spiritually. It is worth mentioning that
for the first time in the history of both the Eastern and Western
Archdioceses such great student books are being published by both
Archdioceses for the Sunday School children from age 4 to 13, with a
Teachers Manual (book) for the teachers. Mrs. Patricia Allaf has spent
a long time in arranging the religious information that suit the age
of these children. Thus, and for the first time such a magnificent
book enters the Syriac library specialized to guide our children to
the Syriac Orthodox Christian teaching.
The Archdiocese has also fully participated in the
Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches of the Los Angeles area which
holds regular meetings and Liturgies throughout the year. During these
meetings, reports are presented on the activities of the Sunday School
and Youth Committees, as well as future collaborative efforts to unite
the Oriental Orthodox churches of the Los Angeles area. The Sunday
Schools of the Coptic, Armenian, and Syriac churches have held yearly
events for the past 7 years in which students attend Liturgy, have
lunch, and join together to create very unique and artistic spiritual
projects.
The Archdiocese also holds twice yearly
a Sunday School Teachers and Clergy retreat in which theological
matters such as: church dogma, doctrines, sacraments, and classroom
skills are taught to the dedicated number of teachers who serve our
churches. Through these retreats a need to deeply understand our
Liturgy was expressed by many, and thus the historic and vital DVD
entitled, "Understanding the Syriac Orthodox Liturgy" was
developed. It was a 1 year project designed as an educational resource
for the community, especially for our Youth and children. It takes the
viewer beyond the curtain of the Holy Sanctuary to how the celebrants
conduct the weekly Liturgy in which the rich rituals and symbolism are
explained.
His Eminence attends to the need of all churches whether big or small,
and looks to find solutions that fit the situation of every church.
Today, the Archdiocese expanded to other states like Arizona, Texas,
Washington, Colorado, Vancouver (British Columbia-Canada), Calgery,
Edmonton (Alberta)... etc.
The Western
Archdiocese of the United States is composed of the following states:
-
Alaska
-
Arizona
-
California
-
Colorado
-
Hawaii
-
Idaho
-
Kansas
-
Oklahoma
-
Oregon
-
Montana
-
Nebraska
-
Nevada
-
New Mexico
-
North Dakota
-
South Dakota
-
Texas
-
Utah
-
Washington
-
Wyoming
Following is the list of churches with their
respective priests:
1 - St. Ephraim Cathedral in Burbank
served by Very Rev. Fr. Abdulahad Shara and
Rev. Fr.
Gabriel M. Hanna.
2 - St. Georges Church in San Fernando served by Rev. Fr. Peter Rouboz.
3 - St. Mary Church in Orange County served by Very Rev. Fr. George
Touma.
4 - St. Elias Church in Upland served by Rev. Fr. John Saif.
5 - St. Peter Church in San Dimas served by Rev. Fr. Yousef Kallo.
6 - St. Julian Church in Victorville served by Rev. Fr. Mtanos Askar.
7 - St. Thomas Church in El Cajon served by Rev. Fr. Fadi Youssif Atto.
8 - St. Thomas Church in San Jose served by Rev. Abdelmasih Abdo.
9 - St. John Church in Las Vegas served by Very Rev. Rabban Afram
Tahan
10 - St. Mary Church in Phoenix-Arizona served by Rev. Fr. Paul Yacoub.
11 - St. Ignatius Church in Portland - Oregon served by very Rev. Fr.
George Yousef Al-Banna.
12 - St. Helena Church in Palmdale served by Rev. Fr. Aphram Adde.
13 - St. Behnam Church in Sacramento served by Rev. Fr. Abdelmasih
Abdo.
14 - St. Mathew Church in Seattle served by Rev. Fr. Abdallah Tafas.
15 - St. Paul Church Parish in San Diego,
served by Rev. Fr. Louis Yacoub.
16 - St. Ephrem Church Parish in Houston-Texas,
served by very Rev. Fr. Bashar
Alshamnay.
17 -
St. Gabriel Church Parish in Dallas, Texas, served by
18 - St. Elias Church Parish in Chico,
served by very Rev. Fr. Yuhanna
Salameh.
19 -
Holy Cross Church Parish in San Louis
Obispo, CA, served by
very Rev. Fr. Yuhanna
Salameh.
20 - St. Anthony
Church Parish in Bakersfield served by Rev. Fr. Ephrem Adde
21 - Virgin Mary Church Parish in Vancouver- British Columbia,
served by very Rev. Fr. George
Yousef Al-Banna.
22 - Emmanuel Church Parish served by
very Rev. Fr, George Yousef Al-Banna.
23 - St. Peter & St. Paul in
Admonton served by very Rev. Fr, George Yousef Al-Banna.
The Archdiocese churches listed below are in need of permanent
priests, and they are: (they are served by our local clergy who rotate
to serve these churches)
This is a brief list of accomplishments by his Eminence Mor Clemis
Eugene Kaplan. There are many signs of an expected renaissance and
spiritual leap for this Archdiocese due to the efforts of all those in
charge and their continuous hard work in this regard.
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