Patriarch of Antioch - Claims To Legitimacy

Claims To Legitimacy

The claim of each Patriarch to be the legitimate successor to original See of Antioch is based on differing interpretations of history and church canons, as follows:

• If Flavian II was legally deposed in 512, then:
  • the Melkite, Greek Orthodox, and Maronite Patriarchs are not the successors of the See, and
  • Severus was the legal successor and Patriarch, and the Syriac Catholic or Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs are the successors of the See.
• If Flavian II was not legally deposed, then he would have been Patriarch until his death in 518, and -
  • Severus (who died before Falvian) was not Patriarch at any time and thus the Syriac Catholic and Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs are not the successors of the See, and
  • Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch is the direct successors of the See, and through its offshoots, the Melkite and Maronite Churches have a claim to succession, and -
• Further, if John Maron was legally elected Greek Orthodox Patriarch in 685 and the actions of the Byzantine Emperor to depose him were illegal, then -
  • John Maron was the legal successor of the Patriarchate, and through him the Maronite Patriarchs;
  • otherwise, the Greek Orthodox Church would have the claim to continued succession.
• The Melkite versus the Greek Orthodox Patriarchs - The (Latin) Catholic Church and the Catholic Byzantine Churches together recognize that Cyril VI was legally elected Patriarch in 1724 and that the current Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch was a later creation to serve the faithful that did not choose to enter full communion with Rome. As such, the Melkite Patriarch has the legal claim to the Patriarchate.
• The Syriac Orthodox and the Syriac Catholic both recognize that Andrew Akijan was legally elected Patriarch in 1662 who re-entered communion with Rome but later Patriarchs severed that Communion. Later Michael Jarweh was elected Patriarch in 1782 and he again re-entered communion with Rome which caused those that opposed union to separate and form a new ecclesiastical body that today is called the Syriac Orthodox Church. As such, the Syriac Catholic Patriarch has the legal status as the continuation of the original See of Antioch over the Syriac Orthodox Church provided of course that Severus was indeed legally elected Patriarch which the Catholic Church does not accept.