Historical Roots and the Syriac Christian World

The Syriac or Syrian Orthodox Church is an ancient Eastern Christian communion whose historic heartland lay in the Syriac-speaking regions of the Near East. “Syriac” refers to a dialect and literary form of Aramaic, a language closely related to the speech environment of first-century Judea. While the New Testament is written in Greek, Aramaic expressions appear within it, reflecting the linguistic reality of the region, such as “Talitha koum” (Mark 5:41) and “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (Mark 15:34). This background helps explain why Syriac Christianity developed a rich tradition of worship, hymnody, and biblical engagement in a Semitic idiom. The Syriac Orthodox tradition historically traces its ecclesiastical identity to early Christian communities in the broader Antiochene sphere, where believers were first called Christians (Acts 11:26).

A major feature of the Syriac Orthodox Church is its continuity of liturgical life across centuries. Its worship and church calendar developed in conversation with the theological disputes and political pressures that shaped Eastern Christianity. For many modern believers, the Syriac Orthodox Church is known for ancient liturgies, a strong monastic heritage, and a sacramental and episcopal structure that emphasizes apostolic succession through bishops.

Core Distinctives: Liturgy, Sacraments, and Church Structure

The Syriac Orthodox Church is commonly classified among the Oriental Orthodox communions. In practice, this means it is not part of Roman Catholicism and not part of Eastern Orthodoxy as usually defined, while maintaining its own ancient episcopal hierarchy and sacramental life. Its worship tends to be highly liturgical, involving set prayers, chants, and ceremonial actions shaped by longstanding tradition.

From a biblical apologetics standpoint, the key question is not whether a church is ancient, visually reverent, or culturally rich, but whether its doctrine and practice are governed by the Spirit-inspired Scriptures. Jesus rebuked religious leaders who elevated human tradition to a controlling authority that could override God’s Word: “You leave the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” (Mark 7:8) Paul likewise warned Christians not to be taken captive “through philosophy and empty deception according to human tradition” rather than according to Christ (Colossians 2:8). These texts do not condemn every custom; they condemn tradition functioning as a rival authority. Any liturgical church, including the Syriac Orthodox Church, must therefore be evaluated by the measure of Scripture, ensuring that tradition serves biblical truth rather than directing it.

At the same time, Scripture shows the early church had recognized leadership and order. Elders were appointed (Acts 14:23), overseers had qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9), and congregations were instructed to hold firmly to apostolic teaching (2 Thessalonians 2:15) understood as the teaching delivered by inspired apostles and prophets, now preserved for the church in the canonical Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). A claim to apostolic continuity is meaningful only to the extent that it preserves apostolic doctrine.

Christology and the Importance of Biblical Precision

The Syriac Orthodox Church is often associated with a christological vocabulary historically described as “miaphysite,” a term used to emphasize the unity of Christ’s person. In ordinary language, the debate concerned how to speak about Christ’s divinity and humanity without dividing Him or confusing the reality of His incarnation. The apologetic concern is that Christians must confess what Scripture confesses: Jesus is truly human (John 1:14; Hebrews 2:14), genuinely tempted as a human yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15), and also the unique Son who came from the Father (John 3:16-17), existing before His earthly life (John 6:38; John 17:5). If theological formulas preserve these truths and do not introduce contradictions, they can function as guardrails. But Christians must not confuse later terminology with biblical authority. The decisive anchor is the text itself.

The New Testament presents Christ’s unity as personal and historical. The one Jesus who slept in a boat is the one who calmed the storm (Mark 4:38-39). The one who wept at Lazarus’ tomb is the one who called Lazarus out (John 11:35; John 11:43). The one who died is the one whom Jehovah raised (Acts 2:24). These realities require careful language, but the language must remain subordinate to Scripture. If any church tradition presses beyond Scripture into metaphysical assertions the Bible does not make, Christians should resist being bound by those assertions as if they were the Word of God.

Scripture, Prayer, and the Question of Mediation

A major practical distinction between many liturgical apostolic-structure churches and conservative evangelical practice involves prayer, mediation, and veneration. Scripture is unambiguous about prayer’s direction and mediation’s uniqueness. Jesus taught His disciples to pray to the Father (Matthew 6:9). He promised that requests should be made in His name, meaning under His authority and through His mediatorship (John 14:13-14; John 16:23-24). The apostles taught that there is “one mediator” between God and men, Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5). Therefore, any practice that encourages prayer directed toward departed holy ones, or that frames them as intercessors by office, collides with the New Testament pattern.

Scripture does teach that living Christians may pray for one another (James 5:16) and that believers form one body in Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Yet the Bible does not teach that Christians should invoke the dead, and it condemns attempts to consult the dead (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Even if some practices are defended as “asking for intercession,” they risk becoming functional reliance on mediators other than Christ. This is where biblical testing becomes essential.

How a Christian Should Evaluate the Syriac Orthodox Church

A careful evaluation begins where the apostles begin: the gospel of the Kingdom, the person and work of Christ, and the authority of Scripture. The Bereans were praised because they examined the Scriptures daily to see whether teachings were so (Acts 17:11). That principle applies to every church tradition, Eastern or Western. If a Syriac Orthodox parish proclaims the biblical gospel, honors Christ as the risen Lord, calls people to repentance and faith, and submits doctrinally to Scripture, it is aligning with the apostolic standard. If it binds consciences with doctrines not taught in Scripture or encourages devotions that blur the line between honor and worship, then Scripture requires discernment and separation from error (Romans 16:17; 1 John 4:1).

The Syriac Orthodox Church is significant historically and culturally, and many within it have endured severe persecution across generations, which Christians should acknowledge with compassion and respect (2 Timothy 3:12). Yet Scripture still requires that faith and practice be governed by the Word of God rather than by age, lineage, or ceremony. The church is built on Christ (Matthew 16:16-18), and true worshipers worship the Father “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24), meaning by the Holy Spirit’s revealed truth in the Scriptures rather than by inherited customs as final authority.

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