The Assyrian Church of the East (Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܖ̈ܝܐ ʻĒdtā d-Madenḥā d-Ātorāyē), officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East[3] (ʻEdtā Qaddīštā wa-Šlīḥāitā Qātolīqī d-Madenḥā d-Ātorāyē), is an Eastern Christian Church that follows traditional christology and ecclesiology of the historical Church of the East.[4] It belongs to the eastern branch of Syriac Christianity, and uses the East Syrian Rite in its liturgy. Its main spoken language is Syriac, a dialect of Eastern Aramaic, and the majority of its adherents are ethnic Assyrians. It is officially headquartered in the city of Erbil in northern Iraq, and its original area also spreads into eastern Syria, south-eastern Turkey, and north-western Iran, corresponding to ancient Assyria. Since 2015, the primate of the Assyrian Church of the East is Catholicos-Patrarch Gewargis III.[5]
The Assyrian Church of the East claims continuity with the historical Church of the East. It has a traditional episcopal structure, headed by the Catholicos-Patriarch. Its hierarchy is composed of metropolitan bishopsand diocesan bishops, while lower clergy consists of priests and deacons, who serve in dioceses (eparchies) and parishes throughout the Middle East, India, North America, Oceania, and Europe (including the Caucasus and Russia).[6]
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