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It was in the city of Antioch (modern day established the church in Antioch, and was the city's first bishop. Ignatius Of Antioch (martyred c. 107 ) was also bishop of the city, and a prominent Apostolic Father . By the 4th Century , the bishop of Antioch had become the most senior bishop in a region covering modern-day eastern Turkey , Lebanon , Israel and Palestine , Syria , Jordan , Iraq , and Iran . His heirarchy served the largest number of Christians in the known world at that time. In consideration of this and its ancient origins, the Patriarchs of Antioch were considered the most senior of the various Popes of Christendom , which included those of the Patriarch Of Jerusalem , the Patriarch Of Constantinople , the Patriarch Of Alexandria , and the Patriarch Of Rome . Despite being overshadowed in ecclesiastical authority by the Patriarch of Constantinople in the later years of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Antiochene Pope remained the most independent, powerful, and trusted of the collective Popes until the conquest of Eastern Christianity by Islamic armies began in the late 7th century. The Antiochene church was a centre of Christian learning, second only to Alexandria . In contrast to the Hellenestic influenced Christology of Alexandria , Rome , and Constantinople , Antiochene theology was greatly influenced by Rabbinic Judaism and other modes of Semitic thought. Lastly, compared to the Popes in Constantinople, Rome, and Alexandria which for various reasons became mired in the theology of imperial state religion, many of its Popes managed to straddle the divide between the controversies of Christology and imperial unity through its piety and straightforward grasp of early Christian thought which was rooted in its primitive Church beginnings. However, with the advent of internal Eastern Orthodox schisms such as Monophysitism and then the beginning of the Islamic conquests, the Patriarch's ecclesiastical authority became entangled in the politics of imperial authority and later Islamic occupation. Being considered independent of both Byzantine Imperial and Arab Moslem power but in essence occupied by both, the de facto power of the Antiochene Popes faded. Additionally, the city suffered several natural disasters including major eathquacks throughout the 4th and 6th centuries and anti-Christian conquests beginning with the Zoroastrian Persians in the 6th century, then the Moslem Arabs in the 7th century, then the Moslem Seljuks in the 11th century, and culminating in its final obliteration by Moslem Mamluks in the 13th century. Lastly, the ecclesiastical schisms between Rome and Constantinope and between Constaninople and Alexandria and Antioch left the Patriach's authority isolated, fractured and debased, a situation which further increased when the Franks liberated the city in 1099 and installed a Latin Patriarch Of Antioch . Today, no less than five church hierarchs claim the title of Patriarch of Antioch, three of whom are in full communion with the Pope of Rome. These churches are part of the Catholic Communion of Churches and are self-governing but they are not part of the Roman Catholic Church which is in itself a member of the communion. All five see themselves as part of the Antiochene heritage and claim a right to the Antiochene See through Apostolic Succession , although none are actually based in the city of Antakya. This multiplicity of Patriarchs of Antioch as well as their lack of location in Antioch, reflects the troubled History Of Christianity in the region, which has been marked by persecution and internicene struggles since the Islamic conquest. Indeed, the Christian population in the original territories of the Antiochene patriarchs has been all but eliminated by assimilation and expulsion, with the region's current Christians forming a small minority. The current Patriarchs of Antioch are:
At one point, there was at least nominally a ''sixth'' claimant to the Patriarchate. When the Western European Crusaders established the Principality Of Antioch , they established a Latin Rite church in the city, whose head took the title of Patriarch. After the Crusaders were expelled by the Mamelukes in 1268, the Pope continued to appoint a Titular Latin Patriarch Of Antioch , whose actual seat was the Basilica Di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome . The last holder of this office was Roberto Vincentini, who died without a successor in 1953 . The post itself was abolished in 1964 . SEE ALSO
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