The book of Acts in its exposition with regard to the rank accorded to St.Peter. St.Peter took up the leadership of the Church of Jerusalem after Christs Crucifixion
and resurrection. Even when he was with Jesus as one the twelve disciples, St.Peter acted as the Chief, emissary and spokesperson of the lot. His primacy is underscored
biblically which leaves no room to doubt otherwise.
By 37 AD Antioch became the capital of the universal Church and St.Peter, its head. The universal Syrian Orthodox Church
perceives its strength and Unity in His Holiness the Patriarch
Karim, who served as bishop in the United States, replaces Patriarch Ignatius Zakka Iwas, who died March 21 in a hospital in Germany at the age of 80. Karims official
title will be the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. His church, known as the Syrian Orthodox Church, was founded in the year 452 after a schism with the bulk of the
worlds Christians. There are more than 4 million members, living in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq although there are also significant communities in Germany, Sweden and in the
United States, where immigrants from the Near East introduced the faith in the late 19th century. dent Bashar Assads rule have fueled fears among the countrys religious
minorities about the growing role of Islamic extremists in the revolt.
The new patriarch was born in Qamishli, the capital of a northeastern Syrian province, wedged between the borders of Turkey and Iraq. He studied in St. Ephrems Theological Seminary in Atchaneh, Lebanon in 1977. In the 1980s, he served the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo and pursued higher education at the Coptic Theological Seminary in Cairo, Egypt. He was ordained as a monk in 1985 in Egypt.
He also studied in Ireland and served in Damascus, where his church is based, before his predecessor, Iwas, appointed him bishop of the east coast of the United States in 1996. Since then, Karim has been living in Teaneck, New Jersey. It was not clear if Karim will be based in Syria or in Lebanon as patriarch.
He is taking the churchs leadership role at the time of great uncertainty for Christians in the Middle East.
Thousands have left Iraq, following the 2003 U.S led invasion of the country that unleashed unprecedented sectarian violence.
In Syria, recent assaults on predominantly Christian towns by rebels fighting against President Bashar Assads rule have fueled fears among the countrys religious minorities about the growing role of Islamic extremists in the revolt.