Part 3: St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish Today

 Episcopal Information

Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II

The Patriarchate of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch resides in Damascus, Syria. The current Patriarch, Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II will be enthroned on May 29, 2014. The predecessor of our patriarch was recognized in the first council of Nicea in 325 as the head of the see in Antioch. The Church has eleven patriarchal vicars, and twenty six archdiocese, one of which is the Archdiocese of the Western United States, headed by Archbishop Mor Clemis Eugene Kaplan, who oversees the St. Ignatius parish in Portland, Oregon.

 

Archbishop Eugene Kaplan of
the Western United States

Clergy

Fr. George during the Washing of the Disciple's feet on Holy Thursday

Fr. George Albanna was ordained to the priesthood by Patriarch Ignatius Zakka Iwas I in Aman, Jordan in 1994. He served as a priest in Jordan for five years before being assigned to St. Ignatius parish in December of 1998, replacing Fr. Jacob Shukri, who fell asleep in the Lord earlier that year. Fr. George is fluent in the Syriac, Arabic, and English languages, which have been indispensable in his ministry in Portland. Matti Totonchy serves as full deacon at St. Ignatius parish, along with fifteen sub deacons, and forty alter servers who rotate for each liturgy.

The deacons on Easter Sunday, with Deacon Matti (my father) giving a reading

Membership

Officially, there are 100 families who are currently members at St. Ignatius parish. This translates to an attendance of approximately 150 parishioners on major feast days and 70 parishioners on most Sundays.

Demographics and Language

Parishioners on Easter Sunday

Over the past three years, the congregational demographic has undergone a dramatic shift. Prior to 2010, the parish was comprised of immigrants from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine who had been in the U.S. for many years. As such, the parents of the families in the church were fluent in both Arabic and English, while many of the youth were fluent in only English. However, beginning in 2010, St. Ignatius received a rapid influx of new members from Iraq who immigrated to the U.S. as refugees. Many new members also immigrated from Syria during this time. In 2014, the new members totaled 20 families from Iraq and 8 families from Syria. Both the parents and the children of these families are fluent only in Arabic, and have a strong desire for the liturgy to be conducted in Arabic. This has created a point of disagreement concerning language in the parish, where the newer families desire Arabic while the youth who have been in the U.S. for a longer period of time wish to worship in English. The solution has been one of compromise, with a liturgy sung in Syriac, Arabic, and English. The influx of Arabic speaking immigrants is not likely to abate in the near future, as Syriac Orthodox Christians from Syria are beginning to receive refugee status in the U.S. Therefore, language is an issue that will likely persist for the foreseeable future at St. Ignatius.

Parish Council

The parish council is voted on every two years. In 2014, a new council was voted in, comprised of 8 men and 3 women, two of which are members of the youth group.

Programs

St. Ignatius Youth Group

Church programs include youth and adult education, as well as fund raising. Sunday School and Youth bible group provide Christian education to the children and young adults. Fr. George leads a family night on Saturdays once every month to provide scripture and church history education to adults and children. Every year, the parish council organizes a bake sale and a Mother’s Day party to raise funds for the church.