The Antiochian Orthodox Church is one of the five churches that comprised the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church before the Great Schism, and today is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches. It claims to be the sole legitimate successor to the Christian community founded in Antioch by the Apostle St. Peter. Its North American branch is self-ruled, although the Holy Synod of Antioch still exercises authority over it.
The seat of the patriarchate was formerly Antioch, in what is now Turkey, but is now Damascus, Syria, on the "Street called Straight."
The claim is disputed by the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, part of Oriental Orthodoxy; the schism between the two occurred over the christology of the Council of Chalcedon. The Syrian Catholic Church, in communion with the Roman Catholic Church, also claims to hold the patriarchate.
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