Mar Mari Assyrian Church of the East

A Photo-Essay on Distinct Identity & Faith Unbroken

The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East is unique among the traditional Christian Churches, existing to this day as a solitary entity outside of the larger Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox Communions. It is the successor of the historical Church of the East that initially developed among Assyrians in the 1st Century A.D., which became institutionally distinct with its own Catholicos nine years before the Council of Ephesus in 431 and theologically distinct in its aftermath. Following the condemnation of Nestorius at Ephesus by Cyril of Alexandria, the former’s followers found refuge in Sassanid Persia, then home to the Church of the East, which was subsequently influenced by Nestorian theology.

Although the historical Church of the East was not exclusively defined by the Nestorian encounter, it did henceforth affirm an elaborated Dyophysite theology emphasizing the distinct Human and Divine natures of Jesus, which included the controversial assertion made by Nestorius at Ephesus that the Virgin Mary ought to be referred to as Christotokos (Bearer of Christ) instead of Theotokos (Bearer of God). Theology was certainly at the heart of the controversy, but the dispute between Nestorius and Cyril was also further rooted in matters of personality and prestige. The Church of the East eagerly associated with Nestorius’ followers to ease suspicions among the Zoroastrian Sassanids that the Church was loyal to the Christian Roman Empire, the arch-rival of the Sassanids.

The historical Church of the East remained unified until disputes over the succession of the Catholicos-Patriarch culminated in the Schism of 1552, with splits formed between traditional and pro-Rome factions as well as intra-factional rivalries formed between family lines. The 19th Century witnessed the consolidation of what are currently known as the Chaldean Catholic Church, in full communion with Rome, and the traditional Assyrian Church of the East, which adopted its modern name in 1976. The historical irony is that the line that began as traditional consolidated in the Chaldean Catholic Church, while the line that began as pro-Rome consolidated in the Assyrian Church of the East.

Experiencing extraordinary expansion in its initial history, the historical Church of the East stretched as far east as India and China as well as having gained special status early on in the Mongol Empire, due to court officials and wives of Khans belonging to the Church. Devastation came in the late 14th Century with the campaigns of Turco-Mongol warlord Timur, an Islamic fanatic who sought to religiously homogenize his dominions and nearly wiped out the Church entirely. The surviving Assyrian core of the Church faced further devastation in the early 20th Century due to the Assyrian Genocide that occurred in parallel to the Armenian and Greek Genocides within the Ottoman Empire, which led to H.H. Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Shimun XXI Benyamin (1887–1918) being assassinated and hundreds of thousands of Assyrians killed.

The end of the British Mandate in Iraq (1920–32) brought a clash between Assyrian levies and Iraqi troops, which culminated in the Simele Massacre in 1933. This compelled many Church of the East Assyrians to emigrate along with H.H. Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Shimun XXIII Eshai (1908–75), who had been stripped of his Iraqi citizenship and eventually resettled in Chicago in 1940 and then San Francisco in 1954. Henceforth, Assyrian populations in the United States have remained predominantly concentrated in Illinois and California.

Beyond the seminal migration of the Church community, the tenure of H.H. Mar Shimun XXIII Eshai was significant for the introduction of major reforms, notably the shift from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian as well as the permanent abolition of hereditary succession. These changes caused the Church in India, known as the Chaldean Syrian Church, to sever communion and a further split to occur within the Iraqi community, which led to the creation of the splinter Ancient Church of the East. H.H. Mar Shimun XXIII was assassinated in 1975, by a perpetrator believed to be connected to Church dissidents, and succeeded by H.H. Mar Dinkha IV (1935–2015).

The tenure of Mar Dinkha IV saw the transfer of the Patriarchal See to Chicago where it has remained, the return of the Chaldean Syrian Church in India to full communion, and the dramatic growth of the Assyrian population in the United States due to sustained turmoil in the Middle East. The latter consequently shifted the focus of the See onto issues affecting the communal diaspora as well as Ecumenical relations with other Churches to build Christian networks of solidarity and support. H.H. Mar Dinkha IV passed away in 2015 and was succeeded by H.H. Mar Gewargis III, the incumbent Catholicos-Patriarch, who has continued Ecumenical development and is attempting to reintegrate the splinter Ancient Church of the East.

The Mar Mari Parish is the only Assyrian Church of the East in New York State, housed in an original edifice consecrated in 1970. Most Mar Mari Parishioners are Assyrians of Iranian origin, though there are also those of Iraqi, Syrian, and Lebanese extractions. Parishioners also diverge on Church allegiance, with some remaining personally committed as Syriac Orthodox, Chaldean Catholic, or Protestant, but choosing to be part of Mar Mari for the sake of communal unity.

As an Assyrian Church of the East, the Mar Mari Parish maintains the Divine Liturgy of Addai and Mari, part of the East Syriac Rite also used by Chaldean Catholics, the Ancient Church of the East, and the corresponding traditional and Catholic Churches in India. The Liturgy is among the oldest in Christianity as tradition dates it to the 1st Century A.D., with conventions that are manifestly derived from Jewish tradition. A notable aspect of the Liturgy is the separation of the Qankeh (Holy of Holies) with a Curtain, which is closed and opened during the Liturgy to represent the entombment of Christ and subsequent revelation of the Resurrection.

Most Mar Mari Parishioners are from the older generations, with many of their adult children having moved elsewhere and further intermarried outside of the Assyrian community, but the Parish still includes Assyrian youth from newer families. The Parish sponsors Assyrian language classes so younger generations can maintain cultural knowledge, but in light of generational shifts that have already occurred on language and personal disposition, sermons now feature some English alongside Assyrian. Furthermore, the Divine Liturgy is accompanied by digital projection on the southern side of the outer Qankeh wall, displaying slides that, depending on the particular moment, feature a combination of Assyrian transliterations, English translations, and English annotations explaining what exactly is occurring and why.

Despite the great trials and tribulations the Church of the East and Assyrians have faced, the sermon at Mar Mari on November 3, 2019 was focused on the matter of love. As emphasized by Parish Pastor Father Adday Francis, love is not just a word that should be so easily and cheaply used. Rather, true love is a profound grace that is primordially about recognizing and accepting each other as people, for earnest followers of Christ cannot ever hold hate in their hearts.

The suffering that the Church of the East and Assyrians have historically endured cannot be overstated, yet the welcoming and gracious orientation of the Mar Mari Parish in spite of that history is emblematic of the highest ideals of the Christian spirit. The most profound aspect of belief in the Crucifixion of Christ is the affirmation that even the painful and seemingly defeating turns of mortal life are, nonetheless, representative of God’s ever-present love. This framework of understanding the transcendent is assuredly a challenge to the natural frailty of the human soul, but when accepted wholeheartedly it yields a remarkable faith unbroken.

All photos curated were taken on a single day exclusively utilizing a wide angle lens. The exterior photos were taken over several early morning hours to capture particular vantage points with maximal light and minimal shadowing, which temporally varied based on obstructions, the orientations of the facades, and the relatively southern, seasonal path of the Sun. The interior photos were taken before and after the Divine Liturgy while showing respect for the Parish schedule.

Acknowledgments and heartfelt gratitude go to Parishioners Valentine Shamoon, Sarah Akalski, and Sooren Givargidze as well as Parish Pastor Father Adday Francis. Valentine, Sarah, and Sooren kindly shared invaluable insights about Parish history and demographics, while Sarah further informed Father Adday of what was an unannounced visit. Father Adday most graciously explained key aspects of Church history, opened the Qankeh Curtain before the Divine Liturgy to accommodate photography, and reviewed the draft of this photo-essay.

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