by PolackTony » Tue Sep 03, 2024 8:00 pm
Assyrian is the overarching ethnic group, a Christian people who speak modern dialects of Aramaic. Chaldeans are a *subgroup* of Assyrians, denoting those Assyrians who are adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Historically, Assyrians (who, like the Armenians, were among the first peoples to adopt Christianity) belonged to branches of what was called the Syriac Church, also called the Church of the East or the Parthian Church. This was an Eastern church, but not Eastern Orthodox, as the Syriac Church used the Syriac liturgical rite rather than the Byzantine rite (there are other such Eastern churches that adhere to their own liturgical rites in Egypt, Armenia, Ethiopia, and India). A few centuries ago, a group broke off from the Syriac Church of the East and in the 19th century this group was recognized by Rome as being in “Communion” with the Roman Catholic Church. This was the Chaldean Catholic Church, which, like other Eastern Churches that regained Communion with Rome, is headed by its own Patriarch and uses its own liturgical rite (in other words, it’s a quasi-independent Eastern church that has been recognized by Rome). There are also former Eastern Orthodox churches, like the Ukrainian Greek Catholic and Albanian Greek Catholic Churches that have entered into Communion with Rome in the same way.
The other Assyrian churches did not enter into Communion with Rome and have splintered over the years into a couple of factions. Adherents of these churches, such as the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (which despite the name, is not in Communion with Rome), are usually just called “Assyrian” in the West.
The homeland of the Assyrian people is northern Iraq and adjoining or nearby areas of Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Armenia/Azerbaijan. The majority now live in diaspora, as they have often been subjected to persecution as a Christian minority surrounded by Muslim neighbors, with the largest US communities being Chicago and Detroit (many also live in CA and AZ). While most of the Assyrians in the Detroit area are Chaldeans, those in Chicagoland include Chaldeans along with many other Assyrians (the majority in both cities are from Iraq. While there are longstanding Assyrian communities in both cities, new waves of refugees arrived after fleeing war in Iraq in the 80s and again after 2003, while more recent arrivals fled from the Syrian Civil War.
Assyrian is the overarching ethnic group, a Christian people who speak modern dialects of Aramaic. Chaldeans are a *subgroup* of Assyrians, denoting those Assyrians who are adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Historically, Assyrians (who, like the Armenians, were among the first peoples to adopt Christianity) belonged to branches of what was called the Syriac Church, also called the Church of the East or the Parthian Church. This was an Eastern church, but not Eastern Orthodox, as the Syriac Church used the Syriac liturgical rite rather than the Byzantine rite (there are other such Eastern churches that adhere to their own liturgical rites in Egypt, Armenia, Ethiopia, and India). A few centuries ago, a group broke off from the Syriac Church of the East and in the 19th century this group was recognized by Rome as being in “Communion” with the Roman Catholic Church. This was the Chaldean Catholic Church, which, like other Eastern Churches that regained Communion with Rome, is headed by its own Patriarch and uses its own liturgical rite (in other words, it’s a quasi-independent Eastern church that has been recognized by Rome). There are also former Eastern Orthodox churches, like the Ukrainian Greek Catholic and Albanian Greek Catholic Churches that have entered into Communion with Rome in the same way.
The other Assyrian churches did not enter into Communion with Rome and have splintered over the years into a couple of factions. Adherents of these churches, such as the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (which despite the name, is not in Communion with Rome), are usually just called “Assyrian” in the West.
The homeland of the Assyrian people is northern Iraq and adjoining or nearby areas of Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Armenia/Azerbaijan. The majority now live in diaspora, as they have often been subjected to persecution as a Christian minority surrounded by Muslim neighbors, with the largest US communities being Chicago and Detroit (many also live in CA and AZ). While most of the Assyrians in the Detroit area are Chaldeans, those in Chicagoland include Chaldeans along with many other Assyrians (the majority in both cities are from Iraq. While there are longstanding Assyrian communities in both cities, new waves of refugees arrived after fleeing war in Iraq in the 80s and again after 2003, while more recent arrivals fled from the Syrian Civil War.