About Our Parish
In recent years Ottawa and Gatineau have welcomed a growing number of families from Kerala, India. The Jacobite Syrian Christian community here hoped for a place of worship rooted in Syriac Orthodox (Malankara Jacobite) heritage — and on October 29, 2022, the community celebrated its first Holy Qurbono together in Ottawa.
On December 31, 2022, His Eminence Mor Titus Yeldho, Archbishop of the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church in North America, blessed the congregation and named it St. Ignatius Syriac Orthodox Church, after St. Ignatius Elias III, the late Patriarch of Antioch and All the East (Manjinikkara Bava).
Parish Vicars
- Rev. Fr. Abey Mathew — October 2022 to March 2023
- Rev. Fr. Manu Mathew — April 2023 to December 2025
- Rev. Fr. Jiju Joseph — January 2026 to present
The Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch traces its roots to the earliest days of Christianity — it was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). Its liturgy, among the oldest still in use, is prayed in Syriac, a dialect of the Aramaic spoken by Christ and the Apostles. Today the Church’s faithful are found across the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Kerala, India, under the Patriarch of Antioch, His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II.
Our Vision
To be a beacon of hope, love and faith: preserving and sharing our Malankara heritage with future generations, worshipping with excellence, educating our children in the faith, and serving our neighbours in Ottawa and Gatineau with compassion, justice and peace.
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Matthew 18:20