The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic sui iuris (self-governing) particular church that is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Catholic Church. Originating in the Levant, it uses the West Syriac Rite liturgy and has many practices and rites in common with the Syriac Orthodox Church. The Syriac language, a dialect of Aramaic, is the liturgical language used by the Church. There are about 160,000 Syriac Catholics, with the majority in Syria and Iraq, along with a smaller community in Lebanon and an overseas diaspora. It is one of the smaller Eastern Catholic churches based in the Middle East.

The Syriac Catholic Church traces its history and traditions to the Church of Antioch established by Saint Peter. The Diocese of the East under the Patriarch of Antioch included the western Middle East along the Mediterranean. The Church of Antioch was split following the Council of Chalcedon in 451 over disagreements on Christology, with the Syriac, Coptic, and Armenian churches becoming part of Oriental Orthodoxy after rejecting the outcome of the council. A decree of unity between the Syriac Orthodox Church and Rome was made at the Council of Florence in 1444 but it was quickly annulled by the Syriac hierarchy. After missionary work led to conversions to Catholicism among Syriac Christians in the 17th century, one of them, Andrew Akijan, was elected as the Syriac Patriarch of Antioch in 1662. After his death in 1677, rival Catholic and Orthodox Syriac patriarchs were elected between then and 1702. The current line of Syriac Catholic patriarchs of Antioch began in 1782, when Michael Jarweh declared himself in communion with the pope of Rome after being elected by the Syriac Orthodox Holy Synod.

The church is headed by Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan, who has been the patriarch since 2009. Its patriarch of Antioch has the title of Patriarch of Antioch and all the East of the Syriacs and resides in Beirut, Lebanon. The seat of the Syriac Catholic patriarch was moved several times due to persecution of the Church. Michael Jarweh established the monastery of Our Lady in Sharfeh, Lebanon, which is also currently the site of the seminary and printing house of the Syriac Catholic Church.

The Syriac Catholic Church (Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, romanized: ʿĪṯo Suryoyṯo Qaṯolīqayṯo) is sometimes also called the Syrian Catholic Church. Furthermore, it is sometimes referred by its patriarchate, the Syriac Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch. See also: Syriac Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch.

The Syriac Catholic Church claims its origin through Saint Peter prior to his departure to Rome, and extends its roots back to the origins of Christianity in the Orient; in the Acts of the Apostles we are told that it is in Antioch where the followers of Jesus for the first time were called "Christians" (Acts 11:26).

In the time of the first ecumenical councils, the Patriarch of Antioch held the ecclesiastical authority over the Diocese of the Orient, which was to be extended from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. Its scholarly mission in both languages, Greek and Syriac, was to provide the world and the Universal Church with eminent saints, scholars, hermits, martyrs and pastors. Among these great people are Saint Ephrem (373), Doctor of the Church, and Saint Jacob of Sarug (521).

During the Crusades there were many examples of warm relations between Catholic and Syriac Orthodox bishops. Some of these bishops favored union with Rome, but there was no push to unify until a decree of union between the Syriac Orthodox and Rome was signed at the Council of Florence September 30, 1444 – but the effects of this decree were rapidly annulled by opponents of it in the Syriac Church's hierarchy.

A Jesuit and Capuchin missionaries evangelizing in Aleppo caused some local Syriac Orthodox faithful to form a pro-catholic movement within the Syriac Orthodox Church. In 1667, Andrew Akijan, a supporter of union with the Catholic Church, was elected as patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. This provoked a split in the community, and after Akijan's death in 1677, two opposing patriarchs were elected, with the pro-Catholic one being the uncle of Andrew Akijan. However, when the Catholic patriarch died in 1702, the Ottoman government supported the Syriac Orthodoxy's agitation against the Syriac Catholics, and throughout the 18th century the Syriac Catholics underwent suffering and much persecution. Due to this, there were long periods when no Syriac Catholic bishops were functioning, so a patriarch could not be elected, and the community was forced to go entirely underground. However, in 1782, the Syriac Orthodox Holy Synod elected Metropolitan Michael Jarweh of Aleppo as patriarch.[1] Shortly after he was enthroned, he declared himself Catholic and in unity with the pope of Rome. After this declaration, Jarweh took refuge in Lebanon and built the still-extant monastery of Our Lady at Sharfeh, and by that act became the patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church. Since Jarweh, there has been an unbroken succession of Syriac Catholic patriarchs, which is known as the Ignatius Line.