Suboro TV (; ) is a television channel owned and operated by the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

. It broadcasts in

Classical Syriac The Syriac language ( ; ), also known natively in its spoken form in early Syriac literature as Edessan (), the Mesopotamian language () and Aramaic (), is an Eastern Middle Aramaic dialect. Classical Syriac is the academic term used to refer ...

Turoyo Turoyo (), also referred to as Surayt (), or modern Suryoyo (), is a Central Neo-Aramaic language traditionally spoken by the Syriac Christian community in the Tur Abdin region located in southeastern Turkey and in northeastern Syria. Turoyo ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, and primarily covers religious topics, as well as news from within the church itself and countries in which its adherents reside in.

Name

The name of the channel, ''Suboro'', is derived from

, which is the liturgical variant of modern

Neo-Aramaic The Neo-Aramaic or Modern Aramaic languages are varieties of Aramaic that evolved during the late medieval and early modern periods, and continue to the present day as vernacular (spoken) languages of modern Aramaic-speaking communities. Within ...

dialects used by contemporary

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

. The word itself means "annunciation", and the pronunciation with "o" is based on the

dialect.

History

The Syriac Orthodox Church had been hoping to begin broadcasting private Syriac-rite religious programming as early as 2009. The channel was created in response to increasing persecution against Syriac Orthodox Christians, as well as the threat of increasing assimilation from living outside the

Assyrian homeland The Assyrian homeland is Assyria ( or ), the homeland of the Assyrian people within which Assyrian civilisation developed, located in their indigenous Upper Mesopotamia. The territory that forms the Assyrian homeland is, similarly to the rest ...

. Additionally, the channel was meant to serve as a purely religious channel alongside other

Aramaic language Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient Syria (region), region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai Peninsula, Sinai, Southeastern Anatolia Regi ...

programming, promoting the use of the language and awareness of culture without a specific political agenda or otherwise. The progress of the channel was halted until the Holy Synod in 2015, and it was hoped that they would begin broadcasting by March 25th, 2018, exactly the day of the

Feast of the Annunciation The Feast of the Annunciation () commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he informed her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is celebrated on 25 March; however, if 25 Marc ...

. The channel planned to have its first stations in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, with correspondents in Syria,

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and other Syro-Orthodox communities in ther West. However, the channel wouldn't officially launch until a year later in 2019, when its headquarters were officially inaugurated. The ceremony was attended by

Aram I Aram I (; born Bedros Keshishian [] on 8 March 1946) has been the head of the Holy See of Cilicia, Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia since 1995 and he resides in Antelias, Lebanon. Bibliography Aram I has written the following books: ...

, the Armenian Apostolic Catholicos of the Grand House of Cecilia, and Ignatius Joseph III Younan, Patriarch of the

Syriac Catholic Church 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 ...

. In a speech during the ceremony, the Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church,

Ignatius Aphrem II Mor Ignatius Aphrem II (born 3 May 1965 as Sa'id Karim; ) is a Syrian-American Christian prelate who is serving as the Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church since 29 May 2014. Born and raised in Qamishili, Syria, Karim took the vows of a ...

, proclaimed "The Voice of Antioch" had been launched for the whole world, and congratulated the team behind the channel on their successful launch. In March 2022, the channel began officially broadcasting from

Qamishli Qamishli is a city in northeastern Syria on the Syria–Turkey border, adjoining the city of Nusaybin in Turkey. The Jaghjagh River flows through the city. With a 2004 census population of 184,231, it is the List of cities in Syria, ninth most-po ...

, on the occasion of the Feast of the Annunciation. Mor Aphrem II attended an inauguration ceremony online and congratulated the team behind the studio, expressing his hope that the opening of the channel would continue to help spread Christian religious programming to the people of the city. Two years later, in June 2024, Mor Aphrem II participated in a ceremony inaugurating new studios for the channel in

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, attended by many archbishops of the church. In tandem with its mission, the channel also took part in the "Syriac Content Creators" festival in

Ankawa Ankawa (; , ) is a suburb of Erbil in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is located northwest of downtown Erbil. The suburb is predominantly populated by Christian Assyrian, most of whom adhere to the Chaldean Catholic Church. History Ankawa was ...

, hosted by the organization Mardutha in 2022.

Mission

The Syriac Orthodox Church outlined the mission of Suboro TV as follows: *Produce and broadcast TV programs of quality and integrity that recognize and fulfill the spiritual needs of our Syriac people *Produce religious, cultural and social programs targeting different groups within the community, such as children, youth, etc… *Spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, faith of the Church and the teachings of the Fathers of the Syriac Orthodox Church *Inform the rest of the world about the challenges our people are facing *Promote multi-cultural understanding and religious dialogue *Offer community-oriented programs that will enrich our Syriac people as well as non-Syriac viewers

References

{{reflist

External links

Suboro TV, Facebook

Suboro.TV, InstagramSuboroTV, Youtube
Aramaic-language television channels Television channels and stations established in 2019 Television channels in Syria 2019 establishments in Lebanon Syriac Orthodox Church Television in Lebanon Television stations in Germany Aramaic-language mass media Assyrian culture Assyrian organizations Qamishli Syriac language