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The seat of the patriarchate was formerly Antioch (Antakya), in what is now Turkey, but is now Damascus, Syria, located on the "street called Straight." The current patriarch is His Beatitude Patriarch [[Ignatius IV (Hazim) of Antioch]] and all the East.

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The current patriarch is His Beatitude Patriarch [[Ignatius IV (Hazim) of Antioch]] and all the East, elected in 1979. Patriarch Ignatius has been particularly active in strengthening ties with other Christian communions, but particularly with those whose roots are in Antiochian Orthodoxy. To this end, on [[July 22]], 1991, he met with the Syriac ("Jacobite") Antiochian Patriarch, Ignatius Zakka I (Iwas), and the two patriarchs signed a document which called for "complete and mutual respect between the two churches." It also forbade the passing of faithful from one church to the other, envisaged joint meetings of the two Holy Synods when appropriate, and provided (as yet unrealized) guidelines for intercommunion of the faithful and even [[Eucharis]]tic concelebration by the [[clergy]] of the two churches.

Patriarch Ignatius has also overseen participation in a bilateral commission with the [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church]], which is exploring ways of healing the 18th century schism and returning the Melkites to Orthodoxy. In an unprecedented event, the Meklite Patriarch Maximos V addressed a meeting of the Orthodox Holy Synod of Antioch in October of 1996. In May of 1997, the Holy Synod met and declared that the whole [[Pascha]]ltide period is to be observed festally, thus balancing the lengthy fasting of [[Great Lent]] with an equal non-fasting period in celebration of the Resurrection of [[Jesus Christ]].