 Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East بطريركيّة أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الملكيين الكاثوليك | |
|---|---|
 PatriarchYoussef Absi | |
| Type | Antiochian |
| Classification | Eastern Catholic |
| Orientation | Byzantine Catholic |
| Scripture | Septuagint,New Testament |
| Theology | Eastern Catholic theology |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Primate | Youssef Absi, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East (since June 21, 2017) |
| Language | Koine Greek (historical), Aramaic (Classical Syriac) (historical),[1] Arabic (official),[2] English, French,Portuguese, Spanish, and other languages (extended) |
| Headquarters | Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition,Damascus,Syria |
| Territory | Primary:Syria,Lebanon,Palestine,Jordan,Iraq,Egypt, parts ofTurkey, andSudan Extended: North America, South America,Western,Southern and Central Europe, Australia, New Zealand |
| Founder | ApostlesPeter andPaul |
| Independence | A.D. 519[3] |
| Branched from | Church of Antioch |
| Separations | Georgian Orthodox Church – 1010[4] Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch – 1724 |
| Members | Approx. 1.6 million (2024)[5] |
| Official website | www.melkitepat.org |
TheMelkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch (Greek:Μελχίτικο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as theMelkite Catholic Church, and legally as theRūmGreek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (Arabic:بطريركيّة أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الملكيين الكاثوليك,romanized: Baṭriyarkiyyat ʾAnṭākiya wa-Sāʾir al-Mašriq li-r-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk), is anautocephalousByzantine RiteEastern Catholic Church in full communion with theHoly See. It originates from the historicChurch of Antioch, which according to tradition, was founded by theApostlesPeter andPaul. The church is headed by the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and maintains its own distinct Byzantine liturgical tradition and ecclesiastical governance.
The Melkite Greek Catholic Church traces its origins to the ancient Christian community of Antioch, one of the earliest centers of Christianity. After the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Church of Antioch experienced divisions, leading to the formation of multiple branches. The term Melkite (from Syriacmalkāyā, meaning "imperial") originally referred to those who accepted Chalcedonian Christology and remained aligned with the Byzantine emperor.
In 1724, a schism occurred within theChalcedonian Melkite Church when Cyril VI Tanas was elected patriarch and sought communion with Rome. The portion of the Church that rejected communion with Rome remained within the Eastern Orthodox Church, forming the modernGreek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch.
The Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch's complete title is:Patriarch of Antioch and of All the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, incorporating its other titular patriarchates.[6] The patriarchal cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition (Arabic:كاتدرائية سيدة النياح للروم الملكيين في دمشق) in Damascus, Syria. It was visited by Pope John Paul II in 2001.[7]
The Melkite Greek Catholic Church has approximately 1.6 million members worldwide.[8] Its territorial jurisdiction includes Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and parts of Egypt and Iraq. The Melkite diaspora extends to Europe, the Americas, and Australia, where it has established parishes and eparchies.
The Church continues to maintain its Byzantine heritage while remaining fully Catholic, preserving the traditions of Eastern Christianity within the larger communion of the Catholic Church.
The Patriarch also holds the office ofMetropolitan of an emptyEcclesiastical province without an actualsuffragan see, actually comprising only his proper Metropolitan Archeparchy of Damascus (of the Melkites) also, inLatin:Damascenus Græcorum Melkitarum (with terms in other relevant languages:Damasco [Curiate Italiano];Arabic:دِمَشق,romanized: Dimašq; and, locally,aš-Šām). Like the Patriarchate, in Rome it depends only upon theCongregation for the Oriental Churches.
During a vacancy in the Patriarchate (such as following the resignation ofGregory III Laham in 2017), the bishop of the permanent synod who is most senior by ordination serves as administrator in chief of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.
As of 2014[update], it pastorally served three thousand Catholics in eight parishes and one mission with: nine priests (six diocesan, three religious); three deacons; thirty‑three lay religious (three brothers, thirty sisters); and ten seminarians.
In continuation of the earlier Melkite patriarchates of the ancient sees of Alexandria and of Jerusalem, twotitular patriarchates exist. These are however simply titles, vested in the residential Patriarch of Antioch, which also have Catholic residential counterparts:
The following is a list of Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem. Those Patriarchs who were born in Syria are indicated with a symbol 'α', those born in Egypt with 'β', and those born in Lebanon with 'γ'.Eparch is equivalent tobishop, andarcheparch toarchbishop:
The following is a list of auxiliary bishops of the episcopate of the See of Antioch:
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The main center of Aramaic-speaking Melkites was Palestine. During the 5th-6th centuries, they were engaged in literary, mainly translation work in the local Western Aramaic dialect, known as "Palestinian Christian Aramaic", using a script closely resembling the cursive Estrangela of Osrhoene.
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