Melkite Greek Catholic Church

The coat of arms of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Arabic: كنيسة الروم الكاثوليك, Template:ArabDIN) is an Eastern Rite sui juris particular Church of the Catholic Church in communion with the Pope. The church's origins lie in the Middle East, but, today, Greek-Catholic Melkites are spread throughout the world with many in diaspora. Arabic is the liturgical language of the church.

Name

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is often referred to by other combinations of those names. The Melkite element comes from the Syriac word for imperial, which was originally a pejorative term for Middle-Eastern Christians who accepted the authority of the Council of Chalcedon (451) and the Byzantine Emperor. It was given to them by anti-Chalcedonians (the Oriental Orthodox). This term is now not generally used to refer to other Chalcedonian Christian groups. See Melkite for the history of this term. The Greek element signifies the Byzantine rite heritage of the church: its liturgy is little different in structure from that of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Catholic element is generally used to signify the church's acknowledgement of the authority of the Pope. However, the word can also imply participation in the world-wide church (see Catholic). As Ignatius of Antioch was one of the first of the Apostolic Fathers to use the term Catholic Church, the Melkites sometimes consider themselves to be the oldest rite of Catholicism.

In Arabic, the official language of the church, the church is called ar-Rūm al-Kathūlīk (Arabic: الروم الكثوليك), which, although it sounds like 'Roman Catholic', is the correct Arabic for 'Byzantine Catholic' or 'Greek Catholic' (also Arabic: مالكى is Mālikī).

History

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church has its origins among the various Christian communities of the Levant and Egypt. The church's history and its relation to other churches can be seen in three defining moments. The church's leadership was vested in three of the ancient patriarchates: Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem.

The first defining moment was the socio-political fallout in the wake of the Council of Chalcedon. Fifth-century Middle-Eastern Christian society became sharply divided between those who did and those who did not accept the outcome of the council. Those who accepted the council, the Chalcedonians, were mainly Greek-speaking city-dwellers, and were called Melkites (imperials) by the anti-Chalcedonians. These latter were predominantly Syriac- or Coptic-speaking provincials.

The second defining moment is more of a period of change than a sudden movement. The Battle of Yarmuk (636) brought the Melkite homeland out of Byzantine control and placed it into the hands of the Muslim Arabs. Whereas Greek language and culture remained important, especially for the Jerusalem Melkites, the Melkite tradition became fused with Arabic language and culture. This led to a degree of distancing between the Patriarch of Constantinople, the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and his Melkite flock. From 1342, Roman Catholic friars opened missions in the Middle East, particularly in Damascus. Their teaching had important influence over the Melkite clergy and people. However, as there had never been any formal division from East-West Schism, these 'converts' simply became a pro-Western, pro-Catholic party within Eastern Orthodoxy.

The third defining moment was the election of Cyril VI, in 1724, by the Melkite bishops of Syria as the new Patriarch of Antioch. As Cyril was a prominent pro-Westerner, the Patriarch of Constantinople, Jeremias III, felt his authority was being questioned. Jeremias declared Cyril's election to be invalid, and appointed Sylvester, a Greek monk to the patriarchal see of Antioch. Sylvester exacerbated divisions with his heavy-handed rule of the church, and many moderate Melkites chose to acknowledge Cyril instead. That same year, the newly elected Pope Benedict XIII recognised Cyril as the legitimate Patriarch of Antioch and welcomed him and his followers into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. From this time onwards, the Greek-Catholic Melkite Church has existed separately from and in parallel to the Eastern Orthodox Church in the Middle East. The latter is not usually referred to as melkite in modern times.

The Melkite Greek Catholic Melkite Church has played an important role in the leadership of Arabic Christianity. It has always been led by Arabic-speaking Christians, where the Orthodox counterpart had Greek patriarchs until 1899. In 1835, Maximos III Mazlum, Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, was recognised by the Ottoman Empire as the leader of a millet, a distinctive religious community within the Empire. Pope Gregory XVI gave Maximos the triple-patriarchate of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem, a title that is still held by the head of the church today.

Patriarch Gregory II Yusuf (1864–1897) was a great opponent of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council. His stance was, apparently, taken in the belief that the formulation of such a doctrine would place greater strain on relation between the Melkites and other Eastern Christians. Maximos IV Sayegh (1947–1967) told the story of Gregory II's visit to Pope Pius IX after the Melkite synod had reluctantly signed its approval of the council: at the meeting, the Swiss Guard seized Gregory and threw him on the floor, where Pope Pius proceeded to address him with his foot on the patriarch's head. However, in 1894, Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Orientalium Dignitas recognised the Melkite Patriarch's authority throughout the Ottoman Empire.

Patriarch Maximos IV Sayegh took part in the Second Vatican Council. There he championed the Eastern tradition of Christianity, and won a great deal of respect from Eastern Orthodox observers at the council. After the council, the process of latinisation of the Melkite Church was reversed. Where some parts of the church had begun to use Latin-rite services and withhold the eucharist from infants, the Byzantine rites were reinforced and the tradition of admission to communion after post-baptismal chrismation was reasserted. The recent patriarchate of Maximos V Hakim (1967–2000) continued to build on good relationships between the Melkite Greek Catholic Melkite Church and other churches of the East.

Modern church

The current Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Alexandria and Jerusalem is Gregory III Laham. The patriarchate is based in Damascus. In the Middle East, the church has dioceses in:

Egypt — Alexandria, looked after by a protosynkellarios.
Israel — Acre and Jerusalem (a patriarchal vicarate).
Jordan — Amman.
Lebanon — Beirut, Baalbek, Baniyas, Beirut, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre and Zahle.
Syria — Aleppo, Bosra, Damascus (the patriarchate), Homs, Latakia.

Throughout the rest of the world, the church has dioceses in:

Australia — Sydney (an eparchy).
Brazil — São Paulo.
Canada — Montreal.
United States of America — Newton (an eparchy).
Venezuela — Caracas.
Western Europe — Rome (an apostolic vicarate).

External links

Name

History

Modern church

See also

External links