Our Church goes back to the early stage of the Christian History.
The Acts of the Apostles, speaking of the missionary activities of Paul and Barnabas (around 43 AD) reports: "For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the Disciples were for the first time called Christians"(11:25-26).



The Melkites are the descendants of those first Antiochian Christians.
The usage of the word Greek does not refer to a geographic ethnicity, but to the Byzantine rite used by our Church. It is significant that the Arab historians called the Byzantines "Roum", in reference to the title of Constantinople, the New Rome.



Before Emperor Constantine decided to make Constantinople the Capital of his Eastern Empire and gave it his imperial name, the City of Constantine, it was known as Byzantium. Hence the name of our Byzantine rite.


Our theology, spirituality and liturgy are deeply rooted in the Greek Fathers of the Church, such as John Chrysostom who was born and grew up in Antioch before becoming Archbishop of Constantinople.
In 451 A.D. an Ecumenical Council was held in Chalcedon (now in Turkey) to define the true faith regarding Christ. Some Christian factions taught that Christ was one person with one divine nature (hence their name of Monophysites). The Council proclaimed that Christ was truly God and Man at the same time, i.e. one person with a double nature, human and divine. In order to bring peace back to his people, Marcion, the Byzantine Emperor at that time, supported the decisions of the Council.
The term Melkites, meaning Royalists, was originally meant to be an insult applied by the Monophysites to all churches who accepted the teachings of the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon. It comes from the Aramaic word for king, "Melko" used by all Semitic languages (Arabic: Malek, Hebrew: Melech, Syriac: Malko etc...)
Catholic is a Greek word meaning "Universal". It was applied by the Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) completed by the Council of Constantinople (380 A.D.) to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.



The Melkite Church owes its character to its triple loyalty to:
- the first Seven Ecumenical Councils
- the Byzantine traditions
- and the communion with Rome.
The Great Schism which took place in 1054 A.D. between Rome and Constantinople did not affect the See of Antioch. Peter III who was Patriarch of Antioch as that time, did his best to reconcile the Pope with the Ecumenical Patriarch Michael Cerularios. Only later, long after the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans (1453 A.D.) did the Patriarchate of Antioch line up with Constantinople against Rome.
But there has always remained a clear, definite current among the Antiochian Bishops, Clergy and People in favor of restoring full communion with Rome.
The occasion for doing so presented itself in July, 1724 A.D. when the Antiochian Patriarch Athanasios III died. Cyril VI Tanas was elected as his successor in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition in Damascus and he re-established the communion with Rome. His election was perfectly legal by the norms of that time.
Angered by this development, the Orthodox Synod of Constantinople hurriedly called the Greek Deacon Sylvester of Cyprus, a relative of the late Antiochian Patriarch Athanasios, to Constantinople, ordained him to priesthood, consecrated him Bishop and proclaimed him Patriarch of Antioch two months later in September 1724.
Thus a parallel Hierarchy came into being, with a Greek Orthodox Patriarch and a Greek Catholic (Melkite) Patriarch for the same See of Antioch.
During the early Ottoman hegemony, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was given complete authority by the Sultans over all Christian communities of the Empire including the Melkites. It was not until 1848 A.D. under the great Patriarch Maximos III Mazloom that the Melkite community won its full recognition by the Ottoman rulers as an independent Church.
The Melkite Church is Catholic, in full communion with Rome.
As a Catholic branch of the Patriarchate of Antioch, it remains faithfully attached to its Eastern theology, spirituality and traditions and, at the same time, to the See of Peter in Rome. This means it is "a voice for the East within the Western Church" as was superbly demonstrated by another great Melkite Patriarch, Maximos IV Saigh, of blessed memory, during Vatican II.
The Melkite Church therefore considers itself a bridge between the Western and the Eastern Churches. It devotedly strives for the unity of all Christian Churches.
The Melkite Church is governed by the Patriarch who, with the Bishops, form the Holy Synod, the highest authority in the Melkite Church.
His Beatitude Gregory III is the 172nd Melkite Patriarch.
Here is a full list of his predecessors:
1724-1759, Cyril VI Tanas
1759-1760, Athanasios IV Jawhar
1760-1761, Maximos II Hakim
1761-1788, Theodsios IV Dahan
1788-1794, Athanasios IV Jawhar (2nd time)
1794-1796, Cyril VII Siage
1796-1812, Agapios II Matar
1812, Ignatius IV Sarrouf
1813, Athanasios V Matar
1813-1815, Macarios IV Tawil
1816-1833, Ignatius V Cattan
1833-1855, Maximos III Mazloum
1856-1864, Clement Bahous
1864-1897, Gregory II Youssef-Sayour
1898-1902, Peter IV Geraigiry
1902-1916, Cyril VIII Geha
1916-1925, Dimitrios I Cadi
1925-1947, Cyril IV Moghabghab
1947-1967, Maximos IV Saigh
1967-2000, Maximos V Hakim
His Beatitude Gregory III was elected by the Holy Synod on November 29, 2000, to succeed Patriarch Maximos V who had resigned for health reasons.
He bears the title of Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem. "All the East" should not be understood geographically. It refers to an ancient Diocese called Anatoly (a Greek word meaning East) which administratively used to depend on Antioch.
The Holy Synod includes 32 Bishops, with Dioceses in all continents, from the Americas to Australia and New Zealand.
In the USA, The Melkite Diocese is called the Eparchy of Newton. It is headed by an Eparch, the Most Rev. John A. Elya. His residence is at 3 VFW Parkway, Roslindale, MA, 01231.
The Melkite Church counts approximately 600,000 faithful in the Middle East and about a million in the other parts of the world.

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Our Patriarchate and Jurisdiction


His Beatitude Patriarch Gregory III, Patriarch of Antioch, and All the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem




Reverend Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros, Eparch of Newton




Most Reverend , Auxiliary Bishop of Newton, Protosyncellus




Most Reverend Bishop John Elya, former Eparch of Newton

"May They Have Many Years"
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"St. Joseph Melkite Catholic Church"
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St. Joseph Melkite Catholic Church
is the presence of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Merrimack Valley and surrounding communities, under the jurisdiction of His Beatitude Patriarch Gregory III, Patriarch of Antioch, and All the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem, and the Most Reverend Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros, Eparch of Newton, and the Most Reverend Nicholas J. Samra, Auxiliary Bishop of Newton, Protosyncellus, in communion with His Holiness, Benedict XVI, Patriarch and Pope of Rome.
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Patriarchate Important Event

A Special Synod of Melkite Bishops in 2004.

A Special Synod of the Melkite Bishops was held at the Patriarchal Residence in Rabweh near Antelias, Lebanon, from June 27 to 31, 2004.







A New Bishop for Canada
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Geographic Locations


Egypt:
Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarchate
Daher Street 16
Cairo - 11271
Egypt
Tel: 0020-(0)2-5904697 / 5905790
Fax: 0020-(0)2-393946

Holy Land:
Greek-Catholic Patriarchate/ Patriarcat Roum Melkite Catholique / Patriarcat Grec-Catholique
Greek Catholic Patriarchate Street
P.O. Box 14130
Jaffa Gate - Bab al-Jalil (Bab el Khalil)
Jerusalem - 91141
Israel
Tel: 6282023, from the US 011.972.2.6282023, local from outside Jerusalem: 02.6282023
6271968, from the US 011.972.2.6271968, local from outside Jerusalem: 02.6271968
6271969, from the US 011.972.2.6271969, local from outside Jerusalem: 02.6271969
Fax: 6286652, from the US 011.972.2.6286652, local from outside Jerusalem: 02.6286652

Lebanon:
Greek-Catholic Patriarchate / Batrakiyat al-Rum al-kathooleek
P.O. Box 70071
50076 Raboueh - Antlias - Metn
Lebanon (Liban)
Tel: 00961-4-413111 / 417566
Fax: 00961-4-525655
E-mail: gcp@pgc-lb.org

Syria:
Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarchate in Bab-Charqi-Damascus
P.O. Box 22249
Bab-Charqi-Damascus
Syria
Tel: 00963-11-5433129 / 5433130 / 5433131

Jerusalem:
Greek-Catholic Patriarchate/ Patriarcat Roum Melkite Catholique / Patriarcat Grec-Catholique
Greek Catholic Patriarchate Street
P.O. Box 14130
Jaffa Gate - Bab al-Jalil (Bab el Khalil)
Jerusalem - 91141
Israel
Tel: 6282023, from the US 011.972.2.6282023, local from outside Jerusalem: 02.6282023
6271968, from the US 011.972.2.6271968, local from outside Jerusalem: 02.6271968
6271969, from the US 011.972.2.6271969, local from outside Jerusalem: 02.6271969
Fax: 6286652, from the US 011.972.2.6286652, local from outside Jerusalem: 02.6286652

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