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 Exarch Joseph Haggar, Protosyncellus




Most Reverend John A. Elya, Eparch, emeritus

"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 Exarch Joseph Haggar, Protosyncellus, Auxiliary Bishop of Newton, and the Most Reverend John A. Elya, Eparch, emeritus, 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 Special Synod of Melkite Bishops in 2008.

Inaugural Address to the Holy Synod Meeting at Ain Traz 2-7 June 2008

In the name of Christ the Saviour, we are opening this Holy Synod and placing it under the protection of our Virgin Mother Mary, our Lady of the Annunciation, patron of this patriarchal summer residence at Ain Traz. Let us be inspired in our discussions by the breath of the Holy Spirit and the teachings of the Apostle Paul, especially as we are just a few days away from the beginning of the year that His Holiness Benedict XVI has been pleased to declare as the Year of Saint Paul, to commemorate the second millennium of his birth at Tarsus. We shall have great joy in being able to participate in person at the inauguration of this year at the Basilica of Saint Paul-without-the-Walls in Rome, the eternal city, on 28th. of this blessed month of June, 2008.

Saint Paul emphasised the fact that he continually had the “mind of Christ(1)” and he wished to assure us that we too should always approach God with that same mind, being nourished, as we are, by this self-same mind and by the teachings of that Apostle, whose words have “gone out through all the earth and …to the ends of the oikoumene - the inhabited world.(2)”

Before outlining the different aims and topics of the Synod in this introductory address, I should like to underline the importance of the celebration of the Year of Saint Paul in all our churches, eparchies and parishes. Thereby we shall be helping each other and the faithful confided to our care to gain a deeper understanding of the teachings of that great Apostle, for they are words of life, words for all circumstances of life. We should like to emphasise particularly the importance of the celebration of this blessed year in the city of Damascus, the Syrian capital, which is currently celebrating the fact that it is the capital of Arab culture for the year 2008. Now Saint Paul embodies the story of Christianity in this city and is considered a cultural cornerstone both of civilization and, more particularly, of our religious heritage. This city of Damascus, residence of our Antiochian Patriarchal See, is the heir of that great Patriarchal See of Antioch, that Antioch called the great city of God, which was capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and, what is more, capital of the Christian East and first eparchy after Jerusalem, city of the resurrection. In that city the disciples of Jesus Christ were first called Christian, a name that took precedence over any other name, ethnicity or denomination. We should endeavour to return to this very beautiful, blessed, universal name that includes all Christians, regardless of differences in their rites, ethnicity, countries or nations and despite various quarrels that have historically existed between them: Antioch must return! There are today four successors who all bear the title of Antioch and who represent the Christians most encultured in the Arab East, with its culture, civilization, history and plurality of different Christian and Muslim communities in all their ethnic variety. This Church of Antioch, Church of the Christian East, must take up again its role as faith-leader in a spiritual, pastoral and cultural sense, and even in an economic, political and social way.

We hope that, God willing, our eparchies will be able to prepare suitable programmes to stimulate holy faith on the occasion of the Year of Saint Paul. Perhaps we shall have the opportunity during this Synod to present some initiatives for celebrating the Year of Saint Paul.

Subjects:

1. In this Synod, we shall be mainly concerned with the principal theme, the training of future priests. In fact the Synod of 2007 chose an ad hoc commission to study this theme and present it to this Synod. There is no need to emphasise the importance of the training of priests, whether in religious congregations or the Patriarchal Seminary of Sainte-Anne at Rabweh, which receives candidates for the priesthood from all the eparchies of all our countries. We hope that future candidates for the priesthood from the Holy Land will also be able to join this seminary. We pray and beseech the Lord, “Send good workmen to tend thy vine, Lord. Give us holy priests,” for holiness sums up all that is blessed for the sacred priestly vocation.

2. The other topics are related to the life of our Church and its progress through time, amongst which there figures especially the Patriarchal Assembly that we held in September 2007. The Central Committee decided to collect the different suggestions which had been drawn up and presented to the Holy Synod, in a report on the proposed recommendations for this session of Synod. It is up to this Holy Synod to decide what to do with these different presentations or suggestions for the animation of pastoral work and above all pastoral care through the sacraments and pastoral care of youth.

3. Of course, we shall have a report on our visit of 7-12 May 2008 to His Holiness Benedict XVI. This kind of visit is mentioned in the Canons of the Eastern Churches in which ecclesial communion with the Church of Rome and its Sovereign Pontiff, Successor of Saint Peter, is discussed: “It is to be the custom for the Patriarch to visit the Roman Pontiff and, according to the norms established especially for this, to send him a report concerning the state of the Church over which he presides. Within a year of his election and then often during his tenure in office, he is to make a visit to Rome to venerate the tombs of the Apostles, Peter and Paul and present himself to the Successor of Saint Peter, in primacy over the entire Church.” (Canon XCII, iii)

We thank our most reverend brother bishops, who accompanied us on this visit, together with the superiors general and mothers general, priests, monks, nuns and beloved lay-people who came promptly from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the Holy Land, France, England, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the United States of America, Mexico and Brazil. We thank our representative to the Apostolic Holy Roman See, Archimandrite Mtanios Haddad, for all the efforts he expended to make this visit a success.

I spoke of this visit in the sermon at the Divine Liturgy that we celebrated at the Patriarchal Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, saying, “We have seen in Rome the extraordinarily beautiful unity between the Successor of Peter and his collaborators. We loved them and they loved us. They heard our voice and we heard their voice. They became acquainted with us and we became acquainted with them. So we brought with us all our cares and concerns, in our countries and parishes, to the Holy Father Benedict XVI and his collaborators.”

From all the talks that we engaged in with His Holiness and the six cardinals, I would like particularly to share with you at the Inauguration of the Holy Synod and emphasise via the media, the importance of the role of the Pope. Despite all the disagreements that there are between Churches and theologians about the primacy of the Pope, there has to be one Christian spiritual leader, who can really be a strong common spokesman to the world that today, more than ever, needs his voice. I brought this wish to all those whom I met in Rome: besides the different cardinals, we raised the matter with His Holiness, the Catholicos of Armenia, Karekin II and with His Grace, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who visited us in our patriarchal residence at the Vatican at Santa Marta. May the Lord and Saviour inspire the leaders of Churches throughout the world, to agree to a suitable declaration on the matter! In the meantime, the official theological meeting about the Pope and his primacy has an importance for unity in the Church’s functioning and witness to Jesus Christ in this world, “that the world may believe.(3)”

4. Again our Holy Synod must through all these subjects be in contact with society and with our parishes, with their concerns, visions and sorrows, especially in our dear Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Palestine and in all Arab countries and countries of emigration, for all are affected and influenced by the situation in our countries, especially by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has already lasted sixty years. I heard in Rome, from the lips of His Holiness Benedict XVI and the cardinals, that this conflict is the mother of all crises, wars and dissension and has been and still is day after day the cause of galloping emigration, which lessens Christian influence and our witness and service. It causes the growth of fanaticism, hatred, vengeance, force and violence. It also leads to many in our world wanting strife between civilizations, cultures and religions, especially between Christianity and Islam, for it is the great obstacle to peace, security, progress and advancement throughout our Christian East.

During our visit of 8 May last, His Holiness praised and showed appreciation in his speech, for our efforts to strengthen living together and solidarity through dialogue and encounter. Similarly he praised our deep awareness of and feelings towards the Arab world of which we are an integral part, in its difficulties, concerns, problems of justice and peace, dignity of women, liberty of religion, freedom of conscience and solidarity. He was also ready to praise the ecclesial and social service carried out by our Patriarchal Church, in all its eparchies, religious communities of men and women and our different institutions. All that is really a very deep and real expression of our communication with society and the fact that we carry the aspirations and sufferings of our parishioners (and our own too) for our fellow-citizens.

In all these preliminary discussions, even those concerning the business of internal church organisation and election of pastors, our Synod is concerned with ecclesial and social work in our home countries and our relations with those homelands. Though we are here in our patriarchal residence, yet by means of all the workings of our Holy Synod, we have entered upon a steadily growing relationship with our parishioners throughout the world and we pray and think and plan decisions for the welfare of souls saved by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified by his Spirit. He has deigned to entrust to us the responsibility for serving the Church in all aspects so that people “might have life and have it more abundantly,(4)” that is, more worthy and advanced, as it should be. That is why, at the beginning of this Holy Synod, we call on our brothers, their excellencies the bishops, the superiors general and all the faithful, those who are watching us on television (for which, thanks) and those who are listening to us – and the Synod of our Church appeals to all, especially through the news carried by the mass media covering our proceedings, to all our parishes everywhere, with their clergy, monks, nuns and all our faithful, to redouble their prayers for peace, love, concord, justice and solidarity in Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and all Arab countries.

We should also underline the tragic case of the Lebanon that was causing us considerable anxiety. We saw fit to bring the Lebanese case to His Holiness, who showed much concern and solidarity. We are sure that the unity of Lebanon and understanding among its communities will bring both a resolution to the current crisis and be the key to solving the majority of the misfortunes and crises of our region. Besides, we think that fundamental harmony between Syria and the Lebanon is also a very important lynchpin for helping all the different problems of the Middle East. In fact, resolving crises between Lebanon and Syria, on the one hand, and Palestine and Israel, on the other, is really the key to peace and justice throughout the Middle East and even throughout the whole world. We felt immense joy at the news of the election of President Michel Sleiman, after a vacancy of five months. We wish him well for his term of office and trust that he will implement the remarkable national plan outlined in the speech he gave at his investiture. Making our own that part of his speech about the participation of the diaspora in national life and echoing our own leitmotiv: “no to emigration,” we are proposing a new slogan by way of appendix to the President’s speech: “returning to the mother country is a must.”

We pray for the unity of Lebanon and all the sons and daughters of all its communities.

Conclusion

We now implore the rich blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ with all our patron Saints, on the workings of this Holy Synod, that it may be fruitful for the glory of God, for our service and charge, for the growth of faith, hope and love and good Christian living in accordance with the Gospel. Besides we pray that our Synod may be an instrument of growth in holiness, especially, among our faithful and in our parishes and society. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Ain Traz June 2008 Gregorios III
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Translated from the French by V. Chamberlain

Damascus Walk in honour of Saint Paul
Tuesday September 23rd, 2008

In the evening of Tuesday 23 September 2008, in the old city of Damascus, some 2,500 pilgrims took part in a walk in honour of Saint Paul as part of the celebrations for the Year dedicated to the Apostle of the Gentiles. The walk, headed by His Beatitude Gregorios III, Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, included eleven stations, while meditations, prayers and chants accompanied the way from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch as far as the Melkite Greek Catholic chapel of Saint Paul-on-the-Wall, via Straight Street and the Eastern Gate (Bab Sharqi.) The meditations focused on the conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, his baptism in Damascus by Saint Ananias and the faith of the first Christians of Damascus. The walkers were welcomed on their arrival at the Eastern Gate, by the unfurling of a giant canvas portrait of the Apostle, depicting his return to Damascus, after his flight into the Arabian wilderness (the present day Syrian district of Hauran.)

Syrian television covered the walk, accompanied as it was by choral groups and bands from the city’s different Christian communities and by firework displays.

At the conclusion of the walk, in the big square that separates the Chapel of Saint Paul-on-the-Wall from the adjacent children’s home and old people’s home, the walkers could view on a giant hoarding the different designer posters produced by the Syrian Ministry of Tourism for the Year of Saint Paul.

A brief address from Patriarch Gregorios III closed this walk of witness, which is also part of the celebrations of Damascus, capital of Arab culture 2008 – a culture that is both Christian and Muslim.

The next walk in honour of Saint Paul will take place on 30 September in Damascus, on the eve of the feast of Saint Ananias, first bishop of the city.

Translation from the French: V. Chamberlain + + +









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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