MELKITI. — In scholarly usage, the name designates the faithful of the Byzantine rite, both Catholic and dissident, of the patriarchates of Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria. The term derives from the Syriac word malhā = «king» (βασιλεύς). The Monophysite opponents called the faithful of the aforementioned patriarchates M., because they held the faith of the βασιλεύς of Byzantium. They were Catholics until, at a time difficult to determine, after the schism of Cerularius (1054), they separated from the Catholic Church. Originally, the m. followed the West-Syrian rite and, respectively (in Egypt), the Alexandrian rite; but under the influence of Constantinople they gradually adopted the Byzantine rite beginning in the 10th century. From the 17th century onward, some of them returned to union with Rome. The Catholic m. have had their own patriarchates continuously since 1724. Historically, there is no reason to restrict the name m., as some authors do, to Catholics alone. Indeed, today neither the dissidents nor the Catholics call themselves m. The former call themselves «rumorthodox» and the latter «Greek Catholics». On the m., V. ALESSANDRO; ANTIOCHIA; GERUSALEMME, PATRIARCATO di. Here only a few brief indications are given.
I. THE CATHOLIC M
The Melkite patriarch of Antioch also bears the title of Jerusalem and Alexandria; he resides in Damascus or Cairo. Immediately subject to him are the dioceses of Damascus, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Cairo, and Sudan, and the faithful of Constantinople and ‘Irāq. These dioceses together number 41,400 faithful (of whom 10,900 are in Syria, 25,000 in Egypt, 3150 in Palestine, 2000 in Sudan, 150 in Constantinople, and 200 in ‘Irāq). There are also the following suffragan dioceses: Ba‘albek (27,500 faithful), Zahleh (22,717), Tyre (3780), Sajdā (15,000), Paneas (3000), Tripoli of Lebanon (5000), Havrān or Boşrā (7453), Aleppo (14,000), Beirut (17,000), Homs-Hamāh (8500), S. Giovanni d’Acri (25,000), ‘Ammān (6504). Thus, the total number of Melkite Catholics in the patriarchal territory is 196,854, to which must be added 71,800 dispersed chiefly in America. There are 307 parishes; 379 churches and chapels; and 343 priests, of whom 182 are secular.Religious orders: Basilians of the Most Holy Saviour (7 convents, 124 priests, 89 scholastics, 8 lay brothers, 4 novices, and 55 postulants); Basilians of S. Giovanni di Suvajr (110 monks and 20 novices); Aleppine Basilians (75 monks, 15 novices, and 6 postulants); each of these three Orders has its respective female branch, with 27, 45, and 30 members; Paulists, a modern and active Congregation, founded in 1903 (30 priests, 11 scholastics, 13 brothers, 10 novices, and 21 postulants). The Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help were founded in 1936 by the Paulists and number 35 sisters and 13 novices.
For the training of the clergy, there is the Seminary of S. Anna in Jerusalem, directed by the White Fathers. In 1948 the Seminary for late vocations at ‘Ajn Traz (Lebanon) was reopened. The Syrian M. publish the journal al-Masarrah.
II. THE DISSIDENT M
The patriarchate of Antiochia has 152,000 faithful; the patriarch, an Arab, resides in Damasco. The patriarchate of Gerusalemme has 56,000 faithful: the patriarch is a Greek. The patriarchate of Alessandria has 130,000 faithful, three quarters of whom are recently immigrated Greeks. The patriarch, a Greek, resides in Cairo (v. EGITTO). The m. in Egypt publish the journal Pantainos in Greek and Il Buon Pastore (in Arabic).Today, the Melkite rite is a branch of the Byzantine rite, differing from that in use at Constantinople and in Greece only in the liturgical language, which is Arabic, in the chant, and in certain particular usages, more numerous among Catholics (for the origin of the Melkite rite, V. ANTIOCHIA di SIRIA, Il rito antiocheno; ALESSANDRIA d'EGITTO, Il rito alessandrino).
Once the Monophysite Church in Syria and Egypt had established itself in opposition to the Orthodox Church, the rite of the latter could be called Melkite; this was so from the 6th–7th centuries. Byzantinization made great progress in the 10th century and was complete by the 13th. Of the greatest importance are the two responses of Balsamon: one favorable, concerning the use of the Arabic language in the liturgy (PG 138, 957), the other negative, concerning the use of formularies for the liturgy apart from the Chrysostomian and Basilian liturgies (PG 137, 621; 138, 935). The “Orthodox” always followed the rite of Constantinople closely; the others, after union with Rome, introduced new feasts into the calendar and Eucharistic benediction and, because of the practice of daily Mass, made suppressions or changes for which they were reprimanded by the Holy See (e.g., Benedict XIV’s bull Demandatam of 24 December 1743); Korolevskii (v. op. cit. in bibl., p. 191) distinguishes among these usages some that are commendable, others tolerable, and others contrary to the genuine rite.
In the first half of the 17th century, Melezio Karmi, metropolitan of Aleppo, revised and completed the Arabic translation of many liturgical books; his recension formed the basis for the very numerous editions of almost all the liturgical books produced by Catholics and by the “Orthodox.”
ratur, I, Città del Vaticano 1944, pp. 186–89 (on the lectionaries), pp. 623–40 (on the liturgical texts before and after the revision by Melezio Karna).