Melkites

MELKITES. - In scientific 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 faithful of the aforementioned patriarchates, who held the faith of the βασιλεύς of Byzantium, were called M. by their Monophysite adversaries. They were Catholic 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 Syriac rite and respectively (in Egypt) the Alexandrian rite; but under the influence of Constantinople they accepted the Byzantine rite from the 10th century onward and gradually. A part of them, from the 17th century onward, returned to union with Rome. The Catholic M. have had their own patriarchates without interruption since 1724. Historically there is no reason to restrict the name of M., as some authors do, to Catholics alone. In fact today neither the dissidents nor the Catholics give themselves the name of M. The former call themselves "rumorthodox" and the latter "Greek Catholics". On the M., v. ALESSANDRIA; ANTIOCHIA; GERUSALEMME, PATRIARCATO di. Here only a few brief indications are given.

I. THE CATHOLIC MELKITES

The Melkite patriarch of Antioch also gives himself 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 the Sudan, and the faithful of Constantinople and of Iraq. These dioceses together number 41,400 faithful (of whom 10,900 in Syria, 25,000 in Egypt, 3,150 in Palestine, 2,000 in the Sudan, 150 in Constantinople and 200 in Iraq). There are then the following suffragan dioceses: Baalbek (27,500 faithful), Zahleh (22,717), Tyre (3,780), Sidon (15,000), Paneas (3,000), Tripoli of Lebanon (5,000), Havrān or Boşrā (7,453), Aleppo (14,000), Beirut (17,000), Homs-Hamāh (8,500), St. John of Acre (25,000), 'Ammān (6,504). Thus the total number of Catholic Melkites in the patriarchal territory is 196,854, to which must be added 71,800 dispersed especially in America. The parishes are 307; churches and chapels 379; priests 343, of whom 182 are secular.

Religious orders: Basilians of the Most Holy Savior (7 convents, 124 priests, 89 scholastics, 8 lay brothers, 4 novices and 55 postulants); Basilians of St. John of Suvajr (110 monks and 20 novices); Basilians of Aleppo (75 monks,

15 novices and 6 postulants); of these three Orders each has its own female branch with 27, 45 and 30 members respectively; Paulists, a modern, active Congregation, founded in 1903 (30 priests, 11 scholastics, 13 brothers, 10 novices, 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 formation of the clergy there is the Seminary of St. Anne in Jerusalem, directed by the White Fathers. In 1948 the Seminary for late vocations was reopened at 'Ajn Traz (Lebanon). The Syrian Melkites publish the review al-Masarrah.

II. DISSIDENT MELKITES

The patriarchate of Antioch has 152,000 faithful; the patriarch, an Arab, resides in Damascus. The patriarchate of Jerusalem has 56,000 faithful: the patriarch is a Greek. The patriarchate of Alexandria has 130,000 faithful, of whom three quarters are recently immigrated Greeks. The patriarch, a Greek, resides in Cairo (v. also EGYPT). The M. in Egypt publish the journal Pantainos in Greek and Il Buon Pastore (in Arabic).

Guglielmo de Vries

MELKITE RITE

Under this name is understood the rite practiced in the three dissident patriarchates of Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria, as well as in the Catholic patriarchate of Antioch (which is joined in person with the other two), and in their communities scattered throughout North and South America and Africa.

Today, the Melkite rite is a branch of the Byzantine one, which differs from that in use in Constantinople and Greece only in the liturgical language, which is Arabic, in the chant and in certain particular customs, more numerous among Catholics (for the origin of the Melkite rite, v. ANTIOCHIA di SIRIA, Il rito antiocheno; ALESSANDRIA d'EGITTO, Il rito alessandrino).

From the time when the Monophysite Church in Syria and Egypt constituted itself in opposition to the Orthodox one, the rite of the latter can be called Melkite; this from the 6th-7th century. Byzantinization made great progress in the 10th century, becoming complete in the 13th century. Of very great 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 other than the Chrysostomian and the Basilian (PG 137, 621; 138, 935). The "Orthodox" always followed the rite of Constantinople closely; the others, after the union with Rome, introduced new feasts into the calendar, eucharistic benediction, and, because of the practice of daily Mass, made suppressions or changes for which they were reproved by the Holy See (e.g., the bull Demandatam of Benedict XIV of 24 Dec. 1743); Korolevskii (v. op. cit. in bibl., p. 191) distinguishes, among these customs, some commendable, others tolerable, others contrary to the genuine one.

In the first half of the 17th century Meletios Karmi, metropolitan of Aleppo, revised and completed the Arabic translation of many liturgical books; his recension was the basis of the very numerous editions of almost all the liturgical books, made by Catholics and by the "Orthodox."