Melkite Greek Catholic Church

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Melkite Greek Catholic Church
Arabic كنيسة الروم الملكيين الكاثوليك, DMG Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk
Basic data
Jurisdiction status Patriarchal Church
rite Byzantine rite
Liturgical language Arabic
calendar Gregorian calendar
Seat Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch ( Damascus )
Hierarch Patriarch of Antioch, Jerusalem and All East and Alexandria Joseph Absi SMSP
statistics
Jurisdictions 29
Believers 1,670,000
Bishops 36
Parishes 491
Diocesan priest 404
Religious priest 176
Permanent deacons 68
Friars 260
Religious sisters 566
Status: 2014
Template: Infobox rite church / maintenance / picture is missing

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (also: Byzantine Catholic Church in the Middle East , Melkite Catholic Church or Rum Catholic Church ) is a rite church of the Roman Catholic Church and belongs to the Eastern Catholic Churches . It is the third largest church in Lebanon .

Surname

The word Melkiten comes from Aramaic ( Syriac : ܡܠܟܝܐ). It literally means "royal", in a broader sense also "empire ..." or "state ..."; In certain contexts, “imperial” can be meant in this sense. In Arabic , the word Malakī (Arabic: ملَكي) has the same meaning. It occurs in all Semitic languages .

The term Melkit was originally used pejoratively by the other oriental churches, after the Council of Chalcedon (451). The non-Chalcedonians used it to refer to those who were supported by the Byzantine emperor. It is not known when the Melkites first used the term as a self-designation.

Historical distribution

The Melkites were generally Greek-speaking city ​​citizens who lived in the western Levant and Egypt , while the non-Chalcedonian Syriac Orthodox and Copts lived more in the countryside. The Melkite Church was divided into three historical patriarchates: Alexandria , Antioch and Jerusalem , each under the Patriarch of Constantinople . The non-Chalcedonians have established their patriarchates in Alexandria ( Coptic Church ) and Antioch ( Syrian Orthodox Church ). In contrast to its non-Chalcedonian neighbors, the Nubian Kingdom of Makuria (now in Sudan ) practiced the Melkite faith from 575 to 1300 AD (see list of the bishops of Faras )

history

An important source for the period up to the early 10th century is the history of Eutychios of Alexandria . In 1054, at the height of the Oriental Schism , Patriarch Michael I. Kerularius and Cardinal Humbert von Silva Candida excommunicated each other. In the following centuries, however, the cooperation between the Orthodox hierarchs and the Holy See increased . During the Second Council of Lyon and the Council of Florence , the Patriarch of Constantinople entered into a union with the Pope in the hope of freeing Constantinople from the onslaught of Islam .

From 1342 Roman Catholic priests came to Damascus and other areas of the Orient . They began proselytizing, and some Orthodox priests secretly converted to Catholicism . At the time, the nature of the east-west schism was undefined and most converts retained the Byzantine rite and remained in their church as a pro-Roman Catholic group. In 1724 Kyrillos VI. Tanas , a pro-Catholic bishop, was elected Patriarch of Antioch. The Patriarch of Constantinople Jeremais III. regarded this election as a Catholic takeover attempt and nominated the Greek monk Sylvester instead of Kyrillos as patriarch.

The newly elected Pope Benedict XIII. recognized Kyrillos' claim to patriarchy and greeted him and the believers in communion with Rome. From that point on, the Melkite Church was split into an Orthodox and a Catholic part, each recognized by Constantinople and Rome. The Catholic part kept the name Melkit. In modern usage, the term Melkit is used almost exclusively for the Greek Catholic believers.

At the end of the 18th century there were clashes between the cities of Aleppo and Damascus , which ultimately led to a split in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch of the Orthodox Melkites. Now in 1744 the Patriarch Kyrillos, supported by Damascus, received the pallium from Pope Benedict XIV as a sign of full church fellowship. Since the Catholics were always hindered by the Turkish authorities, the church only stayed in the mountains, and many followers emigrated to Palestine or Egypt . As a result, the Catholic Melkite Patriarch of Antioch also became the Melkite administrator of the jurisdictions of Jerusalem and Alexandria. In 1838 Jerusalem and Alexandria were elevated to their own Melkite patriarchal seats (patriarchates). The Melkite Church has since been divided into three major jurisdictions, and the Melkite Patriarch has the title of three patriarchal seats (Antioch and all of the East; Jerusalem; Alexandria and all of Africa). Since 1848 it has been recognized by the Turkish government as its own millet . Originally a church of the Antiochene Greeks , the Melkite Greek Catholic Church was joined by numerous Orthodox Arabs in the 19th century , as the Catholic Patriarch seemed less dependent on the government than the Orthodox Patriarch.

With the Gregorian calendar alive, the Catholic Melkites celebrate their Byzantine liturgy today in the Arabic language . The approximately 1,284,000 believers are subordinate to the Patriarch, who is based in Damascus , are organized in 26 dioceses and live in Syria , Lebanon, Israel , Egypt, Jordan , the USA , Europe and Australia .

Patriarch Gregorios III. at an investiture ceremony of the Lazarus Order in Krefeld-Hüls .

The head of the church is the Melkite Patriarch of Antioch, currently Joseph Absi . Its official residence is at the Melkite Cathedral of Our Lady al-Niah in the Syrian capital Damascus; his two Lebanese residences are in Raboueh and Ain Traz .

At the Second Vatican Council , the Melkite-Catholic episcopate, led by Patriarch Maximos IV , played a prominent role as a representative of Eastern Church traditions and their importance for the Catholic Church.

present

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church had around 1.6 million believers in 2010; the dioceses are located in Egypt , Argentina , Australia , Brazil , Israel , Jordan , Canada , Mexico , the USA and Venezuela .

The majority of the dioceses are in Lebanon with seven eparches and in Syria with four eparches and the seat of the patriarch in Damascus. In Iraq and Kuwait , the Melkite Church maintains a patriarchal exarchate .

Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Austria

The Melkite believers in Austria belong to the Greek Catholic rite , one of the three rites of the Catholic Church in Austria as a legally recognized church . They are looked after by the Ordinariate for Byzantine Believers in Austria , who is subordinate to the Archbishop of Vienna . There is a congregation at the Greek Catholic central parish St. Barbara in Vienna.

Greek Catholic Church in Western Europe

There are some Melkite communities in Western Europe. Archbishop Jean-Clément Jeanbart of Aleppo in Syria is responsible for the Melkite Christians in Western Europe . He has been the Apostolic Visitator for the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Western Europe since 1999 , there are the following congregations in

Order cross (blue) of the Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem

Religious communities and orders

There are four religious communities , each with a male and female branch:

The Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem is a lay order of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, led by the Melkite Patriarch of Antioch, as Grand Master . The Order of Lazarus has been under the patriarch's protectorate since 1841 (other sources indicate 1910) .

On September 22, 1990, the Patriarch took over the protectorate of the Christian-ecumenical Knights Templar Ordo Militiae Christi Templi Hierosolymitani (OMCTH) with the General Command in Cologne and the spiritual seat in Jerusalem.

See also

literature

  • Ignatius Dick: Les Melkites. Grecs-orthodoxes et grecs-catholiques des Patriarcats d'Antioche, d'Alexandrie et de Jérusalem. Brepols, Turnhout 1994, ISBN 2-503-50308-X .
  • Ignatius Dick: Melkites. Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholics of the Patriarchates of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem. Sophia Press, Roslindale MA 2004.
  • Neophytos Edelby: Il Vaticano II nel diario di un vescovo arabo (= Attualità e storia. 14). A cura di Riccardo Cannelli. Introduzione di Andrea Riccardi. San Paolo, Milan 1996, ISBN 88-215-3256-9 .
  • Elias B. Skaff: The Place of the Patriarchs of Antioch in Church History. Sophia Press, Newton MA 1993.
  • Jean-Pierre Valognes: Vie et mort des Chrétiens d'Orient. Des origines à nos jours. Paris, Fayard 1994, ISBN 2-213-03064-2 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Eastern Catholic Churches 2014. Catholic Near East Welfare Association, June 1, 2014, accessed February 10, 2015 .
  2. ^ Lufti Laham: Melkiten. In: Wolfgang Thönissen (Hrsg.): Lexicon of ecumenism and denominational studies. On behalf of the Johann Adam Möhler Institute for Ecumenism. Herder, Freiburg (Breisgau) 2007, ISBN 978-3-451-29500-3 , pp. 856-858.
  3. ↑ Grieks Melkietische Katholieke Kerk in België ( Memento of the original from June 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.melkites.be
  4. ↑ Église Saint Julien le Pauvre Paroisse Grecque Melkites Catholique de Paris [1]
  5. ^ Église Saint Nicolas de Myre in Marseille
  6. ↑ Santa Maria in Cosmedin
  7. ^ Il Pontificio Collegio Greco
  8. ↑ Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Malta - Maltese
  9. ↑ Vikariatet för de orientalisk-katolska kyrkorna ( Memento of the original from March 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.katolskakyrkan.se
  10. ↑ St. John Chrysostom Parish ( Memento of the original from February 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.melkite.org.uk

Web links

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