Melkite Greek Catholic Church
Also known as Melkite Church
Eastern Catholic church
Key facts
- Type
- Particular church ( sui luris )
- Classification
- Christian
- Orientation
- Eastern Catholic Melkite
- Scripture
- Bible
- Theology
- Catholic theology
- Polity
- Episcopal polity
- Pope
- Leo XIV
- Patriarch
- Youssef Absi
- First patriarch
- Cyril VI Tanas
- Region
- Egypt , Palestine , Israel , Jordan , Lebanon , Sudan , Syria , Turkey , Iraq , Argentina , Australia , Belgium , Brazil , Canada , France , Mexico , New Zealand , United States , United Kingdom , Venezuela , Sweden
- Language
- Arabic (diaspora: French, English, Portuguese, Spanish; liturgical: Greek)
- Liturgy
~40 min read
Article
The Melkite Greek Catholic Church, also known as the Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Its chief hierarch is Patriarch Youssef Absi, whose see is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition in Damascus, Syria.
The Melkite Church follows the Byzantine Rite and traces its origins to the early Christian community of the Patriarchate of Antioch in the 1st century AD, traditionally founded by the apostle Saint Peter. Today, the Melkite Church has approximately 1.6 million members worldwide.