Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos
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Archeparchy of Beirut and Jbeil (Melkite Greek) Archieparchia Berytensis et Gibailensis Graecorum Melkitarum |
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| Location | |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Statistics | |
| Population - Catholics |
(as of 2012) 200,000 |
| Parishes | 121 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Melkite Greek Catholic Church |
| Rite | Byzantine Rite |
| Established | 16 August 1881 (136 years ago) |
| Cathedral | Saint Elias Greek Catholic Cathedral |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Patriarch | Youssef Absi |
| Archeparch | Cyril Salim Bustros, SMSP |
| Emeritus Bishops | Joseph Kallas, SMSP |
The Archeparchy of Beirut and Jbeil (in Latin: Archieparchia Berytensis et Gibailensis Graecorum Melkitarum) is a metropolitan eparchy of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church since 1881, an Eastern Catholic church in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Located in Lebanon, it includes the cities of Beirut and Byblos (Jbeil), and in terms of population, it is the largest Melkite eparchy in the Middle East. Its current Eparch, Cyril Salim Bustros, S.M.S.P., was elected in 2011.
The territory of the archeparchy includes Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, and its environs; much of Mount Lebanon governorate (to the north Antelias, Jounieh, and Jbail; to the east Baabda, Broumana, and Bikfaya) and south to part of Chouf District. The archeparchy has an estimated population of 200,000 Melkite faithful in 2012. Its Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Elias and its see is located in Beirut. It includes 129 priests, 118 men religious, 178 women religious, and 121 parishes.
The Eparchy of Beirut is an ancient Byzantine one, elevated to the rank of archeparchy with the Council of Chalcedon in the fifth century.
The Greek Catholic Eparchy of Beirut was officially founded in 1724, after the Patriarch of Antioch was divided into two branches, the Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic (or Melkite).
However, already in 1701 the Greek bishohop of Beirut, Sylvester Dahan, had sent to Rome a profession of the Catholic faith, renewed in the following year. Those were the years when Catholicism obtained great progress in the ranks of the Greeks in the cities of the Lebanese coast, where more entrenched was the presence of Christians of the Byzantine Rite, and this mainly thanks to the missionary work of the Jesuits and the Capuchins.
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