Melkite Greek Catholic Church
| Melkite Greek Catholic Church | |
|---|---|
|
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| Founder | Apostles Peter and Paul |
| Recognition |
Catholic Church (including Eastern Catholic Churches) |
| Primate | Patriarch Gregory III Laham |
| Headquarters | Damascus, Syria |
| Territory | Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria |
| Possessions | Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico, United States, Venezuela and Sweden |
| Language |
Arabic, Greek Diaspora: English, Portuguese, Spanish |
| Members | 1.6 million |
| Website | Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem |
The Melkite (Greek) Catholic Church (Arabic: كنيسة الروم الملكيين الكاثوليك, Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk) is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics of mixed Eastern Mediterranean (Levantine) and Greek origin, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, formerly part of Syria and now in Turkey, of the 1st century AD, where Christianity was introduced by Saint Peter. It is headed by His Beatitude Patriarch Gregory III Laham.
The Melkite Church has a high degree of ethnic homogeneity, and the church's origins lie in the Near East, centered especially in Syria and Lebanon. Melkite Greek Catholics are present, however, throughout the world due to migration. Outside of the Near East, the Melkite Church has also grown through intermarriage with, and the conversion of, people of various ethnic heritages as well as transritualism. At present there is a worldwide membership of approximately 1.6 million. While the Melkite Catholic Church's Byzantine roots and liturgical practices are rooted in those of Eastern Orthodoxy, nonetheless the Church has maintained communion with the Catholic Church in Rome especially after its reaffirmation of its union with Rome in 1724.
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