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6 Things You
Should Know about the Melkite
Catholic Church by SPL
Contributor on 2012-09-07 •
4:00 am •
http://spl.link/7ke4a 16
Comments
Listers: as you know, the
universal Catholic Church is
comprised of 23 sui iuris
(self-governing) ritual
Churches united by their
communion with each other and
with the See of Rome. Though
the Roman Church is the
largest, the 22 Eastern
Churches play a significant
and necessary role in the
universality of Catholicism.
One of these Churches, the
Melkite Greek-Catholic Church,
is the ritual Church to which
the author of this post
belongs. Today, we will
examine six historical and
theological distinctives of
the Melkite Church.
1. Petrine and Patriarchal
The Melkite Church is
historically associated with
the See of Antioch. This See,
established by the Council of
Nicaea in AD 325 together with
the Sees of Rome and
Alexandria, traces its history
and episcopal succession to
St. Peter. Prior to journeying
to Rome and establishing the
bishopric there, we know that
St. Peter travelled to Antioch
and ordained a bishop for that
city. St. Paul tells us of
this trip in his epistle to
the Galatians, and the
mediaeval Liber Pontificalis
claims that St. Peter served
seven years as Antioch’s
primate. Antioch was thus the
first Petrine See, and to this
day the Patriarchs of Antioch
trace their apostolicity to
the Prince of the Apostles.
Antioch was also part of the
original Patriarchal Pentarchy
(together with Rome,
Constantinople, Jerusalem, and
Alexandria). Today, the
Melkite Patriarch of Antioch
is also titular Patriarch of
Alexandria and Jerusalem.
2. First Called Christians
“So that at Antioch the
disciples were first named
Christians.” Thus writes the
author of the Acts of the
Apostles, 11:26. The
Antiochean Church, already
having been established by St.
Peter, saw the origin of the
term Christian applied to the
followers of Christ. It was
also here that the third
Bishop of Antioch, St.
Ignatios, provides us with the
first written record of the
term catholic used to describe
the Church: “wherever the
bishop appears, there let the
people be; as wherever Jesus
Christ is, there is the
Catholic Church” (Letter to
the Smyrnaeans, 8).
3. The King’s Men
The origin of the word
“Melkite” speaks to the
steadfastness of this ancient
see in maintaining the
Orthodox faith. In the
aftermath of the Council of
Chalcedon (AD 451), the
Byzantine Emperor and many of
his subjects readily accepted
the decrees of the Council
concerning the nature of
Christ. The
generally-provincial Eastern
Christians who opposed these
decrees pejoratively referred
to those city-dwelling
Christians loyal to the
Emperor as “King’s men,” malko
in Syriac. It was from this
term that the Chalcedonian
Christians of Antioch,
Alexandria, and Jerusalem
became known as “Melkites”.
When the Church of Antioch
restored full communion with
Rome in 1729, it retained the
name “Melkite,” whereas those
Antiochean Orthodox Christians
who did not embrace the
communion dropped the term.
4. Quddűsun Allâh!
The Melkite Church, derived as
it is from the original
Greek-speaking inhabitants of
Antioch, spent many hundreds
of years under the yoke of
Islam. Unlike the
Constantinopolitan Church, the
Church of Antioch never really
adapted much imperial ritual
into its early liturgy –
preferring instead to retain
more Rabbinic and Syrian
traditions. As Islam began to
subjugate the area, Mohammad
and his followers adopted many
of the liturgical traditions
of the Melkites, as is most
notably seen in the Islamic
prostrations, which are
identical to those of
Byzantine Christian practice.
In like manner, several
Islamic customs influenced the
development of the Antiochean
Church. Among these is the
adoption of the ritual use of
Arabic in the Divine Liturgy.
From about the middle of the
seventh century, Arabic
language and culture fused
with that of the Greek
Melkites, further establishing
the uniqueness of this Church
within Byzantine Christianity.
To this day, the official
ritual languages of the Church
are Greek and Arabic, so it is
not uncommon to hear the
liturgical use of the word
Allah in the Divine Liturgy of
the Melkites.
5. Sisters in Faith
The Melkite Church, a sui
iuris patriarchal Church, is
not merely a subset of the
Roman Church. Indeed, it is a
Church with its own history,
theology, spirituality, and
liturgy. The Melkite Church,
being of Eastern origin, thus
zealously guards her Byzantine
approach to the Faith, seeing
herself as a sister of the
Roman Church. In times past,
this defense of her heritage
put some strain on the
Church’s relationship with
Rome. For example, at the
First Vatican Council, Melkite
Patriarch Gregory II Youssef
refused to sign the decree of
Pastor Aeternus concerning the
infallibility of the Roman
Pontiff. When questioned by
Rome on the matter, the
Patriarch determined that he
would only sign the decree
with this caveat added:
“except the rights and
privileges of Eastern
patriarchs,” as he knew he
must protect the prerogatives
of the Eastern hierarchy.
Though this action won him the
enmity of Pope Pius IX, the
Patriarch was vindicated by
Pope Leo XIII in his
encyclical Orientalium
Dignitas, as well as in his
expansion of the Melkite
patriarchate’s jurisdiction in
the Middle East. In the
century that followed,
relations with Rome improved
considerably. Those Melkite
parishes that previously had
been forcefully Latinized saw
the beginning of a return to
their authentic traditions,
and the Church expanded into
North and South America. At
the Second Vatican Council,
Melkite Patriarch Maximos IV
spoke on behalf of the “absent
members” of the Council: the
Orthodox Churches. He did this
with the complete approbation
of Patriarch Athenagoras of
Constantinople. Maximos argued
against the Latinization of
the Eastern Churches, and in
favour of the use of
vernacular languages in all
the liturgies of the Catholic
Church. For his outstanding
work at the Council, he was
awarded with the Cardinalate.
Following the Council, the
Roman Church returned to the
more ancient ecclesiological
perspective of viewing its
relationship with the Eastern
Churches as one of sisters,
rather than of mother and
daughters.
6. Voice for Orthodoxy
As one of the oldest Sees in
Christendom, the Antiochean
Church has inherited a long
and rich theological tradition
distinct from (though
complementary to) that of the
Latin Churches. Because of the
unfortunate events of the
eleventh century, the Melkites
were for a period out of
communion with Rome, and as
such continued to develop
their ecclesial life within
the Greek/Arabic tradition.
When this communion was
restored in the 18th century,
the Melkites took great pains
to ensure that their
particular Byzantine
theological and spiritual
structures remained relatively
free of Latin influences.
Thanks to the efforts of the
Patriarchs and Popes Benedict
XIV, Leo XIII, Pius XII, John
XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II,
and Benedict XVI, the Melkite
Church has come to be an
outspoken voice of Eastern
Orthodoxy in the midst of the
Catholic communion. In 1995,
through the tireless work of
Archbishop Elias Zoghby, a
two-point profession of faith
was presented to the Melkite
Synod of Bishops. Known as the
“Zoghby Initiative,” it states
the following:
I believe in everything which
Eastern Orthodoxy teaches.
I am in communion with the
Bishop of Rome, in the limits
recognized as the first among
the bishops by the holy
fathers of the East during the
first millennium, before the
separation.
The initiative was put up for
vote, and all but two bishops
supported its application and
provided their signatures.
Furthermore, the initiative
was embraced by Melkite
Patriarch Maximos V and
Orthodox Antiochean Patriarch
Ignatius IV. While there is
still much to be done in
re-establishing full
intercommunion with the
Antiochean Orthodox Church,
the acceptance of this
initiative demonstrates the
degree to which the Melkite
Church intends to remain true
to her Orthodox heritage. This
is a gift of untold treasure
for the larger Catholic
Church, and one which Rome has
in recent times taken great
care to ensure is protected
and made to flourish. The
Melkite patriarchs, striving
to be truly “Orthodox in
communion with Rome,” hope to
one day re-establish
sacramental participation with
the Antiochean Orthodox
Church, thus creating a bridge
to help restore full union
between East and West. Ut unim
sint.
Pray for the peace of Syria.
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9 August
Commemoration
of the of the
Holy Apostle
Matthias.
Troparion of
Matthias tone
7
You were
transfigured
on the
mountain, O
Christ God,
showing your
disciples as
much of your
glory as they
could hold.
Let your
eternal light
shine also
upon us
sinners,
through the
prayers of the
Mother of God,
O Giver of
Light, glory
to you.
Troparion of
Theodota 3
O holy apostle
Matthias,
intercede with
the Merciful
God, that he
may grant our
souls the
forgiveness of
sins
LITURGY
Epistle of the
Divine Liturgy
2 Corinthians
8:16-9:5
Brothers and
sisters,
thanks be to
God who put in
the heart of
Titus the same
eagerness for
you that I
myself have.
For he not
only accepted
our appeal,
but since he
is more eager
than ever, he
is going to
you of his own
accord. With
him we are
sending the
brother who is
famous among
all the
churches for
his
proclaiming of
the good news;
and not only
that, but he
has also been
appointed by
the churches
to travel with
us while we
are
administering
this generous
undertaking
for the glory
of the Lord
himself and to
show our
goodwill. We
intend that no
one should
blame us about
this generous
gift that we
are
administering,
for we intend
to do what is
right not only
in the Lord’s
sight but also
in the sight
of others. And
with them we
are sending
our brother
whom we have
often tested
and found
eager in many
matters, but
who is now
more eager
than ever
because of his
great
confidence in
you. As for
Titus, he is
my partner and
co-worker in
your service;
as for our
brothers, they
are messengers
of the
churches, the
glory of
Christ.
Therefore,
openly before
the churches,
show them the
proof of your
love and of
our reason for
boasting about
you. Now it is
not necessary
for me to
write to you
about the
ministry to
the saints,
for I know
your
eagerness,
which is the
subject of my
boasting about
you to the
people of
Macedonia,
saying that
Achaia has
been ready
since last
year; and your
zeal has
stirred up
most of them.
But I am
sending the
brothers in
order that our
boasting about
you may not
prove to have
been empty in
this case, so
that you may
be ready, as I
said you would
be; otherwise,
if some
Macedonians
come with me
and find that
you are not
ready, we
would be
humiliated—to
say nothing of
you—in this
undertaking.
So I thought
it necessary
to urge the
brothers to go
on ahead to
you, and
arrange in
advance for
this bountiful
gift that you
have promised,
so that it may
be ready as a
voluntary gift
and not as an
extortion.
Gospel of the
Divine Liturgy
Mark 3:13-19
At that time,
Jesus went up
the mountain
and called to
him those whom
he wanted, and
they came to
him. And he
appointed
twelve, whom
he also named
apostles, to
be with him,
and to be sent
out to
proclaim the
message, and
to have
authority to
cast out
demons. So he
appointed the
twelve: Simon
(to whom he
gave the name
Peter); James
son of Zebedee
and John the
brother of
James (to whom
he gave the
name
Boanerges,
that is, Sons
of Thunder);
and Andrew,
and Philip,
and
Bartholomew,
and Matthew,
and Thomas,
and James son
of Alphaeus,
and Thaddaeus,
and Simon the
Cananaean, and
Judas
Iscariot, who
betrayed him.
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