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The term Melkite (/ˈmɛlkaɪt/), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in West Asia. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root m-l-k, meaning "royal", referring to the loyalty to the Byzantine emperor. The term acquired religious connotations as denominational designation for those Christians who accepted imperial religious policies, based on Christological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon (451).
Originally, during the Early Middle Ages, Melkites used both Koine Greek and Aramaic (Classical Syriac & Syro-Palestinian) language in their religious life, and initially employed the Antiochian rite in their liturgy, but later (10th–11th century) accepted Constantinopolitan rite, and incorporated Arabic in parts of their liturgical practices.
When used in denominational terminology, Melkite designations can have two distinctive meanings. The term Orthodox Melkites thus refers to the Greek Orthodox Christians of the Near East, while the term Catholic Melkites refers to adherents of the Melkite Catholic Church. Melkite designations do not have implicit ethnic connotations, but they are used as denominational components of complex terms, mainly in scholarly ethnoreligious terminology.
Background
Melkites view themselves as the first Christian community, dating the Melkite Church back to the time of the Apostles. Accordingly, notably to Vatican historiographers and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, this first community is said to have been a mixed one made up of individuals who were Greek, Copts, Roman, Aramean (Syriac), Arabs and Jewish. Secular historians like Edward Gibbon and Ernest Renan held similar views regarding the emergence of the Melkite community.
The emergence of Christological controversies in the first half of the 5th century gave rise to divisions among Eastern Christians in various regions of the Near East. Official state support, provided by the Byzantine imperial government to adherents of Chalcedonian Christianity (451), provided the base for a specific use of Aramaic terms that designated those who were loyal to the empire, not just in regard to their political loyalty, but also in relation to their acceptance of imperial religious policies. Throughout the Near East, all Christians who accepted state-backed Chalcedonian Christianity, became known as Melkites, a term derived from the Hebrew word melekh (similar to Aramaic malkā or malkō, meaning "ruler", "king" or "emperor"), thus designating those who are loyal to the empire and its officially imposed religious policies.
The very term (Melkites) designated all loyalists, regardless of their ethnicity (Greeks, Copts, Hellenized Jews, Arameans (Syriacs), Arabs,...), thus including not only Greek-speaking Chalcedonians, but also those among Aramaic-speaking and Arabic-speaking Christians and Judeo-Christians who were followers of Chalcedonian Christianity. All pro-Chalcedonian Christians throughout Byzantine Syria, Byzantine Phoenicia, Byzantine Palestine and Byzantine Egypt thus became commonly known as Melkites. Since Melkite communities were dominated by Greek episcopate, position of Aramaic-speaking and Arabic-speaking Melkites within the wider Melkite community was somewhat secondary to that of Greek Melkites. That led to the gradual decline of Syriac-Aramaic traditions. Classical Syriac was originally the liturgical language of the Syriac Melkites in Antioch and parts of Syria, while some other Aramaic-speaking Melkites, predominantly of Jewish descent, used the Syro-Palestinian dialect in Palestine and Transjordan instead. The Syriac Melkites changed their church's West Syriac Rite to that of Constantinople in the 9th-11th centuries, requiring new translations of all their Classical Syriac liturgical books. The decline of Syriac-Aramaic traditions among Melkites was enhanced (since the 7th century) by gradual Arabization, that also affected Greek-speaking Melkite communities, since under the Islamic rule Arabic became the main language of public life and administration.
Orthodox Melkites
Internal divisions that emerged after the Council Chalcedon (451) in eastern patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, gradually led to the creation of distinctive pro-Chalcedonian (Melkite) and non-Chalcedonian branches, that by the beginning of the 6th century evolved into separate hierarchical structures.
Chalcedonian (Melkite) patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem remained in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. On the other side, among miaphysite non-Chalcedonians, parallel patriarchates emerged in Alexandria (miaphysite Coptic Church) and Antioch (miaphysite Syriac Church).
In Byzantine Palestine, the pro-Chalcedonian (Melkite) party prevailed, as well as in some other regions, like the Nubian kingdom of Makuria (in modern Sudan), that was also Chalcedonian, in contrast to their non-Chalcedonian Ethiopian Tewahedo neighbours, from c. 575 until c. 710 and still had a large Melkite minority until the 15th century.
Main Melkite Orthodox Churches are:
- Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria
- Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch
- Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Some typically Grecian "ancient synagogal" priestly rites and hymns have survived partially to the present, notably in the distinct church services of the Melkite and Greek Orthodox communities of the Hatay Province of Southern Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. Members of these communities still call themselves Rūm, which literally means "Romans" in Arabic (that is, those of the Eastern Roman Empire, what English speakers often call "Byzantines"). The term Rūm is used in preference to Yūnāniyyūn, which means "Greeks" or "Ionians" in Classical Arabic and Biblical Hebrew.
The Orthodox Saint, Raphael Hawaweeny, reports that:
"There is a local tradition which says that when the Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khattab wanted to write the document of guardianship to Patriarch Sophronius, after he had heard that Christians were divided into different groups such as Jacobites, Nestorians, Armenians, Maronites, and so forth, he asked him: "What is the name of your branch of Christianity?" Sophronius entreated him to give him some time so that he could find a good name pleasing to the Caliph. While he was absorbed in praying fervently, he was inspired to call his people by the first word he would hear in the service. Then listening attentively, he heard the Deacon reading the fifth Psalm from the first hour: "Oh my King and my Lord." Then he knew that he should call his people "the Royal People, or the Kingly People." Upon finishing his prayer he told the Caliph that they should be called "Royal People," or "Melkites." The Caliph approved this name and ... From that time till the end of the Arabic period, the Orthodox people of Palestine and Syrian came to be called the Royal People."
This local tradition has been interpreted by some members of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre to argue that Patriarch Sophronius was Greek, and therefore claim that the term Melkite refers specifically to the Greek nation and ethnicity as a "Royal People", often as justification for racial discrimination against non-Greeks, which Saint Raphael argues against.
Catholic Melkites
From 1342, there were Roman Catholic clergy who were based in Damascus and other areas who had worked toward a union between Rome and the Orthodox. At that time, the nature of the East–West Schism, normally dated to 1054, was undefined, and many of those who continued to worship and work within the Melkite Church became identified as a pro-Western party. In 1724, Cyril VI (Seraphim Tanas) was elected in Damascus by the Synod as Patriarch of Antioch. Considering this to be a Catholic takeover attempt, Jeremias III of Constantinople imposed a deacon, the Greek monk Sylvester to rule the patriarchate instead of Cyril. After being ordained a priest, then bishop, he was given Turkish protection to overthrow Cyril. Sylvester's heavy-handed leadership of the church encouraged many to re-examine the validity of Cyril's claim to the patriarchal throne.
The newly elected Pope Benedict XIII (1724–1730) also recognised the legitimacy of Cyril's claim and recognized him and his followers as being in communion with Rome. From that point onwards, the Melkite Church was divided between the Greek Orthodox (Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch), who continued to be appointed by the authority of the patriarch of Constantinople until the late 19th century, and the Greek Catholics (Melkite Greek Catholic Church), who recognize the authority of the pope of Rome. However, it is now only the Catholic group who continue to use the title Melkite; thus, in modern usage, the term applies almost exclusively to the Arabic-speaking Greek Catholics from the Middle East.
See also
Notes
Citations
- ^ Meyendorff 1989, p. 190.
- ^ Dick 2004, p. 9.
- CLASSICAL SYRIAC. Gorgias Handbooks. p. 14.
In contrast to "Nestorians" and "Jacobites", a small group of Syriacs accepted the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. Non-Chalcedonian Syriacs called them "Melkites" (from Aramaic malka "king"), thereby connecting them to the Byzantine Emperor's denomination. Melkite Syriacs were mostly concentrated around Antioch and adjacent regions of northern Syria and used Syriac as their literary and liturgical language. The Melkite community also included the Aramaic-speaking Jewish converts to Christianity in Palestine and the Orthodox Christians of Transjordan. During the 5th-6th centuries, they were engaged in literary work (mainly translation) in Palestinian Christian Aramaic, a Western Aramaic dialect, using a script closely resembling the Estrangela cursive of Osrhoene.
- "JACOB BARcLAY, Melkite Orthodox Syro-Byzantine Manuscripts in Syriac and Palestinian Aramaic" quote from the German book Internationale Zeitschriftenschau für Bibelwissenschaft und Grenzgebiete, p. 291
- "However, in contrast to what went on in northern Syria and Mesopotamia, where Syriac competed well with Greek to remain a great cultural language, Syropalestinian was in a weak position with regard to Greek and, later, to Arabic." quote from the book The Fourth International Conference on the History of Bilād Al-Shām During the Umayyad Period: English section, p.31
- "Some Chalcedonians of Palestine and the Transjordan chose to write in Christian Palestinian Aramaic (CPA) rather than Syriac." quote from the book A Companion to Byzantine Epistolography, p.68
- Arman Akopian (11 December 2017). "Other branches of Syriac Christianity: Melkites and Maronites". Introduction to Aramean and Syriac Studies. Gorgias Press. p. 573. ISBN 9781463238933.
The main center of Aramaic-speaking Melkites was Palestine. During the 5th-6th centuries, they were engaged in literary, mainly translation work in the local Western Aramaic dialect, known as "Palestinian Christian Aramaic", using a script closely resembling the cursive Estrangela of Osrhoene. Palestinian Melkites were mostly of Roman, greek and lvantian descent converts to Christianity, who had a long tradition of using Palestinian Aramaic dialects as literary languages. Closely associated with the Palestinian Melkites were the Melkites of Transjordan, who also used Palestinian Christian Aramaic. Another community of Aramaic-speaking Melkites existed in the vicinity of Antioch and parts of Syria. These Melkites used Classical Syriac as a written language, the common literary language of the overwhelming majority of Christian Arameans.
- Brock 2011d, p. 285-286.
- Brock 1972, p. 119-130.
- Hohmann 2000, p. 49-56.
- Brock 2011b, p. 248-251.
- Brock 2011c, p. 285.
- Brock 2006, p. 76.
- David Little, Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding (8 January 2007). Peacemakers in action: profiles of religion in conflict resolution (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN 9780521853583.
- PR Ackroyd: The Cambridge History of the Bible: Volume 1, From the Beginnings to Jerome, CUP 1963
- Abou Ackl, Rand. "The Construction of the Architectural Background in Melkite Annunciation Icons." Chronos 38 (2018): 147–170
- Arman Akopian (11 December 2017). "Other branches of Syriac Christianity: Melkites and Maronites". Introduction to Aramean and Syriac Studies. Gorgias Press. p. 573. ISBN 9781463238933.
The main center of Aramaic-speaking Melkites was Palestine. During the 5th-6th centuries, they were engaged in literary, mainly translation work in the local Western Aramaic dialect, known as "Palestinian Christian Aramaic", using a script closely resembling the cursive Estrangela of Osrhoene. Palestinian Melkites were mostly Jewish converts to Christianity, who had a long tradition of using Palestinian Aramaic dialects as literary languages. Closely associated with the Palestinian Melkites were the Melkites of Transjordan, who also used Palestinian Christian Aramaic. Another community of Aramaic-speaking Melkites existed in the vicinity of Antioch and parts of Syria. These Melkites used Classical Syriac as a written language, the common literary language of the overwhelming majority of Christian Arameans.
- CLASSICAL SYRIAC. Gorgias Handbooks. p. 14.
In contrast to "Nestorians" and "Jacobites", a small group of Syriacs accepted the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. Non-Chalcedonian Syriacs called them "Melkites" (from Aramaic malka "king"), thereby connecting them to the Byzantine Emperor's denomination. Melkite Syriacs were mostly concentrated around Antioch and adjacent regions of northern Syria and used Syriac as their literary and liturgical language. The Melkite community also included the Aramaic-speaking Jewish converts to Christianity in Palestine and the Orthodox Christians of Transjordan. During the 5th-6th centuries, they were engaged in literary work (mainly translation) in Palestinian Christian Aramaic, a Western Aramaic dialect, using a script closely resembling the Estrangela cursive of Osrhoene.
- "JACOB BARcLAY, Melkite Orthodox Syro-Byzantine Manuscripts in Syriac and Palestinian Aramaic" quote from the German book Internationale Zeitschriftenschau für Bibelwissenschaft und Grenzgebiete, p. 291
- "However, in contrast to what went on in northern Syria and Mesopotamia, where Syriac competed well with Greek to remain a great cultural language, Syropalestinian was in a weak position with regard to Greek and, later, to Arabic." quote from the book The Fourth International Conference on the History of Bilād Al-Shām During the Umayyad Period: English section, p.31
- "Some Chalcedonians of Palestine and the Transjordan chose to write in Christian Palestinian Aramaic (CPA) rather than Syriac." quote from the book A Companion to Byzantine Epistolography, p.68
- "I found among them many Syriac manuscripts; but they were unable to read or understand them." quote from the book Maaloula (XIXe-XXIe siècles). Du vieux avec du neuf, p.95
- "The west Syriac tradition covers the Syriac Orthodox, Maronite, and Melkite churches, though the Melkites changed their Church's rite to that of Constantinople in the 9th-11th centuries, which required new translations of all its liturgical books.", quote from the book The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity, p.917
- Griffith 1997, p. 11–31.
- Dick 2004, p. 13-54.
- Brock 2011a, p. 96–97.
- Meyendorff 1989.
- Hawaweeny, Raphael (1893). An Historical Glance at the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher. Translated by Najim, Michel. California: Oakwood Publications (published 1996). pp. 28–30. ISBN 1879038315.
References
- Barclay, Jacob (1971). "Melkite Orthodox Syro-Byzantine Manuscripts in Syriac (Edessene Dialect of Aramaic) and Palestinian Aramaic (Indigenous Palestinian Dialect of the Peasant Jews)". Liber Annuus. 21: 205–219.
- Brock, Sebastian P. (1972). "A Short Melkite Baptismal Service in Syriac" (PDF). Parole de l'Orient. 3 (1): 119–130. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- Brock, Sebastian P. (2006) . An Introduction to Syriac Studies (2nd revised ed.). Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. ISBN 9781593333492.
- Brock, Sebastian P. (2011a). "Christian Palestinian Aramaic". Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. pp. 96–97.
- Brock, Sebastian P. (2011b). "Liturgy". Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. pp. 248–251.
- Brock, Sebastian P. (2011c). "Melkite". Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. p. 285.
- Brock, Sebastian P. (2011d). "Melkite literature in Syriac". Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. pp. 285–286.
- Coureas, Nicholas (2019). "The Syrian Melkites of the Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus (1192–1474)". Chronos: Revue d'Histoire de l'Université de Balamand. 40: 75–94. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
- Dick, Iganatios (2004). Melkites: Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholics of the Patriarchates of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem. Roslindale, MA: Sophia Press. Archived from the original on 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
- Glynias, Joseph (2019). "Syriac Melkite Monasticism at Mount Sinai in the 13th–14th Centuries". ARAM Periodical. 31 (1–2): 7–33.
- Griffith, Sidney H. (1997). "From Aramaic to Arabic: The Languages of the Monasteries of Palestine in the Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 51: 11–31. doi:10.2307/1291760. JSTOR 1291760.
- Griffith, Sidney H. (2001). "Melkites, Jacobites and the Christological Controversies in Arabic in Third/Ninth-Century Syria". Syrian Christians under Islam: The First Thousand Years. Leiden: Brill. pp. 9–55. ISBN 9004120556.
- Haddad, Rashid (1966). "Byzantine Chant in the Melkite Tradition and at the Monastery of S. Saviour, Lebanon". Eastern Churches Review. 1 (1): 31–35.
- Hohmann, Gregory (2000). Panicker, Geevarghese; Thekeparampil, Rev. Jacob; Kalakudi, Abraham (eds.). "Loyalty to the Emperor and Change of Rite: What Induced the Melkite Church to Exchange the Syrian for the Byzantine Tradition". The Harp. 13: 49–56. doi:10.31826/9781463233013-008. ISBN 9781463233013.
- Madey, John (1997). Panicker, Geevarghese; Thekeparampil, Rev. Jacob; Kalakudi, Abraham (eds.). "The Rite of Notification and Acceptance of the Episcopal Election in the Melkite Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch". The Harp. 10: 85–89. doi:10.31826/9781463232993-013. ISBN 9781463232993.
- Masters, Bruce (2010). "The Establishment of the Melkite Catholic Millet in 1848 and the Politics of Identity in Tanzimat Syria" (PDF). Syria and Bilad al-Sham under Ottoman Rule. Leiden-Boston: Brill. pp. 455–473. doi:10.1163/9789004191044_024. ISBN 9789004191044. S2CID 130827888. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - Meyendorff, John (1989). Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions: The Church 450–680 A.D. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. ISBN 9780881410563.
- Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
- Panchenko, Constantin A. (2021). Orthodoxy and Islam in the Middle East: The Seventh to the Sixteenth Centuries. Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Publications. ISBN 9781942699330.
- Roussos, Sotiris (2010). "Eastern Orthodox Christianity in the Middle East". Eastern Christianity in the Modern Middle East. London-New York: Routledge. pp. 107–119. ISBN 9781135193713.
- Walbiner, Carsten (2003). "The Split of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch (1724) and the Emergence of a New Identity in Bilâd al-Shâm as Reflected by some Melkite Historians of the 18th and Early 20th Centuries". Chronos: Revue d'Histoire de l'Université de Balamand. 7: 9–36.
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