Melkite

The term Melkite (/ˈmɛlkt/), 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,[a] 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).[1][2]

Originally, during the Early Middle Ages, Melkites used both Koine Greek and Aramaic (Classical Syriac & Syro-Palestinian)[3][4][5][6][7] language in their religious life,[8] 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.[9][10][11]

When used in denominational terminology, Melkite designations can have two distinctive meanings.[12] 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.[13]

Background

Ecclesiastical order, established by the Council of Chalcedon (451)

Melkites view themselves as the first Christian community, dating the Melkite Church back to the time of the Apostles.[14] 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.[15][16] 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.[1][2]

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.[17][18][19][20][21] 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.[22][23] 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.[24][25][26]

Orthodox Melkites

11th-century Melchite Hirmologion written in Syriac Sertâ book script, from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai, now part of the Schøyen Collection.

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.[27]

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:

Some typically Grecian "ancient synagogal" priestly rites[which?] and hymns have survived partially to the present,[citation needed] 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.

Catholic Melkites

Melkite Catholic art of Christ the King in a Byzantine bishop’s regalia (Annunciation Cathedral, Boston)

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

  1. ^ Syriac: malkoyo (ܡܠܟܝܐ‎), Hebrew: 'מלך' melk-i or melech-i, and Arabic: ملكي malak-ī

Citations

  1. ^ a b Meyendorff 1989, p. 190.
  2. ^ a b Dick 2004, p. 9.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "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
  5. ^ "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
  6. ^ "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
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Brock 2011d, p. 285-286.
  9. ^ Brock 1972, p. 119-130.
  10. ^ Hohmann 2000, p. 49-56.
  11. ^ Brock 2011b, p. 248-251.
  12. ^ Brock 2011c, p. 285.
  13. ^ Brock 2006, p. 76.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ PR Ackroyd: The Cambridge History of the Bible: Volume 1, From the Beginnings to Jerome, CUP 1963
  16. ^ Abou Ackl, Rand. "The Construction of the Architectural Background in Melkite Annunciation Icons." Chronos 38 (2018): 147–170
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "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
  20. ^ "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
  21. ^ "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
  22. ^ "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
  23. ^ "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
  24. ^ Griffith 1997, p. 11–31.
  25. ^ Dick 2004, p. 13-54.
  26. ^ Brock 2011a, p. 96–97.
  27. ^ Meyendorff 1989.

References

Read other articles:

Explorers, slavers, and fortune hunters in colonial Brazil (15th–18th centuries) For other uses, see Bandeirantes (disambiguation). This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) BandeirantesDomingos Jorge Velho and Antônio F. de Abreu, by Benedito CalixtoDate16th–18th centuryLocationColonial Brazil…

 Gran Premio di Germania 1986 430º GP del Mondiale di Formula 1Gara 10 di 16 del Campionato 1986 Data 27 luglio 1986 Nome ufficiale XLVIII AvD-Großer Preis von Deutschland Luogo Hockenheimring Percorso 6.797 km Distanza 44 giri, 299.068 km Clima Soleggiato Risultati Pole position Giro più veloce Keke Rosberg Gerhard Berger McLaren-TAG Porsche in 1:42.013 Benetton-BMW in 1:46.604 (nel giro 35) Podio 1. Nelson PiquetWilliams-Honda 2. Ayrton SennaLotus-Renault 3. Nigel MansellWilliams-Honda…

此条目序言章节没有充分总结全文内容要点。 (2019年3月21日)请考虑扩充序言,清晰概述条目所有重點。请在条目的讨论页讨论此问题。 哈萨克斯坦總統哈薩克總統旗現任Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев卡瑟姆若马尔特·托卡耶夫自2019年3月20日在任任期7年首任努尔苏丹·纳扎尔巴耶夫设立1990年4月24日(哈薩克蘇維埃社會主義共和國總統) 哈萨克斯坦 哈萨克斯坦政府與…

CURL Contoh output dari perintah curl -OTipecommand-line tool, Pustaka perangkat lunak, perangkat lunak bebas dan HTTP client Versi pertama1997; 27 tahun lalu (1997)[1]Versi stabil 8.7.1 (27 Maret 2024) GenreKlien FTP / Klien HTTPLisensiPerangkat lunak bebas: Lisensi turunan MIT/XBahasaInggris Karakteristik teknisSistem operasiAIX, AmigaOS, BeOS, Chrome NaCl, DOS, DragonFly BSD, FreeBSD, GNU-Darwin, HPUX, Haiku, Hurd, IRIX, Linux, macOS, MiNT, Midnight BSD, Minix, NetBSD, NetWare, N…

Частина серії проФілософіяLeft to right: Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, Buddha, Confucius, AverroesПлатонКантНіцшеБуддаКонфуційАверроес Філософи Епістемологи Естетики Етики Логіки Метафізики Соціально-політичні філософи Традиції Аналітична Арістотелівська Африканська Близькосхідна іранська Буддійсь…

The Military ranks of Guatemala are the military insignia used by the Armed Forces of Guatemala. Commissioned officer ranks The rank insignia of commissioned officers. Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet  Guatemalan Army[1]vte Ministro de defensa nacional General jefe de estado mayor General de división General de brigada Coronel Teniente coronel Mayor Capitán primero Capitán segundo Teniente Subteniente  Guatemalan Navy[1]…

Election regulatory body of India This article is about the body which oversees elections in India. For similar bodies in other jurisdictions, see Election commission. Not to be confused with Election Commissioner of India. Election Commission of IndiaOfficial logo[1]Constitutional Body overviewFormed25 January 1950; 74 years ago (1950-01-25)(celebrated as National Voters' Day)JurisdictionIndiaHeadquartersNirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New Delhi[2]28°37′26″N…

Essays by American founding fathers opposed to the federal constitution Anti-Federalist Papers is the collective name given to the works written by the Founding Fathers who were opposed to, or concerned with, the merits of the United States Constitution of 1787. Starting on 25 September 1787 (eight days after the final draft of the US Constitution) and running through the early 1790s, these Anti-Federalists published a series of essays arguing against the ratification of the new Constitutio…

United States Indian agent and missionary For the Confederate cavalry commander in the American Civil War, see Elijah V. White. Elijah WhiteBorn1806New YorkDiedApril 3, 1879Occupation(s)MissionaryphysicianKnown forOregon TrailTitleUnited States sub-Indian Agent Dr. Elijah White (1806–1879) was a missionary and agent for the United States government in Oregon Country during the mid-19th century. A trained physician from New York State, he first traveled to Oregon as part of the Methodist M…

This is a list of Japanese condiments by type. Basic Mirin A bowl of mirin Main article: Mirin Mirin is an essential condiment used in Japanese cuisine.[1] It is a kind of rice wine similar to sake, but with a lower alcohol content—14%[2] instead of 20%. There are three general types. The first is hon mirin (lit. true mirin),[3] which contains alcohol. The second is shio mirin, which contains alcohol as well as 1.5% salt[1] to avoid alcohol tax. The third is shi…

American politician (1877–1972) Carl HaydenHayden in 1962President pro tempore of the United States SenateIn officeJanuary 3, 1957 – January 3, 1969Preceded byWalter F. GeorgeSucceeded byRichard Russell Jr.United States Senatorfrom ArizonaIn officeMarch 4, 1927 – January 3, 1969Preceded byRalph Henry CameronSucceeded byBarry GoldwaterMember of the U.S. House of Representativesfrom Arizona's at-large districtIn officeFebruary 19, 1912 – March 3, …

Chlorophorus graphus Klasifikasi ilmiah Kerajaan: Animalia Filum: Arthropoda Kelas: Insecta Ordo: Coleoptera Famili: Cerambycidae Subfamili: Cerambycinae Tribus: Clytini Genus: Chlorophorus Spesies: Chlorophorus graphus Chlorophorus graphus adalah spesies kumbang tanduk panjang yang tergolong famili Cerambycidae. Spesies ini juga merupakan bagian dari genus Chlorophorus, ordo Coleoptera, kelas Insecta, filum Arthropoda, dan kingdom Animalia. Larva kumbang ini biasanya mengebor ke dalam kayu dan …

1994 live album by the Three TenorsThe Three Tenors in Concert 1994Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti, and MehtaLive album by the Three TenorsReleasedAugust 30, 1994RecordedJuly 16, 1994, Los AngelesGenreOpera, operatic popLength1:13:22LabelAtlantic / Teldec / Warner MusicProducerTibor Rudas, Christopher RaeburnThe Three Tenors chronology Carreras Domingo Pavarotti in Concert(1990) The Three Tenors in Concert 1994(1994) The Three Tenors: Paris 1998(1998) Singles from The Three Tenors in Concer…

Groups that advocate for child-adult sexFor a list of pedophile groups, see List of pedophile advocacy organizations. Pedophile advocacy groups are organizations that advocate for the abolishment or lowering of the age of consent and the normalization of adult sexual relations with children.[1][2] Such groups have existed dating back to 1962 in multiple countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. In the 20th century, man…

Questa voce o sezione sull'argomento preistoria non cita le fonti necessarie o quelle presenti sono insufficienti. Puoi migliorare questa voce aggiungendo citazioni da fonti attendibili secondo le linee guida sull'uso delle fonti. Mappa dei ritrovamenti artistici in Europa risalenti al Paleolitico superiore La Venere di Brassempouy Le Grotte di Lascaux Il Paleolitico superiore è la terza e ultima suddivisione del Paleolitico così come esso è concepito in Europa, Africa e Asia. Si estende…

العلاقات الهندية الغينية الهند غينيا   الهند   غينيا تعديل مصدري - تعديل   العلاقات الهندية الغينية هي العلاقات الثنائية التي تجمع بين الهند وغينيا.[1][2][3][4][5] مقارنة بين البلدين هذه مقارنة عامة ومرجعية للدولتين: وجه المقارنة الهند غينيا المس…

This template was considered for deletion on 8 February 2021. The result of the discussion was keep. This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles template. Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic. New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help. Assume good faith Be polite and avoid personal attacks Be welcoming to newcomers Seek dispute resolution if needed This template does not require a rating on Wikipedia's content assessment sca…

American baseball player (born 1992) Baseball player Brandon DruryDrury with the San Diego Padres in 2022Los Angeles Angels – No. 23Utility playerBorn: (1992-08-21) August 21, 1992 (age 31)Grants Pass, Oregon, U.S.Bats: RightThrows: RightMLB debutSeptember 1, 2015, for the Arizona DiamondbacksMLB statistics (through May 8, 2024)Batting average.251Home runs106Runs batted in366 Teams Arizona Diamondbacks (2015–2017) New York Yankees (2018) Toronto Blue Jays (2018–2020) Ne…

City in Nebraska, United StatesMinden, NebraskaCityWest side of North Colorado Ave (2017)Location with Kearney County and NebraskaCoordinates: 40°29′53″N 98°58′01″W / 40.49806°N 98.96694°W / 40.49806; -98.96694CountryUnited StatesStateNebraskaCountyKearneyArea[1] • Total2.20 sq mi (5.71 km2) • Land2.20 sq mi (5.71 km2) • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)Elevation[2]2,182&…

French businessman and politician (1943–2021) This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Bernard Tapie – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (O…