For this month’s edition of The Torch’s look into the many different Liturgical Rites in the Catholic faith, I am pleased to write about my own church: the Melkite Catholic Church. The Melkite Church is one of the Eastern Catholic churches which celebrates the Byzantine Rite using the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, one of the early Church Fathers.
The 1990 Code of Canons of Oriental Churches allows various rites to exist. Rites are the “liturgical, theological, spiritual, and disciplinary patrimony of a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the faith manifested in each Church sui iuris.” The practice of the Byzantine Rite in the Melkite Church is reflective of the fact that we are a “voice for the East in the Western Church.”
We are all Catholics. Even though we are different churches that practice different liturgical rites, all Catholics believe in the same central tenets and dogmas of the Church. The different churches and rites are various manifestations and expressions of the same beliefs, all rooted in the multiple historical and spiritual communities and cultures throughout Christian history. A helpful way to think about the different churches and beliefs as Catholics is “if I believe it, you believe it.”
The Melkite story starts in Antioch, where St. Peter established a Christian community before heading to Rome to set up the Church at the seat of the Roman Empire. St. Paul also began his apostleship in Antioch, as did St. John Chrysystom, the author of our Divine Liturgy, which is the Eastern Catholic name for the Mass. That makes the Melkite community amongst the oldest continuous Catholic churches in the history of our faith.
The term Melkite comes from the Aramaic word melek, meaning “king.” Tradition holds that at the Council of Chalcedon, the Byzantine Emperor Marcian accepted the teaching established there. Everyone who agreed with him (all of the non-Arian Christians) were called “King’s men,” or Melkites. In a certain sense, insofar as all Catholics accept the doctrine of Chalcedon, we are all Melkites!
The Crusades were a sticking point between the Melkite Church and Rome as the crusaders did not recognize the liturgical practices of the East, and would either install Western church leaders or, in some cases, even ransacked Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches. The Melkite Church, despite these frustrations, maintained relations with Rome.
In 1709, Patriarch Cyril V officially recognized the Roman Catholic Church as the head of the Church which caused a rift in the Melkite community. In 1724, some Melkites broke off, forming the Antiochian Orthodox Church. Since then, the Melkite Church has led the way as a representative of Eastern customs and traditions in the Western Church.
The spirituality of the Melkite Church is Eastern: focusing on healing, re-creation, and theosis (becoming like God). We tend to focus on the idea of mystery within the Catholic faith; one might mark this as a contrast with the Western intellectual tradition which has a long history of seeking out answers about the nature of God, the Trinity, and Real Presence, among other things.
There are some interesting differences in practice between the Melkite Church and the Roman Church. Our priests are allowed to marry, as was the common practice amongst early priests in the Church. We not only baptize our infants, but also celebrate the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation at that same time. At every Liturgy, the priest and deacons all process around the church twice, once with the Gospel, and once with the Eucharist.
When performing the Sign of the Cross, instead of the open palm moving from left to right when saying “Holy Spirit,” we put together the thumb, index, and middle finger, representing the Holy Trinity, and place the ring and pinky fingers together, with the tips placed at the center, representing Christ’s dual nature as fully human and fully divine. Instead of going left to right, we start from the right in recognition that Christ is “enthroned at the right hand of the Father.” The West goes from left to right to recognize that Christ descended into Hell before rising again.
The above case shows that both ways are right, and both convey the Truth and Beauty about God. The differences reflect the different paths that lead to Christ, and celebrate the rich heritage of union with Rome, while also maintaining practices in keeping with our traditions. Finally, the Melkite Church acts as a bridge between the East and West, in the hopes that both traditions will come into closer relationship and communion. Alleluia!
Tom is a senior in the Lynch School, where he is studying Secondary Education, History, and Philosophy, with a minor in Restorative Justice. He is President of the Boston College Republicans, and President emeritus of the St. Thomas More Society. When not taking too many classes or writing for The Torch or The Free Press, Tom loves to watch sports, listen to metal music, and defend Leo Strauss against (unfair) accusations of Gnosticism.
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Our priests are allowed to marry, as was the common practice amongst early priests in the Church….
Strictly speaking this is not true. Married men are allowed to be ordained, so it is true that priests are allowed to BE married.
But once ordained, clergy cannot be married in the church.