Melchites

Melchites, the name given to a body of Christians in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, who acknowledge the authority of the pope, and accept the doctrines of the Church of Rome, but use the liturgy and ceremonies of the Greek Church. They conduct divine service in the vernacular tongue, receive the Lord's Supper in both kinds, and follow the Eastern Calendar. Their priests need not be celibate, but must not marry after ordination. They number close upon 80,000, and are ruled by a patriarch at Damascus, and twelve bishops. The name Melchites (lit. Royalists, from Syriac melcha, 'a king') dates from the 5th century, and was given to those members of the orthodox Eastern Church who supported the emperors against the Monophysites (q.v.) and Nestorians (q.v.).