Melchite (Noun)
Meaning 1
An Orthodox Christian or Uniate Christian belonging to the patriarchate of Alexandria or Antioch or Jerusalem.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
An eastern Christian in Egypt or Syria who adheres to the Orthodox faith as defined by the council of Chalcedon in 451 and as accepted by the Byzantine emperor.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- The Melchite community in Egypt maintained close ties with the Byzantine Empire and the Patriarch of Constantinople.
- After the Arab conquest of Syria, the Melchites found themselves under Islamic rule, but were still recognized as a distinct Christian community.
- In the 18th century, some Melchites in the Middle East reunited with the Roman Catholic Church and became known as Melkite Greek Catholics.
- The term Melchite comes from the Greek word "basileus," meaning king or emperor, and referred to those eastern Christians who were loyal to the Byzantine emperor.
- Melchites played a significant role in the transmission of Greek knowledge to the Islamic world, serving as translators and scholars in the Abbasid court.