The Church began on the day of Pentecost when the Apostles followed Jesus' command to preach the Gospel on the streets of Jerusalem. From there the Apostles preached in all the great centers of the Roman Empire. The first converts were Jews, but soon the Church began to appeal to gentiles of all nationalities: Romans, Greeks, Syrians, Egyptians and Africans. The message of the Gospel was heard even at the far reaches of the Roman Empire.

Antioch was a major city in the Eastern Roman Empire. As an important stop along the east-west trade route it had a large and ethnically diverse population. It was here that St. Peter and St. Paul preached to a Christian community of both Jews and gentiles and where the followers of Jesus were first known as "Christians."

As the Christian Church spread throughout the Empire and beyond, five major administrative centers developed into the first Patriarchates: Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Rome and finally, in the 4th Century, Constantinople. The Bishop at each of these five centers was known as the Patriarch, and the Patriarch of Rome was considered "first among equals" by the others.

Each Patriarchate developed its own liturgy and theology, often related very closely to the customs and modes of thought of the people in its respective part of the Empire. In the 4th and 5th Centuries serious disagreements about the nature of Jesus arose. One priest, Arius, taught that Jesus had only a human nature: he was merely a great man. Another priest, Nestorius, taught that there were actually distinct persons in Jesus Christ. Yet another theologian taught that Christ had only a divine nature, that His human form was merely a disguise (Monophysite heresy). The Church of Antioch held to the true faith that Jesus has two natures: He is at once fully human and fully divine. This truth was taught by the Emperor at Constantinople, but many Christians who resented the rule of the Greeks would not accept the Emperor's teaching. Those who followed the true faith were called "malkaya" or "followers of the emperor." Unfortunately the Church of Antioch split into two factions: the Orthodox (Melkite) faction and the Jacobite faction which adhered to the idea that Jesus' nature was solely Divine.

By the end of the 5th Century the Melkite Church grew to encompass Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem. The Church developed a strong and flourishing spiritual life. Many of its saints are revered in both Eastern and Western Churches to this day: Ignatius of Antioch, John Chrysostom, Barbara, John of Damascus, Cosmas and Damian, Ephram the Syrian, Maron, Romanos the Melodist and Thallelaeus the Physician.

The city of Antioch suffered many invasions through the centuries, and the fortunes of the Patriarchate rose and fell with successive waves of invaders. In 637 Antioch fell to the Muslim Arabs and was not recovered by the Byzantine Roman Empire until 969. It was during this period of Muslim occupation that the Church felt persecution but managed to maintain a strong spiritual life. St. John of Damascus, while serving as a secretary to the Muslim ruler, wrote the beautiful canon for our Easter Matins service and the deeply moving canon for our funeral service as well.

The fierce Seljuk Turks conquered Antioch in 1084 and imposed harsh restrictions on the practice of Christianity. Melkite Christians expected relief from their sufferings when ten years later Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade and thousands of European Knights set out to recapture the Holy Land from the Turks. Unfortunately, the Melkite Church fared little better under the rule of Europeans than they had at the Muslims. Many Melkite Patriarchs had to flee Antioch and reign from Constantinople because of continued difficulties with both the Europeans and the Muslims. During the rule of the Mamluks, who overran Antioch in 1268, the Patriarch was banished from Antioch; the Patriarchate moved to Damascus and has been there ever since.

The churches of Rome and Constantinople excommunicated each other in 1054, but the Melkite Patriarch of Antioch tried to promote good relations between both churches. Nevertheless, the political situation forced the Melkite Patriarch under the protection of Constantinople to break communion with Rome. After the Crusades, when many European traders established permanent trading contacts in the Middle East, the Melkite Church once again came in contact with Europeans, primarily French merchants. The foreign merchants often enjoyed greater freedom of religion than the Melkites living under the rule of the Ottoman Turks. Factions of the Melkite Church sought to bring the Patriarchates of Rome and Constantinople together once again, but the differences were perceived as too great. So, for religious and economic reasons the Patriarch of Antioch split again: the election of Patriarch Cyril Tanas in 1724 brought the Melkite Patriarchate into communion with Rome. Opponents formed the Orthodox Partriarchate of Antioch, which remains our sister church to this day.

Over the18th and 19th Centuries western European powers conquered territory throughout the world. Conquered peoples often regarded the Europeans as culturally superior. The Melkite Church regrettably began to adopt Latin Catholic theology and liturgical forms from the French whose culture they greatly admired. In the late 19th Century many Melkites immigrated to the United States and Latin America, determined to retain something of their Melkite identity. These immigrants organized the first parishes and requested priests from the Middle East to serve their spiritual needs. In response the Patriarchs sent many priests from the ranks of the celibate clergy to act as "circuit riders" in the United States. These priests held services all across the country, organized parishes where local Melkites were willing to make the commitment and functioned under the jurisdiction of Latin Rite Bishops.

It was in this way that the Melkite churches in the United States were begun. Although they were often architectual copies of Latin Rite churches, and although many priests incorporated Latin Rite modifications into the Liturgy in the mistaken notion that Melkites would appear to be "more Catholic," the immigrant clergy nevertheless served several generations of the faithful and preserved the Melkite heritage in America.

Before the Second Vatican Council a group of prominent Melkite clergy stationed at the seminary in Cairo advocated a restoration of Eastern Theology and Liturgy in the Melkite Church. Archbishop Joseph Tawil was an original member of the Cairo group, which expressed considerable influence on the Second Vatican Council and prompted a renewal of the Melkite liturgy according to its ancient traditions. This liturgical and theological renewal of the Melkite Church has made perhaps the greatest headway in the United States, especially since the creation of a Melkite episcopate in the United States in 1966. Today the Melkite Church in America stands as a living witness to the universality of the Church, to the truth that "in Christ there is no East or West."