See Also: Melchite(dictionary)

Melchite (iou)



Melchite noun. Also Melkite. E17.
[ecclesiastical Latin Melchitae (pl.) from Byzantine Greek Melkhitai repr. Syriac malkaya royalist (in agreement with the Byzantine Emperor: see below), from malka king: see -ITE1.]
Ecclesiastical. Orig., an Eastern Christian adhering to the Orthodox faith as defined by the councils of Ephesus (AD 431) and Chalcedon (AD 451) and as accepted by the Byzantine Emperor. Now, an Orthodox or Uniate Christian belonging to the patriarchates of Antioch, Jerusalem, or Alexandria.