Patriarchate of Antioch in the context of "Melkite Catholic Church"

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (كنيسة الروم الملكيين الكاثوليك, Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk; Μελχιτική Ελληνική Καθολική Εκκλησία; Ecclesia Graeca Melchitarum Catholica), also known as the Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Its chief hierarch is Patriarch Youssef Absi, whose see is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition in Damascus, Syria.

The Melkite Church follows the Byzantine Rite and traces its origins to the early Christian community of the Patriarchate of Antioch in the 1st century AD, traditionally founded by the apostle Saint Peter.

The Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch and All the East is the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to tradition, the patriarchate of Antioch was established by Saint Peter in the 1st century AD, but split into two separate lines of patriarchs after the deposition of Patriarch Severus of Antioch in 518 over the issue of the Council of Chalcedon of 451. The non-Chalcedonian supporters of Severus went on to form what is now known as the Syriac Orthodox Church, whilst the Chalcedonians developed the church now known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.

The Syriac Orthodox Church underwent schism in the medieval era, first, after the death of Patriarch Philoxenus I Nemrud in 1292 with the formation of separate patriarchates of Mardin and Melitene, and again in 1364 due to the emergence of a patriarchate of Tur Abdin. Unity was restored to the church gradually as the patriarchate at Melitene came to an end in c. 1360, and the patriarchate of Mardin lapsed after its patriarch Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo was acknowledged as patriarch of Antioch in 1445. A line of patriarchs in communion with the Catholic Church split permanently in 1782, and thus formed the Syriac Catholic Church.

The Umayyad Mosque (Arabic: ٱلْجَامِع ٱلْأُمَوِي‎, romanized: al-Jāmiʿ al-Umawī), also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus (Arabic: جَامِع بَنِي أُمَيَّة ٱلْكَبِيْر‎, romanized: Jāmiʿ Banī Umayyah al-Kabīr), located in the old city of Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. Its religious importance stems from the eschatological reports concerning the mosque and historic events associated with it. Christian and Muslim tradition alike consider it the burial place of John the Baptist's head, a tradition originating in the 6th century. Two shrines inside the premises commemorate the Islamic prophet Muhammad's p.b.u.h grandson Husayn ibn Ali, whose martyrdom is frequently compared to that of John the Baptist. It is considered to be the oldest mosque still in use in its original form.

The site has been used as a house of worship since the Iron Age, when the Arameans built on it a temple dedicated to their god of rain, Hadad. It was later associated with the Greek god Zeus during the Hellenistic period. Under Roman rule after 64 CE, it was converted into the center of the imperial cult of Jupiter, the Roman god of rain, becoming one of the largest temples in Syria. The current walls of the mosque were the inner walls of the Temple of Jupiter (built in the 1st century BC to 4th century AD). When the empire in Syria transitioned to Christian Byzantine rule, Emperor Theodosius I (r. 379–395) transformed it into a cathedral and the seat of the second-highest-ranking bishop in the Patriarchate of Antioch.

The Archdiocese of Mopsuestia is a historical archbishopric of the Patriarchate of Antioch with its seat (cathedral) at Mopsuestia (the Mamistra of the Middle Ages and Misis of the Ottoman Empire). It remains a titular see (Latin: Archidioecesis Mopsuestena or Mamistrensis) of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch (Latin: Patriarchatus Antiochenus Maronitarum) is the seat of the Patriarch of the Maronite Church. It is currently governed by the Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, OMM.

The Maronite Church is one of several churches that lay claim to be the canonical incumbent of the ancient see of St. Peter and St. Paul in Antioch. The Syriac Catholic Church, and the Melkite Greek Catholic Church make the same claim, all of them Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See. The three mutually recognize each other as holding authentic patriarchates. The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and the Oriental Orthodox Syriac Orthodox Church claim patriarchates as well. Moreover, the Catholic Church appointed titular Latin rite patriarchs for many centuries, until the office was left vacant in 1953 and abolished in 1964 and all claims renounced.