Eastern Rite Catholic and Latin Patriachates
The Roman Catholic Church in the West is not the only communion to uphold the supremacy of the Roman Pontiff. There are a number of churches which in form, ritual, and communicants closely resemble Eastern Orthodox establishments but which, for a variety of reasons, have chosen to associate with the Western Patriachate. Then too, there are several Latin Patriarchates established by western clergy during the time of the Crusades which more closely resembled Roman models in rite and dogma - some of these still survive today.

This file contains: Antioch (Melkite), Antioch [Beirut] (Syriac), Chaldean, Constantinople (Latin), Jerusalem (Latin) and Maronite Churches.

ANTIOCH - The MELKITE CATHOLICS Like the Maronites, the Melkites are Levantine Christians in communion with Rome; however, their association with the papacy came much later. In 1724 their community broke away from the Orthodox Patriarchate. Their liturgy is in Greek. During the occupation of Syria and Lebanon by the French, most Melkites adopted French as their lingua franca (no pun intended).
ANTIOCH - The SYRIAC CATHOLICS Like the Maronites and Melkites, members of the Syriac Catholic Church or Syrian Catholic Church are in full communion with the pope and are lead by a prelate bearing the title "Patriarch of Antioch". Their practices and rites are largely in common with the Syrian Orthodox (Jacobite) Church, with whom they broke in the mid-seventeenth century. They are one of the Eastern-Rite sui juris Catholic Churches following the Syriac Antiochene liturgical tradition or rite, like the Maronites and Syro-Malankara Christians but unlike the Greco-Byzantine rite the Melkites. Their head, the Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, lives in Beirut. They have a separate church organization from the Melkites, Maronites, and Chaldaean Catholics, which are other communities of the Levant in communion with Rome.
CHALDEAN PATRIARCHATE A branch of the Nestorian church that entered communion with Rome, becoming known as the Chaldean church. Its liturgy and doctrines remained largely unchanged and it has been compared with the Maronite church, i.e., a church that is outwardly Eastern in nature but has a nominal connection with the Papacy.

CONSTANTINOPLE: Latin Patriarchs In 1204 the fourth Crusade invested and seized the Imperial City, and established a sequence of Latin Emperors. They brought with them Roman Catholic ecclesiatics, who set up a Roman Patriarchate. The Latin establishment was defeated and dispossessed in 1261, although the Latin patriarchate existed, at least in nominal form, for another 240 years. Here is a list of these western ecclesiastics.

JERUSALEM: Latin Patriarchs On July 15, 1099 the City was captured by Crusaders, inaugurating a Latin Kingdom which endured almost 250 years. A Roman Catholic hierarchy was established in the Kingdom, here are the Latin Patriarchs of the era.

MARONITE PATRIARCHS The Maronites are a Christian community of the Levant. Their liturgy is of the Antiochene type, but conducted in Syriac. Their head has always resided in Lebanon, though he bears the title "Patriarch of Antioch and the East". The Maronites trace their beginnings to St. Maron, a 5th-century monk, but did not officially become a distinct religious community until the 7th century, when they adopted the doctrine of Monotheletism (that Jesus had one will, despite having both human and divine natures). During the crusades the Maronites recognized the supremacy of the Pope and are currently in communion with the Roman Catholic church. As in other Eastern Catholic rites, the parish priests are usually married.  The Maronite Patriarchs exerted enormous secular power over the Christians of Lebanon, particularly during the period of the Marada States (see Liban). In the 19th cent., massacres of Maronites by the Druze brought French intervention; this gave France its modern hold in Lebanon and Syria. Besides the Maronites there are two other groups in Syria in communion with the pope - the Melkites and the Syrian Catholics.

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