Melkite Greek Catholic Church: USA

Melkites in the US to have married clergy

From the blog Orthocath a post on movements afoot after the election of Bp. Nicholas. I expect this to be only the first of many changes he will be making as, before his retirement, he was an ardent supporter of evangelization, mission efforts, and youth education.

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At his recent enthronement as the Melkite Greek Catholic Bishop in the USA, Bishop Nicholas Samra stated that the Melkite Catholic Church (an Eastern Catholic Church in union with the Pope of Rome) will begin ordaining married men to the priesthood in the USA.

Bishop Nicholas Samra, Bishop of the Melkite Eparchy of Newton, Massachusetts made the comment in a dinner speech following his enthronement on August 23, 2011. The Bishop's speech, newly published in the Melkite journal Sophia, is the first published public statements by the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of their intention to ordain married men to the priesthood for the American Melkite Church.

Bishop Nicholas, the first American-born Bishop to serve the Melkite Church in the USA, noted that "we are on a shoe-string of clergy to serve our Church as priests." At present, the American Melkite Eparchy, with 35 parishes and approximately 27,000 members has only "one priest to be ordained next year." Worldwide, Melkite Catholics number about 1.6 million and are part of the Melkite Partriarchate of Antioch. The Melkite Catholic Church shares similar traditions with the Antiochian Orthodox Church, but entered communion with Rome in 1729...

Complete post here.