Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos, Catholic Metropolitan Archeparchy in Beirut and Byblos, Lebanon.
The Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos is a Christian church organization serving the Eastern Catholic community across multiple Lebanese regions. Its parishes and religious institutions are distributed throughout Beirut, Jbeil, Metn, Keserwan, Baabda, and Aley to support the faithful population.
The Greek Catholic Eparchy of Beirut was founded in 1724, after the Patriarchate of Antioch split into Greek Orthodox and Melkite branches. In 1701 Bishop Sylvester Dahan had already sent Rome a profession of Catholic faith. On 16 August 1881 Pope Leo XIII's brief Occasione electionis elevated Beirut to archeparchy and united it with Byblos, administered by Beirut's bishops since 1802; Meletios Fakak entered solemnly on 30 September 1882.
The Saint Elias Cathedral serves as the spiritual center and displays Byzantine liturgical practices that visitors can experience during services. The way people gather and pray here reflects the blending of Eastern Christian traditions with Catholic faith.
The archeparchy's see and cathedral are in Beirut, at 655 rue de Damas, while its territory reaches north to Antelias, Jounieh and Byblos and east to Baabda, Broumana and Bikfaya. Its 83 parishes serve about 200,000 faithful, so the churches are scattered across Beirut, Mount Lebanon and part of Chouf. Visitors should look for the Saint Elias dedication when locating the cathedral.
The archeparchy's cathedral, dedicated to Saint Elias, was rebuilt by Bishop Agapios Riashi with a marble iconostasis; that church was later demolished in the twentieth century for urban needs. The see is at 655 rue de Damas in Beirut, and the church interior holds Byzantine and Orthodox icons and frescoes.
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