Melkite

The term Melkite, also written Melchite, refers to various Byzantine Rite Christian churches and their members originating in the Middle East. The word comes from the Syriac word malkāyā (Syriac: ܡܠܟܝܐ), and the Arabic word Malakī (Arabic: ملكي‎, meaning "royal", and by extension, "imperial"). When used in an ecclesiastical sense, it refers specifically to the Eastern Rite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch.