Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch

The Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch (Greek: Μελχίτικο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Melkite Catholic Church, and legally as the Rūm Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (Arabic: بطريركيّة أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الملكيين الكاثوليك, romanized: Baṭriyarkiyyat ʾAnṭākiya wa-Sāʾir al-Mašriq li-r-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk), is an autocephalous Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. It originates from the historic Church of Antioch, which according to tradition, was founded by the Apostles Peter and Paul. The church is headed by the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and maintains its own distinct Byzantine liturgical tradition and ecclesiastical governance.