The Eparchy of Beirut is an ancient Byzantine one, elevated to the rank of archeparchy with the
Council of Chalcedon in the fifth century. The Greek Catholic Eparchy of Beirut was officially founded in 1724, after the
Patriarch of Antioch was divided into two branches, the Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic (or
Melkite). In 1701, the Greek bishop of Beirut, Sylvester Dahan, had sent to Rome a profession of the Catholic faith, renewed in the following year. Those were the years when Catholicism obtained great progress in the ranks of the Greeks in the cities of the Lebanese coast, where more entrenched was the presence of Christians of the
Byzantine Rite, and this mainly thanks to the missionary work of the
Jesuits and the
Capuchins. Great impetus to the spread of Catholicism in Beirut and in the surrounding areas was the founding of the
Chouerites, that at the beginning of their history had most of the monasteries in Beirutian territory. Belonged to this Order was
Athanasios Dahan, Catholic Bishop of Beirut and the future patriarch, who first organized the new Catholic diocese. With his successor Basilios Jelghaf the cathedral was built on land owned by the Chouerites. A dispute between the Order and the Bishop
Youssef Sarrouf about the real estate of the cathedral forced the
Holy See to intervene to give reason to the Bishop (1784). The bishop Agapios Riashi was one of the most vocal opponents of the introduction of the
Gregorian calendar desired by Patriarch
Maximos III Mazloum. Riashi was responsible for the reconstruction of the cathedral in a more impressive and rich decorations including an iconostasis in marble. This church was demolished in the twentieth century for urban needs. On the death of Agapios Riashi in 1878 the Melkite community is divided on the choice of his successor. The Chouerites, which so far had given all the bishops of Beirut, and they considered the seat as their fiefdom, lived a difficult time and had no monks prepared for the episcopate. Patriarch
Gregory II Youssef was Damascene and Melkite Beirut feared that ended up imposing a native bishop of Damascus. Eventually prevailed to the Holy See, when
Pope Leo XIII with his
Papal brief Occasione electionis on August 16, 1881, chose Meletios Fakak transferring him from his see in Zahleh and appointing to new Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos. The former Eparchy of Beirut was elevated to the rank of the Archeparchy, uniting it to the seat of Byblos, formerly administered by the bishops of Beirut since 1802. Byblos corresponds to the ancient Byzantine Diocese of Byblos, mentioned in the fourth century. Fakak made his solemn entry only September 30, 1882. == Church of the Archdiocese Melkite Greek Catholic of Beirut and Jbeil ==