International gathering celebrates heritage dating to Byzantine period
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted July 9 2007
Boca Raton The Mass was mostly in Arabic. Altar panels showed Jesus, the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist dressed in red and blue robes with golden Byzantine backgrounds. To many, it was a taste of their Christian homes thousands of miles away in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. To all, whether they were born here or there, it was a celebration of a heritage dating back to the Byzantine period.
More than 800 Christians prayed Sunday with Patriarch Gregorius III Laham on the last day of the 2007 Melkite Greek Catholic Church Convention at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. The patriarch is the head of the church, a branch of the Catholic Church. Melkites are the descendants of early Christians in Syria, where the apostle St. Peter established Christianity before going to Rome. Nowadays, less than 6 percent of the Middle East population is Christian.
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