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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").^[1] When used in an ecclesiastical sense, it refers specifically to the Eastern Rite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch.^[2]

Melkites view themselves as the first Christian community, dating the Melkite Church back to the time of the Apostles.^[3] This first community is said to have been a mixed one made up of individuals who were originally Greek, Roman, Syriac, and Jewish. After the Islamic conquests of the Levant in the 7th century, the Melkite community started incorporating Arabic language in the liturgical traditions as the Middle East became gradually Arabized.^[3]

Melchite Hirmologion written in Syriac Sertâ book script (11th century, St. Catherine's Monastery, Mt. Sinai.

The term Melkite was originally used as a pejorative term after the acrimonious division that occurred in Eastern Christianity after the Council of Chalcedon (451). It was used by non-Chalcedonians to refer to those who backed the council and the Byzantine Emperor (malko and its cognates are Semitic words for "king"). It is unknown at what period the Melkites began to use the term for themselves. The Melkites were generally Greek-speaking city-dwellers living in the west of the Levant and in Egypt, as opposed to the more provincial Syriac- and Coptic-speaking non-Chalcedonians. The Melkite Church was organised into three historic patriarchates — Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem — in union with the Patriarch of Constantinople. The non-Chalcedonians set up their own patriarchs in Alexandria (Coptic Orthodox Church) and Antioch (Syriac Orthodox Church). The Nubian kingdom of Makuria (in modern Sudan) in contrast to their Non-Chalcedonian Ethiopian Orthodox neighbours, also practiced the Melkite faith, from c. 575 until c. 1300.

From 1342, Roman Catholic clergy were based in Damascus and other areas, and worked toward a union between Rome and the Orthodox. At that time, the nature of the East-West Schism, normally dated to 1054, was undefined, and many of those who continued to worship and work within the Melkite Church became identified as a pro-Western party. In 1724, Cyril VI was elected by the Synod as Patriarch of Antioch. Considering this to be a Catholic takeover attempt, Jeremias III of Constantinople imposed a deacon, the Greek monk Sylvester to rule the patriarchate instead of Cyril. After being ordained a priest, then bishop he was given Turkish protection to overthrow Cyril. Sylvester's heavy-handed leadership of the church encouraged many to re-examine the validity of Cyril's claim to the patriarchal throne. The newly elected Pope Benedict XIII (1724–1730) also recognised the legitimacy of Cyril's claim and recognized him and his followers as being in communion with Rome. From that point onwards, the Melkite Church was divided between the Orthodox, who continued to be appointed by the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople until the nineteenth century, and the Catholics, who recognize the authority of the Pope of Rome. However, it is now only the Catholic group who continue to use the title Melkite; thus, in modern usage, the term applies almost exclusively to the Arabic-speaking Greek Catholics from the Middle East.

See also[link]

• Syriacs
• Melkite Greek Catholic Church — Catholic Melkites
• Antiochian Orthodox Church — Orthodox Melkites
• Greek Church of Alexandria — Orthodox Melkites
• Orthodox Church of Jerusalem — Orthodox Melkites
• Monophysitism

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Melchites.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Dick, Iganatios (2004). Melkites: Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholics of the Patriarchates of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem. Boston: Sophia Press. 

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Karl Wolf
Singing in Radio 1 party, Dubai 2007
Background information
Birth name	Carl Abou Samah
Also known as	KW
Born	(1979-04-18) April 18, 1979 (age 33) Beirut, Lebanon
Origin	Lebanese Canadian residing in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Pop , R&B, soul, fusion
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, record producer, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	2001 – present
Labels	LW Records LW Entertainment EMI (2001–2010) Universal Republic (2010) Universal Music Canada (2011 - Present)
Associated acts	Sky
Website	www.karlwolf.com

Carl Abou Samah (Arabic: كارل أبو سمح‎; born April 18, 1979)^[1] better known by his stage name Karl Wolf is a Lebanese-born Canadian musician based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He has been a singer, songwriter and producer since 2001, releasing his first solo album Face Behind the Face on MapleNationwide/Universal in January 2006, followed by a second album Bite the Bullet in November 2007. His third album Nightlife was released on November 17, 2009. After 9 years with EMI Music, in March 2010 he signed a new recording contract in the United States with Universal Republic followed by a worldwide deal with Universal Music Canada in 2011. EMI Japan and EMI Middle East still have exclusive license to Karl Wolf's upcoming album. In 2012, he also announced that he was managing five new artists through his company.

Early years[link]

Wolf was born as Carl Abou Samah in Beirut, Lebanon. He moved on with his family to Dubai, UAE when he was three-years-old due to the civil war in Lebanon. He studied in UAE's International School of Choueifat. In an interview with Shave Magazine, Karl explained that in Arabic, his family name (Abou Samah) means 'father of forgiveness'.^[2] His stage name 'wolf' comes from a nickname he received on his high school basketball team because he was the smallest and quickest in his team. He also says his mother and father drove him to a career in music. Wolf's mother was a piano teacher and his father played guitar, drums and a traditional Middle Eastern musical instrument called oud.

At 17, Wolf immigrated to Canada in 1995, residing in Montreal, Quebec. He began his career "behind the scenes," and has been writing co-producing since 2001. Initially he was a backup singer for some hits by the Quebec band Dubmatique. The 2001 hit album from Gabrielle Destroismaisons generated two singles co-written by him that reached #1 on the BDS Francophone Charts, and the record earned him a Félix Award at the L'ADISQ Awards for "Best Mix and Sound of the Year".

Wolf's work with Gabrielle brought him to the attention of Antoine Sicotte, of the top-selling Canadian pop band Sky, where he was recruited as a singer-songwriter becoming Sky's new lead singer in 2002.^[3] Wolf co-wrote and co-produced the third Sky album, Picture Perfect (on Sextant/EMI), with strong airplay across Canada. Sicotte and Wolf cooperated on the hugely successful Star Académie reality TV show in Quebec. The subsequent album was the biggest-selling album in Canada in 2003, notching a phenomenal sales in Canadian terms and earning Karl Wolf a SOCAN Award for Most Popular Song. A Star Académie II sequel in 2004 was another big success, the album going double-platinum.

Solo Years (since 2005)[link]

Karl Wolf performing in Montreal in June 2011

In 2005 Wolf ventured into a solo career. He released his debut solo album Face Behind the Face"^[4] in January 2006. Since its release, the album broke in the Canadian Top 100 sales chart and spawned three singles, "Butterflies"^[5] and "Desensitize",^[6] with the latter track (featuring hip hop star Choclair) reaching the BDS Top 40 charts and "Referee".

Wolf followed with a second studio album Bite the Bullet in November 2007. The first single release from the album was "Africa",^[7] a remake of the worldwide hit Africa by Toto. The Karl Wolf remake features Canadian artist Culture. In early March 2009, with the release of the single on iTunes for digital downloads, it surged up from #32 to #2^[8] on the issue of March 14, 2009 based on huge amounts of downloads over the previous week. It peeked at #1 on the iTunes charts and It also stayed at #2 for four further week on the chart of March 21 and 28 and April 4 and 11, 2009. Prior to iTunes download, it had topped at #20 in the same chart. This is so far Karl Wolf's most successful single to date. The song also topped the MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown charts and has also found success in Japan, peaking at #20 on the Japan Hot 100 chart. His follow up single this year titled Carrera climbed to peak at #39 on the Bilboard Canadian Hot 100.

Wolf announced on Sunday June 21, 2009 at the MuchMusic Video Awards, that he has in fact been recording a new album due to be out by the end of this year (2009) or by early 2010 and that he we will be releasing another remake of a worldwide hit. The album Nightlife, his third album was released on 17 November 2009. He has had two singles emanating from the album, "Yalla Habibi" and "Hurting".

In February 2010, he signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records for United States distribution. After great success in Canada, "Africa" will become the first single released in the United States through the Universal Republic record deal.

Karl Wolf's new album called Finally Free is to be released in 2012. He will be engaging also on a pan-Canadian and international tour to promote the album with Universal Music.

LW Entertainment / LW Records[link]

In addition to his solo career, Wolf has established "LW Entertainment" and his own record label "LW Records" and recording studio (with LW standing for Lone Wolf). These are the producing wing of Karl Wolf's operations. Before becoming a solo artist, Karl Wolf had his break as a songwriter / producer and at 22, won "Best Mix and Sound of the Year" at L'ADISQ. Karl Wolf has also produced for Quebec singers Mitsou, Emily, Jérôme-Philippe (aka Disoul) also becoming for a time, part of the latter's band Dubmatique.

Collaborations[link]

Karl Wolf has collaborated with a number of artists, mainly from Canada:

• He was featured in Quebec rapper and VJ Malik Shaheed's song "Get Down / Respire"
• His song "Hollow Girl" features Quebec artist Striger
• His song "Desensitize" features Canadian rapper Choclair
• He is featured in Choclair's song and music video of "Weekend" from Choclair's Flagship album
• He released with Eve a bilingual (English / French version) of his single "Butterflies" (Co-written by Jordan Kaahn)
• He was featured in Taio Cruz recording "Crazy Girl"
• His song "Like This" features Sandman
• His song "Africa" features Canadian rapper Culture
• His special track "Triple R" features international rap artist Snoop Dogg
• His single "Yalla Habibi" features Rime and Kaz Money
• He is featured in Jacob Guay's bilingual French/English single "Si Jeune" (Written by Jordan Kaahn and produced by Karl Wolf)
• The Jenna single "What Happened to Us" features Karl Wolf
• His single "Hurting" features Sway
• The Jay Sean single "Yalla Asia" dedicated to 2011 AFC Asian Cup held in Qatar features Karl Wolf and Radhika Vekaria
• His single "Ghetto Love" features Kardinal Offishall
• He released a bilingual (English / French version) of his single "Ghetto Love" (co-written by Jordan Kaahn)
• He was featured in "All Wrong", a hit single of Marc Mysterio that also features Dhany in addition to Wolf
• His single "Fuck Shit Up / Mash It Up" produced by Greg Stainer & Dany Neville features Three 6 Mafia
• The song "Yalla Asia!", the theme song for 2011 AFC Asian Cup in soccer is by Jay Sean and Karl Wolf featuring Radhika Vekaria
• He is featured in "Kol Hayati" (meaning All my life in Arabic), a track in Diana Haddad new album Bent Osol

In popular culture[link]

• Karl Wolf was a featured artist on the Arabic version of Star Academy broadcast on Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC). In the fifth season of the show, he was seen mentoring the contestants. Some joined him for renditions of his hits, including "Butterfly"^[9] and "Africa"^[10]
• Karl Wolf was the opening act for launching of MTV Arabia alongside Akon, Ludacris and UAE's Desert Heat. Furthermore Karl Wolf single Africa became the first ever video clip broadcast on the new music station.
• In 2011, the organizers of 2011 AFC Asian Cup held in Qatar chose Jay Sean and Karl Wolf to perform the official song of the soccer championship. The song "Yalla Asia" credits Jay Sean and Karl Wolf featuring Radhika Vekaria. The music video for the song^[11] was widely used during the championship.
• In 2011, he organized a Close Up Arabia campaign for recruiting participants in a future music video project of his.^[12] The authors of the best 10 submissions would appear in his video.
• In 2011, he is preparing his own reality television show entitled Wolfpack. During the 2011 Awards, he announced that a pilot episode had already been shot.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Featured artist[link]

Karl Wolf has released songs featuring other artists

Karl Wolf is featured in a number of releases by other artists

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Karl Wolf Official site
• Karl Wolf MySpace Page
• Karl Wolf Fan Page on Facebook