Who we are: We are a Eastern (Greek) Catholic Church of the Orthodox Faith praying in the Byzantine Rite. We have our origins in the historic city of Antioch, where the Apostles Peter and Paul first established the Church outside of Jerusalem. Many Melkites are therefore Middle Eastern in background, but we are a diverse community and always welcome those who are drawn to the beauty of our spiritual traditions to become members of the Body of Christ with us.
Our History: The idea of establishing a Melkite mission in San Diego was a collaboration between the late Bishops John Elya and Ignatius Ghattas, of blessed memory. On October 23, 1990, feast day of St. Jacob (James), Brother of the Lord, an inaugural Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Bishops Ignatius, John and Nicholas Samra. Following the Liturgy, the founding committee was formed and charged with the task of contacting all prospective families that wished to become members of the new mission. The work of this committee bore great fruit, gathering hundreds of families to worship together in the Melkite tradition. We are deeply indebted to and forever thankful for the individuals who labored for the glory of God, namely Salim Bisharat, Jamil Maria, Daoud Kawar, Hanain Boghous, Basila Mansour, Jihad Nasser and Hanna Maria. We are also ever grateful for the many years of service of Deacon Edward Bagdasar and later Deacon Antoine Kabbane.
Over the decades we’ve had many priests minister to the faithful of San Diego:
From 1990 to 1991: +Rev. Bishara Buqter
From 1991 to 1992: then Rev. George Al Mur
From 1992 to 1995: +Rt. Rev. Maximos Mardelli
From 1995 to 1996: +Rev. Athanasios Assi
During 1996: Rt. Rev. Nassir Matta
(from 1996 to 1998 no priest was assigned to shepherd our flock)
From 1998 to 2005: Rt. Rev. George Bisharat
From 2005 to 2011: +Rev. Saba Shofany
From 2011 to 2014: Rt. Rev. James Babcock
From 2014 to 2020: Rev. Rezkallah Samaan
From 2020 to date: Rev. Shaun Brown
Over the same time period, we’ve worshipped in different places too. At first, we were hosted by the Holy Angels Community, where we felt at home, surrounded by Byzantine iconography. That lasted seven years, until we were forced to relocate to Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church for two years, and from there to Ascension Roman Catholic Church for yet another two years. Afterwards, we were fortunate enough to return to Holy Angels. We will be forever grateful for their hospitality over so many years.
Our Future: Now the time has come that we move to a new home and begin a new chapter in our story. To this end, we are happy to announce we are in the process of buying property in North County. Please follow this link to find out more!