ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the so-called “starting point” of the researches in 634. The information relating to the origins and condition of the Melkite communities before the rise of Islam will allow to understand the first Melkite–Muslim interactions. It is most fascinating (and today it is sometimes the basis of dialogue) how the oldest heritage of the metropolises of Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, which turned into patriarchates, concerns the common heritage of all communities separated later. The official orthodox position and validity with the support of the emperor was finally reserved in Byzantium exclusively for the Melkite patriarchs.
