The Syrian Catholic Church is a Christian church in the Levant in full communion with the pope having practices and rites in common with the Jacobites. They are one of the Eastern-Rite Catholic churches. These 'Syrian Catholics' number about as many as the Jacobites; their head, the Syrian Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, lives in Beirut. They have a separate church organization from the Melkites, Maronites, and Chaldaean Catholics, which are other communities of the Levant in communion with Rome. In its simplist form, a Christian is a follower of and a believer in Jesus of Nazareth. ... The Levant or Sham (Arabic root word related to the term Semite) is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in Southwest Asia south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and the north Arabian Desert and Mesopotamia to the east. ... Full communion is a kind of relationship between two or more organizations of Christians. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world. ... The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ... The city of Antioch-on-the-Orontes (modern Antakya; Greek Αντιόχεια) is located in what is now Turkey. ... Central Beirut (2004) Beirut (Arabic: , transliterated BayrÅ«t - the French name, Beyrouth, was also commonly used in English in the past) is the capital, largest city and chief seaport of Lebanon. ... The Melkite or Melchite church is a non-nationalistic church originating when bishops from the oriental churches (primarily Armenian and Syriac, but also Coptic), who were excommunicated all over the middle-east following the Council of Chalcedon, sided with Emperor Marcian. ... Maronites (Marunoye ܐܶܝܢܘܪܡ in Syriac, Mâruniyya مارونية in Arabic) are members of one of the Eastern Rites of the Catholic church. ... The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Rite church, retaining autonomy and distinct identity within the Catholic Communion while remaining in full communion with the Pope in Rome. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1...