Demandatam

Demandatam coelitus humilitati nostrae is an apostolic constitution promulgated by Pope Benedict XIV on December 24, 1743, about the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.

It is addressed to the Patriarch of Antioch Cyril VI Tanas and to all Melkite bishops under his jurisdiction, and is generally not considered ex cathedra.

The subject of this apostolic constitution is the full preservation of the Byzantine Rite in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.

[1] In the first part of the 18th century, many liturgical latinisations were introduced in some Melkite Catholic communities, mainly by Euthymios Saifi and Cyril VI Tanas, and supported by many Latin Church missionaries (mainly Franciscans) against the wishes of the papacy.

An exception is made for the area of Damascus where the "Latinisers" were numerous: they had to choose between the Byzantine and the Latin Rites, and follow it without later changes or mixtures (para.