offices of the eparchial curia (e.g, protosyncellus, chancellor) are located adjacent to the cathedral. The Eparchy is named for the Boston suburb of Newton, where its offices and the bishop's residence had been located until Bishop John Elya sold to private developers two of the three major eparchial properties in the Boston area. In 2015, Pope Francis designated Saint Anne Church in Los Angeles as a co-cathedral. It is often home to Bishop Samra for several months of the year as he visits the Melkite churches in the western portion of the United States. The eparchy has jurisdiction over all the Melkite faithful in the United States, and there are parishes, missions, "outreaches," and the like, in twenty-one states, none outside of the continental U.S. Most Melkite communities are concentrated in a handful of states or geographic regions (e.g., California, New England, Michigan, Ohio, Greater New York City metropolis). While the eparchy lists the number of parishes as 43, the additional missions and "outreaches" bring the total of Melkite communities in the U.S. to almost 50, each varying in size and level of vitality. According to a research study published in Sociology of Religion, there were approximately 120,000 Melkites residing in the country in 1986, although only about 24,000 were formally enrolled in Melkite parishes. In 2013 there were 24,000 Melkite Catholics in 43 parishes. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reports that, as of 2018, there were 21,691 registered Melkites in the U.S., ranking it among the smallest 25% of Eastern Catholic groups. As of August 29, 2022, Bishop Nicholas Samra stated that there are about 36,000 registered Melkites with over 100,000 more of whom we do not know. The number of active Melkites is considered to be significantly lower, as it the case with most other religious groups, especially highly-ethnic denominations.Hartford Institute for Religion Research The discrepancy between a large number of canonical Melkites in the U.S. and the relatively small number of Melkite parishes, as well as decreasing numbers of attendees in many of those parishes, suggest to some that Melkites are assimilating into other denominations or, perhaps, not affiliating at all. In fact, anecdotal evidence suggests that many Melkites whose first language is English become members of their local Roman Catholic parish. Some Lebanese and Lebanese-American Melkites have migrated to the Maronites. Other Melkites whose first language is Arabic migrate to Greek Orthodox and Antiochian