Eastern Catholic Churches

This article is about Eastern Churches in full communion within the Catholic Church. For other Eastern Christian churches, seeEastern Christianity.

Not to be confused withEastern Orthodox Church.

TheEastern Catholic ChurchesorOriental Catholic Churches,also called theEastern-Rite Catholic Churches,Eastern Rite Catholicism,or simply theEastern Churches,are 23Eastern Christianautonomous (sui iuris)particular churchesof theCatholic Churchinfull communionwith thepopeinRome.Although they are distinct theologically, liturgically, and historically from theLatin Church,they are all in full communion with it and with each other. Eastern Catholics are a minority within the Catholic Church; of the 1.3 billion Catholics in communion with the pope, approximately 18 million are members of the eastern churches. The largest numbers of Eastern Catholics are found inEastern Europe,Eastern Africa,theMiddle East,andIndia.As of 2022, theSyro-Malabar Churchis the largest Eastern Catholic Church, followed by theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church.

Eastern Catholic Churches
Clockwise from top: St. George's Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral,Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchal Cathedral of the Dormition of Our Lady,Kidane Mehret Eritrean Catholic Cathedral,Armenian Catholic Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminator,St. Mary's Syro-Malankara Catholic Cathedral,Syro-Malabar Catholic Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours
Classification	Catholic
Orientation	Eastern Christianity
Scripture	Bible(Septuagint,Peshitta)
Theology	Catholic theologyand Eastern theology
Polity	Episcopal
Structure	Communion
Supreme Pontiff	Pope Francis
Language	Koine Greek,Syriac,Hebrew,Aramaic,Geʽez,Coptic,Classical Armenian,Church Slavonic,Arabic,and vernaculars (Albanian,Hungarian,Romanian,Georgian,Malayalam,etc.)
Liturgy	Eastern Catholic liturgy
Separated from	Variousautocephalouschurches of theEastern Orthodox,Oriental Orthodox,andChurch of the Eastthroughout the centuries
Members	18 million

With the exception of theMaronite Church,the Eastern Catholic Churches are groups that, at different points in the past, used to belong to theEastern Orthodox Church,theOriental Orthodoxchurches, or theChurch of the East;these churches underwent variousschismsthrough history. Eastern Catholic Churches that were formerly part of other communions have been points of controversy inecumenical relations with the Eastern Orthodoxand other non-Catholic churches. The five historicliturgicaltraditions of Eastern Christianity, namely theAlexandrian Rite,theArmenian Rite,theByzantine Rite,theEast Syriac Rite,and theWest Syriac Rite,are all represented withinEastern Catholic liturgy.On occasion, this leads to a conflation of the liturgical word "rite" and the institutional word "church".Some Eastern Catholic jurisdictions admit members of churches not in communion with Rome to theEucharistand the other sacraments.

Full communion with the bishop of Rome constitutes mutual sacramental sharing between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church and the recognition ofpapal supremacy.Provisions within the1983 Latin canon lawand the 1990Code of Canons of the Eastern Churchesgovern the relationship between the Eastern and Latin Churches. Historically, pressure to conform to the norms of theWestern Christianitypracticed by the majority Latin Church led to a degree of encroachment (Latinization) on some of the Eastern Catholic traditions. TheSecond Vatican Councildocument,Orientalium Ecclesiarum,built on previous reforms to reaffirm the right of Eastern Catholics to maintain their distinct practices.

The 1990Code of Canons of the Eastern Churcheswas the first codified body ofcanon lawgoverning the Eastern Catholic Churches collectively,although each church also has its own internalcanonsand laws on top of this. Members of Eastern Catholic churches are obliged to follow the norms of their particular church regarding celebration of church feasts, marriage, and other customs. Notable distinct norms include many Eastern Catholic Churches regularly allowing theordinationof married men to thepriesthood(although not as bishops to theepiscopacy), in contrast to the stricterclerical celibacyof Latin Church. Both Latin and Eastern Catholics may freely attend a Catholic liturgy celebrated in any rite.

Terminology

See also:Catholic (term)andRoman Catholic (term)

Although Eastern Catholics are infull communionwith thepopeand members of the worldwideCatholic Church,they are not members of theLatin Church,which uses theLatin liturgical rites,among which theRoman Riteis the most widespread.The Eastern Catholic churches are instead distinctparticular churchessui iuris,although they maintain full and equal, mutual sacramental exchange with members of the Latin Church.

Riteorchurch

There are different meanings of the wordrite.Apart from its reference to the liturgical patrimony of aparticular church,the word has been and is still sometimes, even if rarely, officially used of the particular church itself. Thus the termLatin ritecan refer either to the Latin Church or to one or more of theLatin liturgical rites,which include theRoman Rite,Ambrosian Rite,Mozarabic Rite,and others.

In the 1990Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches(CCEO),the termsautonomous Churchandriteare thus defined:

A group of Christian faithful linked in accordance with the law by a hierarchy and expressly or tacitly recognized by the supreme authority of the Church as autonomous is in this Code called an autonomous Church (canon 27).

1. A rite is the liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony, culture and circumstances of history of a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the faith is manifested in each autonomous [sui iuris] Church.
2. The rites treated inCCEO,unless otherwise stated, are those that arise from the Alexandrian, Antiochene, Armenian, Chaldean and Constantinopolitan traditions "(canon 28)(not just a liturgical heritage, but also a theological, spiritual and disciplinary heritage characteristic of peoples' culture and the circumstances of their history).

When speaking of Eastern Catholic Churches, the Latin Church's1983 Code of Canon Law(1983CIC) uses the terms "ritual Church" or "ritual Churchsui iuris"(canons 111 and 112), and also speaks of" a subject of an Eastern rite "(canon 1015 §2)," Ordinaries of another rite "(canon 450 §1)," the faithful of a specific rite "(canon 476), etc. The Second Vatican Council spoke of Eastern Catholic Churches as" particular Churches or rites ".

In 1999, theUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishopsstated: "We have been accustomed to speaking of the Latin (Roman or Western) Rite or the Eastern Rites to designate these different Churches. However, the Church's contemporary legislation as contained in theCode of Canon Lawand theCode of Canons of the Eastern Churchesmakes it clear that we ought to speak, not of rites, but of Churches. Canon 112 of the Code of Canon Law uses the phrase 'autonomous ritual Churches' to designate the various Churches. "And a writer in a periodical of January 2006 declared: "The Eastern Churches are still mistakenly called 'Eastern-Rite' Churches, a reference to their various liturgical histories. They are most properly called Eastern Churches, or Eastern Catholic Churches."However, the term "rite" continues to be used. The1983CICforbids a Latin bishop to ordain, without permission of the Holy See, a subject of his who is "of an Easternrite"(not" who uses an Easternrite",the faculty for which is sometimes granted to Latin clergy).

Uniate

Further information:Ruthenian Uniate Church

The termUniatorUniatehas been applied to Eastern Catholic churches and individual members whose church hierarchies were previously part of Eastern Orthodox or Oriental Orthodox churches. The term is sometimes considered derogatory by such people,though it was used by some Latin and Eastern Catholics prior to theSecond Vatican Councilof 1962–1965.Official Catholic documents no longer use the term due to its perceived negative overtones.

History

Background

Eastern Catholic Churches have their origins in theMiddle East,North Africa,East Africa,Eastern EuropeandSouth India.However, since the 19th century,diasporahas spread toWestern Europe,theAmericasandOceaniain part because ofpersecution,whereeparchieshave been established to serve adherents alongside those of Latin Churchdioceses.Latin Catholics in the Middle East,on the other hand, are traditionally cared for by theLatin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The communion between Christian churches has been broken over matters of faith, whereby each side accused the other ofheresyor departure from the true faith (orthodoxy). Communion has been broken also because of disagreement about questions of authority or the legitimacy of the election of a particular bishop. In these latter cases, each side accused the other ofschism,but not of heresy.

The following ecumenical councils are major breaches of communion:

Council of Ephesus (AD 431)

In 431, the churches that accepted the teaching of theCouncil of Ephesus(which condemned the views ofNestorius) were classified as heretics as those who rejected the council's statements. TheChurch of the East,which was mainly under theSassanid Empire,never accepted the council's views. It later experienced a period of great expansion in Asia before collapsing after theMongol invasion of the Middle Eastin the 14th century.

Monuments of their presence still exist in China. Now they are relatively few in number and have divided into three churches: the Chaldean Catholic Church—an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with Rome—and two Assyrian churches which are not in communion with either Rome or each other. TheChaldean Catholic Churchis the largest of the three. The groups of Assyrians who did not reunify with Rome remained and are known as theAssyrian Church of the East,which experienced an internal schism in 1968 which led to the creation of theAncient Church of the East.

TheSyro-MalabarandSyro-Malankarachurches are the two Eastern Catholic descendants of the Church of the East in the Indian subcontinent.

Council of Chalcedon (AD 451)

In 451, those who accepted theCouncil of Chalcedonsimilarly classified those who rejected it asMonophysiteheretics. The Churches that refused to accept the Council considered instead that it was they who were orthodox; they rejected the descriptionMonophysite(meaningonly-nature) preferring insteadMiaphysite(meaningone-nature). The difference in terms may appear subtle, but it is theologically very important. "Monophysite" implies a single divine nature alone with no real human nature—a heretical belief according toChalcedonian Christianity—whereas "Miaphysite" can be understood to mean one nature as God, existing in the person of Jesus who is both human and divine—an idea more easily reconciled to Chalcedonian doctrine. They are often called, in English,Oriental Orthodox Churches,to distinguish them from theEastern Orthodox Churches.

This distinction, by which the wordsorientalandeasternthat in themselves have exactly the same meaning but are used as labels to describe two different realities, is impossible to translate in most other languages, and is not universally accepted even in English. These churches are also referred to aspre-Chalcedonianor now more rarely asnon-Chalcedonianoranti-Chalcedonian.In languages other than English other means are used to distinguish the two families of Churches. Some reserve the term "Orthodox" for those that are here called "Eastern Orthodox" Churches, but members of what is called "Oriental Orthodox"Churches consider this illicit.

East–West Schism (1054)

TheEast–West Schismcame about in the context ofcultural differencesbetween the Greek-speaking East and Latin-speaking West, and of rivalry between the Churches in Rome—which claimed a primacy not merely of honour but also of authority—and inConstantinople,which claimed parity with Rome.The rivalry and lack of comprehension gave rise to controversies, some of which appear already in the acts of theQuinisext Councilof 692. At theCouncil of Florence(1431–1445), these controversies about Western theological elaborations and usages were identified as, chiefly, the insertion of "Filioque"into theNicene Creed,the use ofunleavened breadfor theEucharist,purgatory,and the authority of the pope.

The schism is generally considered to have started in 1054, when thePatriarch of Constantinople,Michael I Cerularius,and thePapal Legate,Humbert of Silva Candida,issued mutualexcommunications;in 1965, these excommunications were revoked by both Rome and Constantinople. In spite of that event, for many years both churches continued to maintain friendly relations and seemed to be unaware of any formal or final rupture.

However, estrangement continued. In 1190, Eastern Orthodox theologianTheodore Balsamon,who waspatriarch of Antioch,wrote that "noLatinshould be given Communion unless he first declares that he will abstain from the doctrines and customs that separate him from us ".

Later in 1204,Constantinople was sackedby the Catholic armies of theFourth Crusade,whereas two decades previously theMassacre of the Latins(i.e., Catholics) had occurred in Constantinople in 1182. Thus, by the 12th–13th centuries, the two sides had become openly hostile, each considering that the other no longer belonged to the church that was orthodox and catholic. Over time, it became customary to refer to the Eastern side as theOrthodox Churchand the Western as the Catholic Church, without either side thereby renouncing its claim of being the truly orthodox or the truly catholic church.

Attempts at restoring communion

Major ArchbishopSviatoslav Shevchukof theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church

Parties within many non-Latin churches repeatedly sought to organize efforts to restore communion. In 1438, theCouncil of Florenceconvened, which featured a strong dialogue focused on understanding the theological differences between the East and West, with the hope of reuniting the Catholic and Orthodox churches.Several eastern churches associated themselves with Rome, forming Eastern Catholic churches. The See of Rome accepted them without requiring that they adopt the customs of the Latin Church, so that they all have their own "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary heritage, differentiated by peoples' culture and historical circumstances, that finds expression in eachsui iurisChurch's own way of living the faith ".

Emergence of the churches

Monastery of QozhayainKadisha Valley,Lebanon,the historical stronghold of theMaronite Church

Most Eastern Catholic churches arose when a group within an ancient church in disagreement with the See of Rome returned to full communion with that see. The following churches have been in communion with the Bishop of Rome for a large part of their history:

• TheMaronite Church,which has no counterpart inByzantine,norOriental,Orthodoxy. The Maronite Church has historical connections to theMonothelitecontroversy in the 7th century. It re-affirmed unity with theHoly Seein 1154 duringthe Crusades.
  • The Maronite Church has historically been treated as never having fully schismed with the Holy See, despite a dispute overChristologicaldoctrine that concluded in 1154; most of the other Eastern Catholic churches came into being from the 16th century onwards.However, theMelkite Greek Catholic Church,theSyro-Malabar Churchand theItalo-Albanian Catholic Churchalso claim perpetual communion.
• TheAlbanian Greek Catholic Churchand Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, which, unlike the Maronite Church, use the same liturgical rite as theEastern Orthodox Church.
• The formerMelkite Churchconsidered itself in dual communion with Rome and Constantinople untilan exclusively Orthodox bodywas formed in the 18th century, leaving a remainder unified exclusively with Rome as theMelkite Greek Catholic Church.
• The Oriental OrthodoxArmenian Apostolic Churchhad included a long-standing minority that accepted Roman primacy until theArmenian Catholic Churchwas officially established in the 18th century.

Thecanon lawshared by all Eastern Catholic churches,CCEO,was codified in 1990. Thedicasterythat works with the Eastern Catholic churches is theDicastery for the Eastern Churches,which by law includes as members all Eastern Catholic patriarchs and major archbishops.

The largest six churches based on membership are, in order, theSyro-Malabar Church(East Syriac Rite), theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church(UGCC; Byzantine Rite), the Maronite Church (West Syriac Rite), the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Byzantine Rite), theChaldean Catholic Church(East Syriac Rite), and theArmenian Catholic Church(Armenian Rite).These six churches account for about 85% of the membership of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Orientalium dignitas

Pope Leo XIIIissued theapostolic constitutionOrientalium dignitas.Photogram of the 1896 filmSua Santità papa Leone XIII,the first time a pope appeared on film.

On 30 November 1894,Pope Leo XIIIissued theapostolic constitutionOrientalium dignitas,in which he stated:

The Churches of the East are worthy of the glory and reverence that they hold throughout the whole of Christendom in virtue of those extremely ancient, singular memorials that they have bequeathed to us. For it was in that part of the world that the first actions for the redemption of the human race began, in accord with the all-kind plan of God. They swiftly gave forth their yield: there flowered in first blush the glories of preaching the True Faith to the nations, of martyrdom, and of holiness. They gave us the first joys of the fruits of salvation. From them has come a wondrously grand and powerful flood of benefits upon the other peoples of the world, no matter how far-flung. When blessed Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, intended to cast down the manifold wickedness of error and vice, in accord with the will of Heaven, he brought the light of divine Truth, the Gospel of peace, freedom in Christ to the metropolis of the Gentiles.

Adrian Fortescuewrote that Leo XIII "begins by explaining again that the ancient Eastern rites are a witness to the Apostolicity of the Catholic Church, that their diversity, consistent with unity of the faith, is itself a witness to the unity of the Church, that they add to her dignity and honour. He says that the Catholic Church does not possess one rite only, but that she embraces all the ancient rites of Christendom; her unity consists not in a mechanical uniformity of all her parts, but on the contrary, in their variety, according in one principle and vivified by it."

Leo XIII declared still in forcePope Benedict XIV'sencyclicalDemandatam,addressed to the Patriarch and the Bishops of theMelkite Catholic Church,in which Benedict XIV forbade Latin Church clergy to induce Melkite Catholics to transfer to the Roman Rite, and he broadened this prohibition to cover all Eastern Catholics, declaring: "Any Latin rite missionary, whether of the secular or religious clergy, who induces with his advice or assistance any Eastern rite faithful to transfer to the Latin rite, will be deposed and excluded from his benefice in addition to theipso factosuspensiona divinisand other punishments that he will incur as imposed in the aforesaid ConstitutionDemandatam."

Second Vatican Council

Pope Paul VIpresiding over the introductory ingress of theSecond Vatican Council,flanked byCamerlengoBenedetto Aloisi Masellaand twoPapal gentlemen

There had been confusion on the part of Western clergy about the legitimate presence of Eastern Catholic Churches in countries seen as belonging to the West, despite firm and repeated papal confirmation of these Churches' universal character. TheSecond Vatican Councilbrought the reform impulse to visible fruition. Several documents, from both during and after the Second Vatican Council, have led to significant reform and development within Eastern Catholic Churches.

Orientalium Ecclesiarum

Main article:Orientalium Ecclesiarum

Bishops, including Eastern Catholic ones as seen in their distinctive vestments, assisting at the Second Vatican Council

The Second Vatican Council directed, inOrientalium Ecclesiarum,that the traditions of Eastern Catholic Churches should be maintained. It declared that "it is the mind of the Catholic Church that each individual Church or Rite should retain its traditions whole and entire and likewise that it should adapt its way of life to the different needs of time and place" (n. 2), and that they should all "preserve their legitimate liturgical rite and their established way of life, and... these may not be altered except to obtain for themselves an organic improvement" (n. 6; cf. n. 22).

It confirmed and approved the ancient discipline of the sacraments existing in the Eastern churches, and the ritual practices connected with their celebration and administration, and declared its ardent desire that this should be re-established if circumstances warranted (n. 12). It applied this in particular to administration of sacrament ofConfirmationby priests (n. 13). It expressed the wish that, where the permanentdiaconate(ordination as deacons of men who are not intended afterwards to become priests) had fallen into disuse, it should be restored (n. 17).

Paragraphs 7–11 are devoted to the powers of the patriarchs and major archbishops of the Eastern Churches, whose rights and privileges, it says, should be re-established in accordance with the ancient tradition of each of the Churches and the decrees of theecumenical councils,adapted somewhat to modern conditions. Where there is a need, new patriarchates should be established either by an ecumenical council or by the Bishop of Rome.

Lumen gentium

The Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,Lumen gentium,deals with Eastern Catholic Churches in paragraph 23, stating:

Bydivine Providenceit has come about that various churches, established in various places by the apostles and their successors, have in the course of time coalesced into several groups, organically united, which, preserving the unity of faith and the unique divine constitution of the universal Church, enjoy their own discipline, their own liturgical usage, and their own theological and spiritual heritage. Some of these churches, notably the ancient patriarchal churches, as parent-stocks of the Faith, so to speak, have begotten others as daughter churches, with which they are connected down to our own time by a close bond of charity in their sacramental life and in their mutual respect for their rights and duties. This variety of local churches with one common aspiration is splendid evidence of the catholicity of the undivided Church. In like manner the Episcopal bodies of today are in a position to render a manifold and fruitful assistance, so that this collegiate feeling may be put into practical application.

Unitatis redintegratio

The 1964 decreeUnitatis redintegratiodeals with Eastern Catholic Churches in paragraphs 14–17.

Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches

Main article:Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches

The First Vatican Council discussed the need for a common code for the Eastern churches, but no concrete action was taken. Only after the benefits of the Latin Church's1917 Code of Canon Lawwere appreciated was a serious effort made to codify the Eastern Catholic Churches' canon laws.This came to fruition with the promulgation of the 1990Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches,which took effect in 1991. It is a framework document that contains canons that are a consequence of thecommonpatrimony of the churches of the East: each individualsui iurischurch also has its own canons, its own particular law, layered on top of this code.

Joint International Commission

In 1993 theJoint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churchsubmitted the documentUniatism, method of union of the past, and the present search for full communion,also known as theBalamand declaration,"to the authorities of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches for approval and application," which stated that initiatives that "led to the union of certain communities with the See of Rome and brought with them, as a consequence, the breaking of communion with their Mother Churches of the East... took place not without the interference of extra-ecclesial interests".

Likewise the commission acknowledged that "certain civil authorities [who] made attempts" to force Eastern Catholics to return to the Orthodox Church used "unacceptable means".The missionary outlook andproselytismthat accompanied the Uniawas judged incompatible with the rediscovery by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches of each other as Sister Churches.Thus the commission concluded that the "missionary apostolate,... which has been called 'uniatism', can no longer be accepted either as a method to be followed or as a model of the unity our Churches are seeking."

At the same time, the commission stated:

• that Eastern Catholic Churches, being part of the Catholic Communion, have the right to exist and to act in response to the spiritual needs of their faithful;
• that Oriental Catholic Churches, which desired to re-establish full communion with the See of Rome and have remained faithful to it, have the rights and obligations connected with this communion.

These principles were repeated in the 2016Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill,which stated that 'It is today clear that the past method of “uniatism”, understood as the union of one community to the other, separating it from its Church, is not the way to re-establish unity. Nonetheless, the ecclesial communities which emerged in these historical circumstances have the right to exist and to undertake all that is necessary to meet the spiritual needs of their faithful, while seeking to live in peace with their neighbours. Orthodox and Greek Catholics are in need of reconciliation and of mutually acceptable forms of co–existence.'

Liturgical prescriptions

Inside aSyriac Catholic Churchbuilding inDamascus,the capital city ofSyria

Main article:Eastern Catholic liturgy

The 1996Instruction for Applying the Liturgical Prescriptions of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churchesbrought together, in one place, the developments that took place in previous texts,and is "an expository expansion based upon the canons, with constant emphasis upon the preservation of Eastern liturgical traditions and a return to those usages whenever possible—certainly in preference to the usages of theLatin Church,however much some principles and norms of theconciliar constitutionon the Roman rite, "in the very nature of things, affect otherritesas well. "TheInstructionstates:

The liturgical laws valid for all the Eastern Churches are important because they provide the general orientation. However, being distributed among various texts, they risk remaining ignored, poorly coordinated and poorly interpreted. It seemed opportune, therefore, to gather them in a systematic whole, completing them with further clarification: thus, the intent of the Instruction, presented to the Eastern Churches which are in full communion with theApostolic See,is to help them fully realize their own identity. The authoritative general directive of this Instruction, formulated to be implemented in Eastern celebrations and liturgical life, articulates itself in propositions of a juridical-pastoral nature, constantly taking initiative from a theological perspective.

Past interventions by the Holy See, the Instruction said, were in some ways defective and needed revision, but often served also as a safeguard against aggressive initiatives.

These interventions felt the effects of the mentality and convictions of the times, according to which a certain subordination of the non-Latin liturgies was perceived toward the Latin-Rite liturgy which was considered "rituspraestantior".This attitude may have led to interventions in the Eastern liturgical texts which today, in light of theological studies and progress, have need of revision, in the sense of a return to ancestral traditions. The work of the commissions, nevertheless, availing themselves of the best experts of the times, succeeded in safeguarding a major part of the Eastern heritage, often defending it against aggressive initiatives and publishing precious editions of liturgical texts for numerous Eastern Churches. Today, particularly after the solemn declarations of the Apostolic LetterOrientalium dignitasby Leo XIII, after the creation of the still active special Commission for the liturgy within the Congregation for the Eastern Churches in 1931, and above all after the Second Vatican Council and the Apostolic LetterOrientale Lumenby John Paul II, respect for the Eastern liturgies is an indisputable attitude and the Apostolic See can offer a more complete service to the Churches.

Organisation

Papal supreme authority

Pope Pius XIin an audience withDemetrius I Qadi,Patriarch of Antioch and All the Eastand other bishops of theMelkite Greek Catholic Churchin 1923

Under theCode of Canons of the Eastern Churches,the pope has supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary authority in the whole Catholic Church, which he can always freely exercise, including the Eastern Catholic churches.

Eastern patriarchs and major archbishops

PatriarchBechara Boutros al-Rahiis the head of theMaronite Church,and also aCardinal.

The Catholicpatriarchsandmajor archbishopsderive their titles from the sees ofAlexandria(Coptic),Antioch(Syriac, Melkite, Maronite),Baghdad(Chaldean),Cilicia(Armenian),Kyiv-Halych(Ukrainian),Ernakulam-Angamaly(Syro-Malabar),Trivandrum(Syro-Malankara), andFăgăraş-Alba Iulia(Romanian). The Eastern Catholic churches are governed in accordance with Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches and their particular laws.

Within their propersui iurischurches there is no difference between patriarchs and major archbishops. However, differences exist in theorder of precedence(i.e. patriarchs take precedence over major archbishops) and in the mode of accession: The election of a major archbishop has to be confirmed by the pope before he may take office.No papal confirmation is needed for newly elected patriarchs before they take office. They are just required to request as soon as possible that the pope grant themfull ecclesiastical communion.

Variants of organizational structure

There are significant differences between various Eastern Catholic churches, regarding their present organizational structure. Major Eastern Catholic churches, that are headed by their patriarchs, major archbishops or metropolitans, have fully developed structure and functioning internal autonomy based on the existence of ecclesiastical provinces. On the other hand, minor Eastern Catholic churches often have only one or two hierarchs (in the form of eparchs, apostolic exarchs, or apostolic visitors) and only the most basic forms of internal organization if any, like theBelarusian Greek Catholic Churchor theRussian Greek Catholic Church.Individual eparchies of some Eastern Catholic churches may be suffragan to Latin metropolitans. For example, theGreek Catholic Eparchy of Križevciis suffragan to theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb.Also, some minor Eastern Catholic churches have Latin prelates. For example, theMacedonian Greek Catholic Churchis organized as a singleEparchy of Strumica-Skopje,whose present ordinary is the Roman Catholic bishop ofSkopje.The organization of theAlbanian Greek Catholic Churchis unique in that it consists of an "Apostolic Administration".

Juridical status

See also:Eastern Catholic canon law

Although every diocese in the Catholic Church is considered aparticular church,the word is not applied in the same sense as to the 24sui iurisparticular churches: the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches.

Canonically,each Eastern Catholic Church issui iurisor autonomous with respect to other Catholic churches, whether Latin or Eastern, though all accept the spiritual and juridicalsupreme authority of the pope.Thus a Maronite Catholic is normally directly subject only to a Maronite bishop. However, if members of a particular church are so few that no hierarchy of their own has been established, their spiritual care is entrusted to a bishop of another ritual church. For instance, members of the Latin Church inEritreaare under the care of the Eastern riteEritrean Catholic Church,whereas the other way around may be the case in other parts of the world.

Theologically, all the particular churches can be viewed as "sister churches".According to theSecond Vatican Councilthese Eastern Catholic churches, along with the larger Latin Church, share "equal dignity, so that none of them is superior to the others as regards rite, and they enjoy the same rights and are under the same obligations, also in respect of preaching theGospelto the whole world (cf.Mark 16:15) under the guidance of theRoman Pontiff."

Syro-Malankara CatholicMajor Archbishop-Catholicos celebratingQurbono QadishoinWest Syriac

The Eastern Catholic churches are infull communionwith the whole Catholic Church. While they accept the canonical authority of the Holy See of Rome, they retain their distinctiveliturgical rites,laws, customs and traditional devotions, and have their own theological emphases. Terminology may vary: for instance,dioceseandeparchy,vicar generalandprotosyncellus,confirmationandchrismationare respectively Western and Eastern terms for the same realities. The mysteries (sacraments) ofbaptismand chrismation are generally administered, according to the ancient tradition of the church, one immediately after the other. Infants who are baptized and chrismated are also given theEucharist.

The Eastern Catholic churches are represented in theHoly Seeand theRoman Curiathrough theDicastery for the Eastern Churches,which is "made up of a Cardinal Prefect (who directs and represents it with the help of a Secretary) and 27 cardinals, one archbishop and 4 bishops, designated by the popead quinquennium(for a five-year period). Members by right are the Patriarchs and the Major Archbishops of the Oriental Churches and the President of thePontifical Council for the Promotion of Unity among Christians."

Bi-ritual faculties

AbishopcelebratingDivine Liturgyin aGreek-Catholicchurch inPrešov,easternSlovakia.Another bishop stands to his immediate right (whiteomophorionvisible), and two married priests stand to the side (facing camera).

While "clerics and members ofinstitutes of consecrated lifeare bound to observe their own rite faithfully ",priests are occasionally given permission to celebrate the liturgy of a rite other than the priest's own rite, by what is known as a grant of "biritual faculties". The reason for this permission is usually the service of Catholics who have no priest of their own rite. Thus priests of theSyro-Malabar Churchworking as missionaries in areas of India in which there are no structures of their own Church, are authorized to use the Roman Rite in those areas, and Latin priests are, after due preparation, given permission to use an Eastern rite for the service of members of an Eastern Catholic Church living in a country in which there are no priests of their own particular Church. Popes are permitted to celebrate a Mass or Divine Liturgy of any rite in testament to the Catholic Church's universal nature. John Paul II celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Ukraine during his pontificate.

For a just cause, and with the permission of the local bishop, priests of different autonomous ritual Churches may concelebrate; however, the rite of the principal celebrant is used whilst each priest wears thevestmentsof his own rite.No indult of bi-ritualism is required for this.

Biritual faculties may concern not only clergy but alsoreligious,enabling them to become members of an institute of an autonomous Church other than their own.

Clerical celibacy

See also:Clerical marriage

Romanian Eastern Catholicpriest from Romania with his family

Eastern and Western Christian churches have different traditions concerningclerical celibacyand the resulting controversies have played a role in the relationship between the two groups in someWestern countries.

In general, Eastern Catholic Churches have always allowed ordination of married men as priests and deacons. Within the lands of theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church,the third largest Eastern Catholic Church, where 90% of thediocesan priestsin Ukraine aremarried,priests' children often became priests and married within their social group, establishing atightly knit hereditary caste.

Most Eastern Churches distinguish between "monastic" and "non-monastic" clergy.Monasticsdo not necessarily live in monasteries, but have spent at least part of their period of training in such a context. Theirmonastic vowsinclude a vow of celibate chastity.

Bishops are normally selected from the monastic clergy, and in most Eastern Catholic Churches a large percentage of priests and deacons also are celibate, while a large portion of the parish priests are married, having taken a wife when they were still laymen.If someone preparing for the diaconate or priesthood wishes to marry, this must happen before ordination.

In territories where Eastern traditions prevail, married clergy caused little controversy, but aroused opposition inside traditionally Latin Church territories to which Eastern Catholics migrated; this was particularly so in the United States. In response to requests from the Latin bishops of those countries, theCongregation for the Propagation of the Faithset out rules in an 1890 letter toFrançois-Marie-Benjamin Richard,archbishop of Paris,which the Congregation applied on 1 May 1897 to the United States,stating that only celibates or widowed priests coming without their children should be permitted in the United States.

This celibacy mandate for Eastern Catholic priests in the United States was restated with special reference toRutheniansby the 1 March 1929 decreeCum data fuerit,which was renewed for a further ten years in 1939. Dissatisfaction by many Ruthenian Catholics in the United States gave rise to theAmerican Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese.The mandate, which applied in some other countries also, was removed by a decree of June 2014.

While most Eastern Catholic Churches admit married men to ordination as priests (although not allowing prieststo marryafter ordination), some have adopted mandatory clerical celibacy, as in the Latin Church. These include the India-based Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and Syro-Malabar Catholic Church,and theCoptic Catholic Church.

In 2014,Pope Francisapproved new norms for married clergy within Eastern Catholic Churches throughCCEOcanon 758 § 3. The new norms abrogated previous norms and now allow those Eastern Catholic Churches with married clergy to ordain married men inside traditionally Latin territories and to grantfacultiesinside traditionally Latin territories to married Eastern Catholic clergy previously ordained elsewhere.This latter change will allow married Eastern Catholic priests to follow their faithful to whatever country they may immigrate to, addressing an issue which has arisen with the exodus of so many Christians from Eastern Europe and the Middle East in recent decades.

List of Eastern Catholic churches

Countries that are covered by circumscriptions of Eastern Catholic particular churches

Legend

Deep red: Countries that have the headquarters of Byzantine rite particular churches

Green: Countries that have the headquarters of Alexandrian rite particular churches

Yellow: Countries that have the headquarters of particular churches of other rites (West Syriac, East Syriac and Armenian)

Blue: All other countries that are wholly or partially covered by circumscriptions of Eastern Catholic particular churches

See also:List of Christian denominations by number of members § Catholicism – 1.329 billion

The Holy See'sAnnuario Pontificiogives the following list of Eastern Catholic churches with the principalepiscopal seeof each and the countries (or larger political areas) where they haveecclesiastical jurisdiction,to which are here added the date of union or foundation in parentheses and the membership in brackets. The total membership for all Eastern Catholic churches is at least 18,047,000 people.

Eastern Catholic Churches
Jurisdiction and bishop numbers from GCatholic(current as of July 9, 2019)
Membership numbers fromAnnuario Pontificio(2023)

	Name	Recognition	Rite	Seat	Polity	Jurisdictions	Bishops	Members
	Coptic Catholic Church	1741	Alexandrian	Cathedral of Our Lady,Cairo,Egypt	Patriarchate	8	13	253,100
	Eritrean Catholic Church	2015		Kidane Mehret Cathedral,Asmara,Eritrea	Metropolitanate	4	4	173,251
	Ethiopian Catholic Church	1846		Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,Addis Ababa,Ethiopia	Metropolitanate	4	4	80,568
	Armenian Catholic Church	1742	Armenian	Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory,Beirut,Lebanon	Patriarchate	18	16	753,945
	Albanian Greek Catholic Church	1628	Byzantine	Pro-Cathedral of Saint Mary and Saint Louis,Vlorë,Albania	Apostolic administration(southern Albania)	1	2	-
	Belarusian Greek Catholic Church	1596		none	Apostolic Visitation	0	0	-
	Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church	1861		Cathedral of the Dormition,Sofia,Bulgaria	Eparchy(Sofia)	1	1	10,000
	Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia	1611		several	no unified structure	2	2	44,300
	Greek Byzantine Catholic Church	1911		several	no unified structure	2	2	6,017
	Hungarian Greek Catholic Church	1912		Cathedral of Hajdúdorog,Debrecen,Hungary	Metropolitanate(Hajdúdorog)	3	4	296,830
	Italo-Albanian Catholic Church	1784		several	no unified structure	3	2	55,909
	Macedonian Greek Catholic Church	2001		Cathedral of the Assumption,Strumica,North Macedonia	Eparchy(Strumica-Skopje)	1	1	11,419
	Melkite Greek Catholic Church	1726		Cathedral of the Dormition,Damascus,Syria	Patriarchate	29	35	1,545,990
	Romanian Greek Catholic Church	1698		Cathedral of the Holy Trinity,Blaj,Romania	Major archiepiscopate(Făgăraș and Alba Iulia)	7	8	473,710
	Russian Greek Catholic Church	1905		none	none	2	0	-
	Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church	1646		Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist,Pittsburgh,United States	Metropolitanate	6	8	365,883
	Slovak Greek Catholic Church	1646		Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist,Prešov,Slovakia	Metropolitanate(Prešov)	4	6	210,061
	Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church	1595		Cathedral of the Resurrection,Kyiv,Ukraine	Major archiepiscopate(Kyiv–Galicia)	35	50	4,295,581
	Chaldean Catholic Church	1552	East Syriac	Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows,Baghdad,Iraq	Patriarchate	23	23	646,581
	Syro-Malabar Church	1923 (present hierarchy)		Mount Saint Thomas,Kochi,India	Major archiepiscopate	35	63	4,537,342
	Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church	est. Seventh C. reentered communion 1154	West Syriac	Church of Bkerké, Bkerké,Lebanon	Patriarchate	29	50	3,543,796
	Syriac Catholic Church	1781		Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Saint Paul,Damascus,Syria	Patriarchate	16	20	120,679
	Syro-Malankara Catholic Church	1930		Cathedral of Saint Mary,Pattom,Kerala,India	Major archiepiscopate	12	14	487,247
	Other		various	several	Ordinariates	6	6	134,922
Total						250	320	18,047,131

Persecution

Eastern Europe

Main article:Eastern Catholic victims of Soviet persecutions

A study by Methodios Stadnik states: "The Georgian Byzantine Catholic Exarch, Fr. Shio Batmanishviii [sic], and two Georgian Catholic priests of the Latin Church were executed by the Soviet authorities in 1937 after having been held in captivity in Solovki prison and the northern gulags from 1923. "Christopher Zugger writes, inThe Forgotten:"By 1936, the Byzantine CatholicChurch of Georgiahad two communities, served by a bishop and four priests, with 8,000 believers ", and he identifies the bishop as Shio Batmalashvili.Vasyl Ovsiyenkomentions, on theUkrainian Helsinki Human Rights Unionwebsite, that "the Catholic administrator for Georgia Shio Batmalashvili" was one of those executed as "anti-Soviet elements" in 1937.

Zugger calls Batmalashvili a bishop; Stadnik is ambiguous, calling him an exarch but giving him the title of Father; Ovsiyenko merely refers to him as "the Catholic administrator" without specifying whether he was a bishop or a priest and whether he was in charge of a Latin or a Byzantine jurisdiction.

If Batmalashvili was anexarch,and not instead a bishop connected with the Latindiocese of Tiraspol,which had its seat atSaratovon theVolga River,to which Georgian Catholics even of Byzantine rite belongedthis would mean that a Georgian Byzantine-Rite Catholic Church existed, even if only as a local particular Church. However, since the establishment of a new hierarchical jurisdiction must be published inActa Apostolicae Sedis,and no mention of the setting up of such a jurisdiction for Byzantine Georgian Catholics exists in that official gazette of the Holy See, the claim appears to be unfounded.

The 1930s editions ofAnnuario Pontificiodo not mention Batmalashvili. If indeed he was a bishop, he may then have been one of those secretly ordained for the service of the Church in theSoviet Unionby French Jesuit BishopMichel d'Herbigny,who was president of thePontifical Commission for Russiafrom 1925 to 1934. In the circumstances of that time, the Holy See would have been incapable of setting up a new Byzantine exarchate within the Soviet Union, since Greek Catholics in the Soviet Union were being forced to join theRussian Orthodox Church.

Batmalashvili's name is not among those given in as the four "underground" apostolic administrators (only one of whom appears to have been a bishop) for the four sections into which the diocese of Tiraspol was divided after the resignation in 1930 of its already exiled last bishop,Josef Alois Kessler.This source gives Father Stefan Demurow asapostolic administratorof "Tbilisi and Georgia" and says he was executed in 1938. Other sources associate Demurow withAzerbaijanand say that, rather than being executed, he died in aSiberianGulag.

Until 1994, the United Statesannual publicationCatholic Almanaclisted "Georgian" among the Greek Catholic churches.Until corrected in 1995, it appears to have been also making a mistake about the Czech Greek Catholics.

There was a short-lived Greek Catholic movement among the ethnic Estonians in the Orthodox Church in Estonia during theinterwar periodof the 20th century, consisting of two to three parishes, not raised to the level of a local particular church with its own head. This group was liquidated by the Soviet regime and is now extinct.

Muslim world

Main articles:Christianity in the Middle East,Persecution of Christians,andGenocide of Christians by ISIL

Muslim persecution of Christians dates back to the founding of Islam, and continues to this day. Countries in which Christians have suffered acute discrimination, persecution and often death include:Somalia,Syria,Iraq,Afghanistan,Saudi Arabia,Maldives,Pakistan,Iran,Yemen,Palestinian Territories,Egypt,Turkey,Qatar,Uzbekistan,Jordan,Oman,Kuwait,Kazakhstan,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan,Kyrgyzstan,Eritrea,United Arab Emirates,andNorth Caucasus.

United States

See also:Orthodox Church in AmericaandAlexis Toth

While not subject to the kind of physical dangers or persecution from government authorities encountered in Eastern Europe or the Middle East, adherents of Eastern Catholic Churches in United States, most of whom were relatively new immigrants from Eastern Europe, encountered difficulties due to hostility from the Latin Church clergy who dominated the Catholic hierarchy in United States who found them alien. In particular, immigration of Eastern Catholic priests who were married, common in their churches but extremely rare in Latin churches, was forbidden or severely limited and some Latin Church bishops actively interfered with the pastoral work of those who did arrive. Some bishops sought to forbid all non-Latin Catholic priests from coming to United States at all. Many Eastern Catholic immigrants to United States were thus either assimilated into the Latin Church or joined the Eastern Orthodox Church. One former Eastern Catholic priest, Alexis Toth, left the Catholic Church following criticism and sanctions from Latin authorities includingJohn Ireland,the Bishop ofSaint Paul,and joining the Orthodox Church. Toth has been canonized as an Eastern Orthodox saint for having led as many as 20,000 disaffected former Eastern Catholics to the Orthodox Church, particularly theAmerican Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese.

See also

• Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
• Eastern Catholic canon law
• Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites
• List of Eastern Catholic seminaries
• Catholic Church and ecumenism
• Eastern Christianity
• Western Rite Orthodoxy

Further reading

• Nedungatt, George,ed. (2002).A Guide to the Eastern Code: A Commentary on the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.Rome: Oriental Institute Press.ISBN9788872103364.
• Faris, John D., & Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv., eds.A Practical Commentary to the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches,2 vols. Montréal: Librairie Wilson & Lafleur, 2019.

External links

• Eastern Catholic Church statistics 2015Archived2017-06-07 at theWayback Machine
• Common Declaration of Pope Benedict XVI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, 2006
• Example of Eastern Catholic Chant in English