This article refers to Eastern Churches in full communion with the Holy See. For other eastern Churches, see Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Syrian Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Mar Thoma Church, and Oriental Orthodoxy. The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ ‘Ittā Qaddishtā wa-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi Chaldean Syrian Church is the name used for the Assyrian Church of the East in India. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Mar Thoma Church is a Christian denomination from Kerala, the South Western State of India. Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the

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The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous (in Latin, sui iuris) particular Churches in full communion with the Bishop of Rome — the Pope. Families of churches Eastern Christians have a shared tradition but they became divided ( Schism) during the early centuries of Christianity in disputes about The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents This is a general introduction to ecumenical councils For the Roman Catholic councils, see Catholic Ecumenical Councils. The Christianization of Bulgaria was the process of converting 9th-century medieval Bulgaria to Christianity. The Christianization of Kievan Rus' took place in several stages The East-West Schism, or the Great Schism, divided medieval Christendom into Eastern (Greek and Western (Latin branches which later became known as the See also Christianity in Asia Judging from the New Testament account of the rise and expansion of the early church during the first few centuries of Christianity the Coptic history is part of History of Egypt that begins with the introduction of Christianity in Egypt in the 1st century AD during the The Eastern Orthodox Churches trace their roots back to the Apostles and Jesus Christ. Christianity in ancient and feudal Georgia According to tradition when the Apostles were sent out to preach the Gospel to the nations of the world the Apostle This article should include material from Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the History of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Apostolic foundation Egypt is identified in the Bible as the place of refuge that the The Armenian Apostolic Church (Հայաստանեայց Առաքելական Եկեղեցի Hayasdaneaytz Arakelagan Syriac Christianity is a culturally and linguistically distinctive community within Eastern Christianity. The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in transliterated Amharic: Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is an Oriental The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ ‘Ittā Qaddishtā wa-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Sign of the Cross, or Signum crucis in Latin is a ritual hand motion made by members of many but not all branches of Christianity. The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. Iconography is the branch of Art history which studies the identification description and the interpretation of the content of images Ascetic redirects here You might also be looking for Acetic acid. In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgical tradition the omophorion ( Greek:; Slavonic: омофоръ omofor) Hesychasm ( Greek hesychasmos, from hesychia, "stillness rest quiet silence" is an Eremitic tradition of Prayer in An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Negative theology - also known as the Via Negativa ( Latin for "Negative Way" and Apophatic theology - is a Theology that Filioque, a Latin phrase meaning "and (from the Son" In Western Christianity, it was added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed Miaphysitism (sometimes called henophysitism) is the Christology of the Oriental Orthodox Churches Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning 'one alone' and physis meaning 'nature' or Monophysiticism is the Christological position that Nestorius Nestorius (c  386 &ndashc  451) was a pupil of Theodore of Mopsuestia in Antioch in Syria (modern In Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic theology theosis (written also theiosis, theopoiesis, theōsis Theoria (Greek) is Greek for Contemplation or 'the perception of Beauty regarded as a Moral faculty' ( OED) Phronema is a Greek term that is used in Eastern Orthodox Theology to refer to mindset or outlook; it is the Orthodox mind. The Philokalia ( Gk φιλοκαλείν "Love of the Beautiful" is a collection of texts by masters of the Eastern Orthodox, hesychast Praxis is the customary use of knowledge or skills distinct from theoretical knowledge Theotokos (Θεοτόκος translit Theotókos) is a title of Mary the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Ousia () is the Ancient Greek noun formed on the feminine present participle of ( to be) it is analogous to the English participle Historical context The Energies of God are a central principle of Theology in the Eastern Orthodox Church, understood by the orthodox Fathers Metousiosis is a Greek term () that means literally a change of (essence inner reality Sui iuris, commonly also spelled sui juris, is a Latin phrase that literally means “of one’s own right” A particular Church is in Catholic theology and canon law, an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognized as the equivalent of a bishop Full communion is a term used in Christian Ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential The term Communion is derived from Latin communio (sharing in common The Bishop of Rome is the bishop of the Holy See, more often referred to in the Catholic tradition as the Pope. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and They preserve the liturgical, theological and devotional traditions of the various Eastern Christian Churches with which they are associated, and between which doctrinal differences exist, in particular between the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy and the Assyrian Church of the East. Families of churches Eastern Christians have a shared tradition but they became divided ( Schism) during the early centuries of Christianity in disputes about The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ ‘Ittā Qaddishtā wa-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi They thus vary with regard to forms of liturgical worship, sacramental^[1] and canonical discipline, terminology, traditional prayers and practices of piety. A Liturgy is a set form of ceremony or pattern of worship Christian liturgy is a pattern for worship used (whether recommended or prescribed by a Christian congregation or But they recognize that their faith is not at variance with that of the other constituent Churches of the one Catholic Church, including the Latin or Western Church, all of which are of equal dignity. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 Sui iuris Particular Churches within the Catholic Church. ^[2] In particular, they recognize the central role of the Bishop of Rome within the College of Bishops. The primacy of the Roman Pontiff is the apostolic authority of the Pope ( Bishop of Rome) from the Holy See, over the several churches The term College of Bishops is used in Catholic Theology to describe the bishops, as the successors of the Apostles in communion They preserve the special emphases and illuminations that Eastern Christianity has developed over the centuries, some of which Pope John Paul II illustrated in his apostolic letter Orientale Lumen of 2 May 1995. Families of churches Eastern Christians have a shared tradition but they became divided ( Schism) during the early centuries of Christianity in disputes about Pope Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 ^[3]

Most Eastern Catholic Churches have counterparts in other Eastern Churches, whether Assyrian or Oriental Orthodox, from whom they are separated by a number of theological concerns, or the Eastern Orthodox Churches, from whom they are separated primarily by differences in understanding of the role of the Bishop of Rome within the College of Bishops. The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ ‘Ittā Qaddishtā wa-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world

The Eastern Catholic Churches were located historically in Eastern Europe, the Asian Middle East, Northern Africa and India, but are now, because of migration, found also in Western Europe, the Americas and Oceania to the extent of forming full-scale ecclesiastical structures such as eparchies, alongside the Latin dioceses. Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America Eparchy is an Anglicized Greek word authentically Latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something' but has the following One country, Eritrea, has only an Eastern Catholic hierarchy, with no Latin structure. Eritrea () ( Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya) officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in The Ethiopian Catholic Church is a Metropolitan Sui iuris Eastern Particular Church within the Catholic Church and uses

The terms Byzantine Catholics and Greek Catholic are used of those who belong to Churches that use the Byzantine liturgical rite. The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite, is the liturgical rite used currently (in various languages The terms Oriental Catholic and Eastern Catholic include these, but are broader, since they also cover Catholics who follow the Alexandrian, Antiochian, Armenian and Chaldean liturgical traditions.

Juridical status

The term Eastern Catholic Churches refers to 22 of the 23 autonomous particular Churches in communion with the Bishop of Rome. These Churches follow different Eastern Christian liturgical traditions: Alexandrian, Antiochian, Armenian, Byzantine and Chaldean. The Alexandrian Rite is officially called the Liturgy of Saint Mark, traditionally regarded as the first bishop of Alexandria Antiochene Rite designates the family of liturgies originally used in the Patriarchate of Antioch: that of the Apostolic Constitutions; then that of The Armenian Rite is an independent Liturgy. This rite is used by both the Armenian Orthodox Church and the Armenian Catholic Church. The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite, is the liturgical rite used currently (in various languages The East Syrian Rite is also known as the Chaldean Rite, Assyrian Rite, or Persian Rite although it originated in Edessa. ^[4] Canonically, each Eastern Catholic Church is sui iuris or autonomous with respect to other Catholic Churches, whether Eastern or Latin, though all accept the spiritual and juridical authority of the Pope. Sui iuris, commonly also spelled sui juris, is a Latin phrase that literally means “of one’s own right” Thus a Maronite Catholic is normally subject only to a Maronite bishop, not, for example to a Ukrainian or Latin Catholic bishop. However, if in a country the members of some particular Church are so few that no hierarchy of their own has been established there, their spiritual care is entrusted to a bishop of another ritual Church. This holds also for Latin Catholics: in Eritrea, they are placed in the care of bishops of the Ethiopic Catholic Church. Eritrea () ( Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya) officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in The Ethiopian Catholic Church is a Metropolitan Sui iuris Eastern Particular Church within the Catholic Church and uses Theologically, all the particular Churches can be viewed as "sister Churches". ^[5] According to the Second Vatican Council these Eastern 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 the Gospel to the whole world (cf. The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twentieth century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 Sui iuris Particular Churches within the Catholic Church. Mark 16:15) under the guidance of the Roman Pontiff. "^[6]

The Eastern Catholic Churches are in full communion of faith and of acceptance of authority of the See of Rome, but retain their distinctive liturgical rites, laws and customs, traditional devotions and have their own theological emphases. Full communion is a term used in Christian Ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential The term Communion is derived from Latin communio (sharing in common A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group according to their particular traditions Terminology may vary: for instance, diocese and eparchy, vicar general and protosyncellus, confirmation and chrismation are respectively Western and Eastern terms for the same realities. A protosyncellus is the principal deputy of the Bishop of an Eparchy for the exercise of administrative authority in a Eastern Orthodox or Byzantine Confirmation is a Rite of initiation in many Christian Churches normally in the form of Laying on of hands and/or Anointing for Chrismation is the name given in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches as well as in the Assyrian Church of the East The mysteries (sacraments) of baptism and 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 the Eucharist. The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those ^[7]

The Eastern Catholic Churches are represented in the Holy See and the Roman Curia through the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, which, as indicated on the Vatican website, "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 Pope ad qui[n]quennium. The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent Episcopal see of the Roman Catholic The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church, together with the Pope The Congregation for the Oriental Churches ( Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus) is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with Members by right are the Patriarchs and the Major Archbishops of the Oriental Churches and the President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Unity among Christians. "^[8]

Terminology

Eastern Catholics are in full communion with the Roman Pontiff, and in this sense are members of the Catholic Church,^[9] but they are not "Roman Catholics" in the narrower senses of that term, since they are not members of the local particular Church of Rome nor of the Western or Latin Church, which uses the Roman Rite liturgy and the other Latin liturgical rites. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 Sui iuris Particular Churches within the Catholic Church. The liturgical rite of the Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite. Latin liturgical rites used within that area of the Roman Catholic Church where the Latin language once dominated (the Latin Rite or Western Catholic Church ^[10]

The term "rite"

The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches defines the terms autonomous Church and rite: "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);^[11] and "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 in this code, unless otherwise stated, are those which arise from the Alexandrian, Antiochene, Armenian, Chaldean and Constantinopolitan traditions" (canon 28)^[12] In the past, the Eastern Catholic Churches have sometimes been referred to as "Eastern Rites. " The Second Vatican Council spoke of them as "particular Churches or rites. "^[13] The older Latin Code of Canon Law, when speaking of the Eastern Churches, uses the terms "ritual Church"or "ritual Church sui 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 use of the term "rite" to refer to the Eastern Churches, and the Western, has now become rare, however. A publication of the National Catholic Council of Catholic Bishops explains: "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 the Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches makes 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. "^[14] 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. "^[15]

Care must indeed be taken to distinguish differing meanings of the word "rite". Apart from its reference to the patrimony of a particular Church, the word has been and sometimes, even if rarely, is still used of the particular Church itself. Thus, the term Latin rite can refer either to the Latin Church or to one or more of the Latin liturgical rites, which include the majority Roman Rite, but also the Ambrosian Rite, the Mozarabic Rite, and others. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 Sui iuris Particular Churches within the Catholic Church. Latin liturgical rites used within that area of the Roman Catholic Church where the Latin language once dominated (the Latin Rite or Western Catholic Church The liturgical rite of the Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite. This article is about the history and the current form of Ambrosian Rite for an explanation of the form of this Rite used before the Vatican-II see Traditional Ambrosian Rite The Mozarabic, Visigothic, or Hispanic Rite is a form of Catholic Worship within the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and in the

The term "Uniate"

The term Uniat or Uniate is applied to those Eastern Catholic churches who were previously Eastern Orthodox churches, and to their members, primarily by Eastern Orthodox, who sometimes give it pejorative overtones. Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt ^[16] The term was also historically used, though less frequently, by Latin and Eastern Catholics, especially prior to the Second Vatican Council. The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twentieth century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ^[17] Official Catholic documents no longer use the term, due to its perceived negative overtones. ^[18] According to Eastern Orthodox Professor John Erickson of St Vladimir's Theological Seminary, "The term 'uniate' itself, once used with pride in the Roman communion, had long since come to be considered as pejorative. 'Eastern Rite Catholic' also was no longer in vogue because it might suggest that the Catholics in question differed from Latins only in the externals of worship. The Second Vatican Council affirmed rather that Eastern Catholics constituted churches, whose vocation was to provide a bridge to the separated churches of the East…"^[19]

Eastern and Western (Latin) Catholics

The domes of a Ukrainian Catholic parish in Simpson, Pennsylvania

Most Eastern Catholic Churches arose when a group within an ancient Christian Church that was in disagreement with the see of Rome chose to enter into full communion with that see. Full communion is a term used in Christian Ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential However, the Maronite Church claims never to have been separated from Rome, and has no counterpart Orthodox Church out of communion with the Pope. Maronites ( الموارنة,, Syriac: ܡܪܘܢܝܐ, Latin: Ecclesia Maronitarum) are members of one of the Syriac The term Communion is derived from Latin communio (sharing in common It is therefore inaccurate to refer to it as a "Uniate" Church. The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church has also never been out of communion with Rome, but, unlike the Maronite Church, it uses the same liturgical rite as the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Italo-Greek Catholic Church, also known as the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, is a Byzantine Rite Sui juris particular Church The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite, is the liturgical rite used currently (in various languages The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Syro-Malabar Church, based in Kerala, India, also claims never to have been knowingly out of communion with Rome. The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is a Chaldean Rite Major Archiepiscopal Church in Full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Kerala ( Malayalam: {{Kerala in Malayalam}}; India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Other Christians of Kerala, who were originally of the same East-Syrian tradition, passed instead to the West-Syrian tradition and now form part of Oriental Orthodoxy (some from the Oriental Orthodox in India reunited with the Catholic Church in 1930 and became the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church). Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (also known as Malankara Syrian Catholic Church Malankara Syriac Catholic Church)

The canon law that the Eastern Catholic Churches have in common has been codified in the 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Within the Roman Curia, the dicastery that works with the Eastern Catholic Churches is the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, which, by law, includes as members all Eastern Catholic patriarchs and major archbishops. The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church, together with the Pope Dicastery (from Greek δικαστήριον, law-court from δικάστης, judge/juror is an Italicism sometimes used in English to refer to the The Congregation for the Oriental Churches ( Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus) is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with

All Catholics are subject to the bishop of the eparchy or diocese (the local particular Church) to which they belong. A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight They are also subject directly to the Pope, as is stated in canon 43 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches and canon 331 of the Code of Canon Law. The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the Canon Law for the 22 of the 23 Sui iuris Canon Law, the Ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system with all the necessary elements courts lawyers judges a fully articulated Most, but not all, Eastern Catholics are also directly subject to a patriarch, major archbishop/Catholicos, or metropolitan who has authority for all the bishops and the other faithful of the autonomous particular Church (canons 56 and 151 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches). Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a Pater familias over an extended family In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop is a title for an hierarch to whose Archiepiscopal see is granted the same jurisdiction in his autonomous Catholicos (plural Catholicoi) is a title used by the Patriarch (head/regional head Bishop) of any of certain Eastern churches In Hierarchical Christian churches the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the Diocesan bishop or A particular Church is in Catholic theology and canon law, an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognized as the equivalent of a bishop

The Supreme Authority of the Church

Under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, the Roman Pontiff (the Pope) enjoys supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power in the Church which he can always freely exercise. ^[20] The full description is under Title 3, Canons 42 to 54 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

Eastern Patriarchs and Major Archbishoprics

The Catholic patriarchs and major archbishops derive their titles from the sees of Alexandria (Copts), Antioch (Syrians, Melkites, Maronites), Babylonia (Chaldaeans), Cilicia (Armenians), Kyiv-Halych (Ukrainians), Ernakulam-Angamaly (Syro-Malabars), Trivandrum (Syro-Malankaras), and Făgăraş-Alba Iulia (Romanians). Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια Antioch on the Orontes (Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Δάφνῃ Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ Μεγάλη Antiochia ad Orontem also Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital Geography Cilicia extended along the Aegean coast east from Pamphylia, to Mount Amanus ( Gavurdağı Mount) which separated it from Syria Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the Halych (Галич Гáлич Halicz Halyčas is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. This article is about the town of Ernakulam See Ernakulam district. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Angamaly is a town and a Municipality in Ernakulam district in the state of Kerala Thiruvananthapuram ( Malayalam: തിരുവനന്തപുരം Tiruvanantapuraṁ) also known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (also known as Malankara Syrian Catholic Church Malankara Syriac Catholic Church) The Romanian Church United with Rome Greek-Catholic (Biserica Română Unită cu Roma Greco-Catolică is an Eastern Rite or Greek-Catholic Church ranked as a Major The Patriarchal Churches, Major Archiepiscopal Churches, Metropolitan Churches and Other Churches Sui Iuris, Eparchies and Bishops, Exarchies and Exarchs, and Assemblies of Hierarchs of Several Churches Sui Iuris are governed under Titles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, respectively, under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. ^[21][22]

Historical background

An Eastern Catholic cemetery in northeastern Pennsylvania, where many Eastern Catholics settled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Communion between Christian Churches has been broken over matters of faith, when each side accused the other of heresy or departure from the true faith (orthodoxy). Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief especially a religion that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief The word orthodox, from Greek orthodoxos "having the right opinion" from orthos ("right true straight" + doxa ("opinion Communion has been broken also because of disputes that do not involve matters of faith, as when there is disagreement about questions of authority or the legitimacy of the election of a particular bishop. In these latter cases, each side accuses the other of schism, but not of heresy. The word schism (ˈsɪzəm or /ˈskɪzəm/ from the Greek σχίσμα skhísma (from σχίζω skhízō, "to tear to split"

Major breaches of communion:

1. The Churches that accepted the teaching of the 431 Council of Ephesus (which condemned the views of Nestorius) classified as heretics those who rejected the Council's teaching. This article covers the Ecumenical council of 431 For the council of 449 see Second Council of Ephesus. Nestorius (in Greek: Νεστόριος; c 386&ndash c 451 was Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 Those who accepted it lived mostly in the Roman Empire and classified themselves as orthodox; they considered the others, who lived mainly under Persian rule, as Nestorian heretics. Nestorius Nestorius (c  386 &ndashc  451) was a pupil of Theodore of Mopsuestia in Antioch in Syria (modern These had a period of great expansion in Asia. Monuments of their presence still exist in China. Now they are relatively few in numbers and are divided into three Churches, of which the Chaldaean Church, which is in communion with Rome, is the most numerous, while the others have recently split between the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East. The Chaldean Catholic Church or the Chaldean Church of Babylon (الكنيسة الكلدانية) is an Eastern particular church of the The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ ‘Ittā Qaddishtā wa-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi The Ancient Church of the East separated from the Assyrian Church of the East, after Mar Shimun XXIII the patriarch of Assyrian Church of the East made reforms which
2. Those who accepted the 451 Council of Chalcedon similarly classified those who rejected it as Monophysite heretics. The Council of Chalcedon was the fourth Ecumenical council. It was held from 8 October to 1 November 451 at Chalcedon (a city of Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning 'one alone' and physis meaning 'nature' or Monophysiticism is the Christological position that The Churches that refused to accept the Council considered instead that it was they who were orthodox. The six present-day Churches that continue their tradition reject the description Monophysite, preferring instead Miaphysite. Miaphysitism (sometimes called henophysitism) is the Christology of the Oriental Orthodox Churches They are often called, in English, Oriental Orthodox Churches, to distinguish them from the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world This distinction, by which the words oriental and eastern, words that in themselves have exactly the same meaning, are used as labels for two different realities, is impossible in most other languages and is not universally accepted even in English. These churches are also referred to as pre-Chalcedonian or, now more rarely, as non-Chalcedonian or anti-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 are then called "Oriental/Eastern Orthodox" Churches consider this unfair.
3. The East-West Schism came about in a context of cultural differences between the Greek-speaking East and the Latin-speaking West and of rivalry between the Churches in Rome, which claimed a primacy not merely of honour but also of authority, and in Constantinople, which claimed parity with that in Rome. The East-West Schism, or the Great Schism, divided medieval Christendom into Eastern (Greek and Western (Latin branches which later became known as the Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS ^[23] The rivalry and lack of comprehension gave rise to controversies, some of which appear already in the acts of the Quinisext Council of 692. The Quinisext Council was a church council held in 692 at Constantinople under Justinian II. At the Council of Florence (1431-1445), these controversies about Western theological elaborations and usages were identified as, chiefly, the insertion of "Filioque" in the Nicene Creed, the use of unleavened bread for the Eucharist, purgatory, and the authority of the Pope. The Council of Florence (originally Council of Basel) was an Ecumenical Council of Bishops and other ecclesiastics of the Roman Catholic Church Filioque, a Latin phrase meaning "and (from the Son" In Western Christianity, it was added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed The Nicene Creed (ˈnaɪsiːn is an ecumenical Christian statement of faith accepted in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those See also Intermediate state Limbo|Heaven|Sheol|Hades in Christianity|Hell in Christianity Purgatory, in the original sense is the condition or process of purification ^[24] The schism is conventionally dated to 1054, when the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Papal Legate Humbert of Mourmoutiers issued mutual excommunications that have since been revoked. "Patriarch of Constantinople" redirects here For the institutional church itself see Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Humbert of Mourmoutiers (c1015 &ndash 5 May 1061) was a French prelate Roman Catholic cardinal and Benedictine oblate Excommunication is a religious Censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community In spite of that event, both Churches continued for many years to maintain friendly relations and seemed to be unaware of any formal or final rupture. ^[25] However, estrangement continued to grow. In 1190 Theodore Balsamon, Patriarch of Antioch, declared that "no Latin should be given communion unless he first declares that he will abstain from the doctrines and customs that separate him from us";^[26] and the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by the participants in the so-called Fourth Crusade was seen as the West's ultimate outrage. Theodore Balsamon (Θεόδωρος Βαλσαμῶν was a canonist of the Greek Orthodox Church and 12th century Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 Sui iuris Particular Churches within the Catholic Church. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS The Fourth Crusade (1202&ndash1204 was originally designed to conquer Muslim Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. By then, each side considered that the other no longer belonged to the Church that was orthodox and catholic. But with the passage of centuries, it became customary to refer to the Eastern side as the Orthodox Church and the Western as the Catholic Church, without either side thereby renouncing its claim to be the truly orthodox or the truly catholic Church. The Churches that sided with Constantinople are known collectively as the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world

In each Church whose communion with the Church of Rome was broken by these three divisions, there arose, at various times, a group that considered it important to restore that communion. The see of Rome accepted them as they were: there was no question of requiring them to adopt the customs of the Latin Church.

At a meeting in Balamand, Lebanon in June 1993, the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church declared that these 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" (section 8 of the document). Likewise, the Commission acknowledged that "unacceptable means" were used in attempts to force Eastern Catholics to return to the Orthodox Church (section 11). The missionary outlook and proselytism that accompanied the Unia (section 10), was recognized to be incompatible with the rediscovery of each other as "Sister Churches" (section 12). 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 nor as a model of the unity our Churches are seeking (section 12).

At the same time, the Commission stated:

• 3) Concerning the Eastern Catholic Churches, it is clear that they, as part of the Catholic Communion, have the right to exist and to act in response to the spiritual needs of their faithful.
• 16) The Oriental Catholic Churches who have desired to re-establish full communion with the See of Rome and have remained faithful to it, have the rights and obligations which are connected with this communion.

As remarked earlier, the identity of the Maronite Church and of the Syro-Malabar Church is due to no such division within an Eastern Church.

Eastern Catholic Churches make up 2% of the membership of the Catholic Church, and less than 10% of all Eastern Christians.

List of Eastern Catholic Churches

The Holy See's Annuario Pontificio gives the following list of Eastern Catholic Churches and of countries (or other political areas, consisting of more than country) in which they possess an episcopal ecclesiastical jurisdiction (date of union or foundation in parenthesis):

• Alexandrian liturgical tradition
  • Coptic Catholic Church (patriarchate): Egypt (1741)
  • Ethiopian Catholic Church (metropolia): Ethiopia, Eritrea (1846)
• Antiochian (Antiochene or West-Syrian) liturgical tradition
  • Maronite Church (patriarchate): Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Argentina, Brazil, United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico (union re-affirmed 1182)
  • Syriac Catholic Church (patriarchate): Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United States and Canada, Venezuela (1781)
  • Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (major archiepiscopate): India, United States (1930)
• Armenian liturgical tradition:
  • Armenian Catholic Church (patriarchate): Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Palestine, Ukraine, France, Greece, Latin America, Argentina, Romania, United States, Canada, Eastern Europe (1742)
• Chaldean or East Syrian liturgical tradition:
  • Chaldean Catholic Church (patriarchate): Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, United States (1692)
  • Syro-Malabar Church (major archiepiscopate): India, United States (at latest, 1599)
• Byzantine (Constantinopolitan) liturgical tradition:
  • Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church (apostolic administration): Albania (1628)
  • Belarusian Greek Catholic Church (no established hierarchy at present): Belarus (1596)
  • Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church (apostolic exarchate): Bulgaria (1861)
  • Byzantine Church of the Eparchy of Križevci (an eparchy and an apostolic exarchate): Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro (1611)
  • Greek Byzantine Catholic Church (two apostolic exarchates): Greece, Turkey (1829)
  • Hungarian Greek Catholic Church (an eparchy and an apostolic exarchate): Hungary (1646)
  • Italo-Albanian Catholic Church (two eparchies and a territorial abbacy): Italy (Never separated)
  • Macedonian Greek Catholic Church (an apostolic exarchate): Republic of Macedonia (1918)
  • Melkite Greek Catholic Church (patriarchate): Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Jerusalem, Brazil, United States, Canada, Mexico, Iraq, Egypt and Sudan, Kuwait, Australia, Venezuela, Argentina (1726)
  • Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic (major archiepiscopate): Romania, United States (1697)
  • Russian Byzantine Catholic Church: (two apostolic exarchates, at present with no published hierarchs): Russia, China (1905); currently about 20 parishes and communities scattered around the world, including five in Russia itself, answering to bishops of other jurisdictions
  • Ruthenian Catholic Church (a sui juris metropolia, an eparchy, and an apostolic exarchate): United States, Ukraine, Czech Republic (1646)
  • Slovak Greek Catholic Church (metropolia): Slovak Republic, Canada (1646)
  • Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (major archiepiscopate): Ukraine, Poland, United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Germany and Scandinavia, France, Brazil, Argentina (1595)

Note: Georgian Byzantine-Rite Catholics are not recognized as a particular Church (cf. The Annuario Pontificio ( Italian for Pontifical Yearbook) is the annual directory of the Holy See. The Alexandrian Rite is officially called the Liturgy of Saint Mark, traditionally regarded as the first bishop of Alexandria The Coptic Catholic Church is an Alexandrian Rite Sui juris Particular Church in Full communion with the Pope of Rome rather The Ethiopian Catholic Church is a Metropolitan Sui iuris Eastern Particular Church within the Catholic Church and uses Antiochene Rite designates the family of liturgies originally used in the Patriarchate of Antioch: that of the Apostolic Constitutions; then that of Maronites ( الموارنة,, Syriac: ܡܪܘܢܝܐ, Latin: Ecclesia Maronitarum) are members of one of the Syriac The Syriac Catholic Church, or Syrian Catholic Church is a Christian church in the Levant having The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (also known as Malankara Syrian Catholic Church Malankara Syriac Catholic Church) The Armenian Rite is an independent Liturgy. This rite is used by both the Armenian Orthodox Church and the Armenian Catholic Church. (Refer to List of Armenian Catholic Patriarchs of Cilicia) The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic church Sui juris within The East Syrian Rite is also known as the Chaldean Rite, Assyrian Rite, or Persian Rite although it originated in Edessa. The Chaldean Catholic Church or the Chaldean Church of Babylon (الكنيسة الكلدانية) is an Eastern particular church of the The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is a Chaldean Rite Major Archiepiscopal Church in Full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite, is the liturgical rite used currently (in various languages Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS The Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church is an autonomous Byzantine Rite Particular Church in communion with Rome, whose members live in Albania The Belarusian Greek Catholic Church (Belaruskaya Hreka-Katalickaya Carkva BHKC) sometimes called in reference to its Byzantine Rite, the Belarusian Byzantine The Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite Sui juris Particular Church of the Catholic Church. The Croatian Byzantine Catholic Church or Croatian Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church Sui iuris of the Byzantine Rite. The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church is a Sui iuris Particular Church within the Catholic Church and uses the Byzantine liturgical rite The Hungarian Greek Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite Sui juris Particular Church of the Catholic Church that uses Hungarian The Italo-Greek Catholic Church, also known as the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, is a Byzantine Rite Sui juris particular Church The Macedonian Catholic Church, called the Macedonian Byzantine Catholic Church, is a Byzantine Rite Sui juris particular church within the communion Meaning of church name Melkite comes from the Syriac word malko for "imperial" which was originally a Pejorative term for Middle-Eastern The Romanian Church United with Rome Greek-Catholic (Biserica Română Unită cu Roma Greco-Catolică is an Eastern Rite or Greek-Catholic Church ranked as a Major The Russian Catholic Church (Российская греко-католическая церковь is a Byzantine Rite church Sui juris of the The Ruthenian Catholic Church is a Sui iuris (ie self-governing Catholic Church (see Particular Church) which uses the Divine Liturgy of The Slovak Greek Catholic Church, or Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church, is a Byzantine Rite Particular Church of the Catholic Church in Full History Before the Union of Brest See also History of Christianity in Ukraine The Ukrainian Catholic church did not exist as such until the A particular Church is in Catholic theology and canon law, an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognized as the equivalent of a bishop canon 27 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches).

As is obvious from the above list, an individual autonomous particular Church may have distinct jurisdictions (local particular Churches) in several countries.

The Ruthenian Catholic Church is organized in an exceptional way because of a constituent metropolia, the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, which is referred to also, but not officially, as the Byzantine Catholic Church in America. The Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh ( Latin: Pittsburgensis ritus byzantini) is an autonomous Canon law treats it as if it held the rank of an autonomous ("sui iuris") metropolitan particular Church because of the circumstances surrounding its 1969 erection as an ecclesiastical province.

At that time, conditions in the Rusyn homeland, known as Carpatho-Rus, admitted no other solution because the Byzantine Catholic Church had been forcibly suppressed by the Soviet authorities. When Communist rule ended, the Eparchy of Mukacheve (founded in 1771) re-emerged.

It has some 320,000 adherents, greater than the number in the Pittsburgh metropolia. In addition, an apostolic exarchate established in 1996 for Catholics of Byzantine rite in the Czech Republic is classed as another part of the Ruthenian Catholic Church.

On an EWTN website the Apostolic Exarchate for Byzantine-rite Catholics in the Czech Republic is mentioned in a list of Eastern Churches, of which all the rest are autonomous particular Churches. This appears to be a mistake, since recognition within the Catholic Church of the autonomous status of a particular Church can only be granted by the Holy See (cf. canon 27 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches), which instead classifies this Church as one of the constituent local particular Churches of the autonomous (sui iuris) Ruthenian Catholic Church.

Byzantine-rite Catholics of Georgian nationality or descent

Main article: Georgian Byzantine-Rite Catholics

Some have treated Byzantine-rite Catholics within the Georgian Catholic Church as a separate particular Church with a reunion date of either 1861 or 1917. Stating that, in the 1930s, they had an Exarch, two interrelated websites,[3] [4] which misname him as Fr. Shio Batmanishviii, thus implicitly claim that Georgian Byzantine-Rite Catholics had by then been formed into an apostolic exarchate.

The book, The Forgotten: Catholics of the Soviet Union Empire from Lenin through Stalin, by Father Christopher Zugger (Syracuse University Press 2001) states: "By 1936, the Byzantine Catholic Church of Georgia had two communities, served by a bishop and four priests, with 8,000 believers", and identifies the bishop as Shio Batmalashvili (pages 224 and following).

These sources thus claim 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 in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, and no mention of the erection of such a jurisdiction for Byzantine Georgian Catholics exists in that official gazette of the Holy See, the claim appears to be unfounded.

Until 1994, the annual publication Catholic Almanac used to go further, listing "Georgian" among the Byzantine Rites or autonomous particular Churches. Until corrected in 1995, it appears to have been making a mistake similar to that which the equally unofficial EWTN site is now making about the Czech Byzantine-rite Catholics.

Since the Annuario Pontificio of the 1930s does not mention Shio Batmalashvili, he may have been one of the priests secretly ordained bishops of titular sees for the service of the Church in the Soviet Union by French Jesuit Bishop Michel d'Herbigny, who was head of the Pontifical Commission "Pro Russia" from 1925 to 1934. Rather than exarch of a Georgian Byzantine exarchy, he will then have been apostolic administrator of the whole of the Latin diocese of Tiraspol, to which Georgian Catholics even of Byzantine rite belonged (cf. Oriente Cattolico (1974), page 194).

In the circumstances then prevailing, the Holy See would have been incapable of and would not even have thought of setting up new dioceses or exarchates within the Soviet Union, especially not of Byzantine rite, since Byzantine-rite Catholics were being forced to become officially members of the Russian Orthodox Church. See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure

There was also a short-lived Byzantine Catholic movement among the ethnic Estonians in the Orthodox Church in Estonia during the inter-war period of the twentieth century, consisting of two to three parishes. This group was liquidated by the Soviet regime and is now extinct.

Biritual faculties

While "clerics and members of institutes of consecrated life are bound to observe their own rite faithfully,"^[27] 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 the Syro-Malabar Church working as missionaries in areas of India in which there were no structures of their own Church, were authorized, while remaining priests of the Syro-Malabar Church, to use the Roman Rite in those areas, and Latin-Rite 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. The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is a Chaldean Rite Major Archiepiscopal Church in Full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

The Pope, to whose pastoral guidance the individual Churches both Eastern and Western are all equally entrusted,^[28] can celebrate the liturgy according to any rite. However, because he is Bishop of Rome, he normally uses the Roman Rite. The liturgical rite of the Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite.

For a just cause (especially in order to foster Christian love and manifest the unity between the different particular Churches) and with the permission of the local bishop, priests of different autonomous ritual Churches may concelebrate, using strictly, without admixture, the rite of the principal celebrant; it is preferable that each wears the vestments of his own rite. ^[29] For this no indult of biritualism is required.

Biritual faculties may concern not only clergy but also religious, enabling them to become members of an institute of an autonomous Church other than their own. ^[30]

The laity are obliged to foster an understanding and appreciation of their own rite, and are held to observe it everywhere unless something is excepted by the law. ^[31] This does not forbid occasional or even, for a just cause, habitual participation in the liturgy of a different autonomous Church, Western or Eastern. The obligation of assisting at the Eucharist or, for members of some Eastern Churches, at Vespers, is satisfied wherever the liturgy is celebrated in a Catholic rite. ^[32]

Clerical celibacy

Bishop celebrating Divine Liturgy in Greek-Catholic church in Presov, eastern Slovakia. A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. Greek Catholic Church is a term which refers to the Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine ( Constantinopolitan) liturgical tradition Prešov ( known also by alternative names) is a City in eastern Slovakia. Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Another bishop stands to his immediate right (white omophorion visible), and two married priests stand to the side (facing camera). In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgical tradition the omophorion ( Greek:; Slavonic: омофоръ omofor)

Eastern and Western Christian churches have different traditions concerning clerical celibacy. Clerical celibacy is the practice in various religious traditions, in which Clergy, Monastics and those (of either sex in religious orders adopt a These differences and the resulting controversies have played a role in the relationship between the two groups in some Western countries.

Most Eastern Churches distinguish between "monastic" and "non-monastic" clergy. Monastics do not necessarily live as monks or in monasteries, but have spent at least part of their period of training in such a context. Hieromonk, or Hieroschemamonk, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, ( Greek: Ἱερομόναχος Ieromonachos; Slavonic: Ieromonakh Their monastic vows include a vow of celibate chastity.

Bishops are normally selected from the monastic clergy, and in most Eastern Churches a large percentage of priests and deacons also are celibate, while a portion of the clergy (typically, parish priests) may be married. If a future priest or deacon is to be married, his marriage must take place before ordination to the diaconate. While in some countries the marriage continues usually to be arranged by the families, cultural changes sometimes make it difficult for such seminarians to find women prepared to be the wife of a priest, necessitating a hiatus in the seminarians' studies.

In countries where Eastern traditions prevail among Christians, a married clergy caused little controversy; but it aroused opposition in other countries to which Eastern Catholics immigrated. In response to requests from the Latin bishops of those countries, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith set out rules in a letter of 2 May 1890 to the Archbishop of Paris,^[33] which the Congregation applied on 1 May 1897 to the United States,^[34] stating that only celibates or widowed priests coming without their children should be permitted in the United States. The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples ( Congregatio pro Gentium Evangelisatione) is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This rule was restated with special reference to Catholics of Ruthenian Rite by the 1 March 1929 decree Cum data fuerit, which was renewed for a further ten years in 1939. The Ruthenian Catholic Church is a Sui iuris (ie self-governing Catholic Church (see Particular Church) which uses the Divine Liturgy of Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Dissatisfaction by many Ruthenian Catholics in the United States gave rise to the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese. The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese is a Diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with about 75 parishes in the United States and Canada This rule was abolished with the promulgation of the Decree on the Catholic churches of the Eastern Rite; since then, married men have been ordained to the priesthood in the United States, and numerous married priests have come from eastern countries to serve parishes in the Americas. ^[35]

Some Eastern Catholic Churches have decided to adopt mandatory clerical celibacy, as in the Latin Church. They include the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and the Ethiopic Catholic Church. The Syriac Catholic Church, or Syrian Catholic Church is a Christian church in the Levant having The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (also known as Malankara Syrian Catholic Church Malankara Syriac Catholic Church) The Ethiopian Catholic Church is a Metropolitan Sui iuris Eastern Particular Church within the Catholic Church and uses

References

See also

• Assyrian Church of the East
• Eastern Orthodoxy
• Oriental Orthodoxy
• Union of Brest
• Leo Allatius

External links

General

• Orientale Lumen - Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II on the Eastern Churches
• Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium - original text of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, with concordance
• Code of canons of the Oriental Churches - defective English translation, with concordance
• Instruction for Applying the Liturgical Prescriptions of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches - Instruction by Congregation for the Eastern Churches
• What All Catholics Should Know About Eastern Catholic Churches
• Eastern Catholics in the United States of America - adapted from a similar publication by the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference
• CNEWA Papal Agency for the support of Eastern Catholic Churches
• Congregation for the Oriental Churches: Profile

Particular

• Syro Malankara Catholic Church International Homepage--Official Website
• Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate--Official Website
• Maronite Patriarchate--Official Website
• Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church--Official Website
• Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
• Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Official Website
• Byzantine Catholic Church in America--Information and Messageboards
• Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh--Official Website
• Penn State University Byzantine Catholic Campus Ministry
• Romanian Byzantine Catholic Church -- Official Website (Romanian)
• Holy Ascension Ukrainian Catholic Church Plymouth, MI USA