Can Eastern Catholics use Latin terminology?

[Monica4316]

Many times there are questions if Eastern Catholics have to follow certain Latin doctrines with their specific terminology.

My question is a bit different. Can we do this, if we want to, as Eastern Catholics? Does the Church allow Eastern Catholics to believe in and use the word “Purgatory”, in the Latin sense, for example?

I understand that Eastern Catholics need to accept the Catholic dogmas and shouldn’t go against them. So our view of Purgatory should still fit in with the Latin one and not contradict it. Maybe it wouldn’t have quite the same details. But if we want to, COULD we personally follow these “Latin” details, and believe that they are true?

thank you

 

[SyroMalankara]

Many times there are questions if Eastern Catholics have to follow certain Latin doctrines with their specific terminology.

My question is a bit different. Can we do this, if we want to, as Eastern Catholics? Does the Church allow Eastern Catholics to believe in and use the word “Purgatory”, in the Latin sense, for example?

Maybe it wouldn’t have quite the same details. But if we want to, COULD we personally follow these “Latin” details, and believe that they are true?

thank you

You could. But sometimes it would be like being in Mexico and preferring to speak Japanese. No one will stop you, but you might have difficulty communicating.

I understand that Eastern Catholics need to accept the Catholic dogmas and shouldn’t go against them. So our view of Purgatory should still fit in with the Latin one and not contradict it.

Why would accepting Catholic dogma mean fitting into Latin ones? Eastern Catholic views are equal, not subordinate to Latin views.

 

[adamhovey1988]

You could. But sometimes it would be like being in Mexico and preferring to speak Japanese. No one will stop you, but you might have difficulty communicating.

Why would accepting Catholic dogma mean fitting into Latin ones? Eastern Catholic views are equal, not subordinate to Latin views.

This is a good explanation. My view of Purgatory has more to do with the Eastern view of Final Theosis, but I still accept it as a dogma. I mean, in the west, we often use Greek terms to explain certain beliefs, so I don’t see a problem if there is no equivalent in the East. Just a thought.

 

[Bookcat]

Many times there are questions if Eastern Catholics have to follow certain Latin doctrines with their specific terminology.

My question is a bit different. Can we do this, if we want to, as Eastern Catholics? Does the Church allow Eastern Catholics to believe in and use the word “Purgatory”, in the Latin sense, for example?

I understand that Eastern Catholics need to accept the Catholic dogmas and shouldn’t go against them. So our view of Purgatory should still fit in with the Latin one and not contradict it. Maybe it wouldn’t have quite the same details. But if we want to, COULD we personally follow these “Latin” details, and believe that they are true?

thank you

Yes. For they are true.

The Catholic Faith about Purgatory is the Catholic Faith about purgatory.

I as a Roman can likewise use terms from eastern Catholic spirituality etc.

 

[Monica4316]

Thank you! If it helps to clarify, I don’t have an Eastern parish.

 

[Vico]

Many times there are questions if Eastern Catholics have to follow certain Latin doctrines with their specific terminology.

My question is a bit different. Can we do this, if we want to, as Eastern Catholics? Does the Church allow Eastern Catholics to believe in and use the word “Purgatory”, in the Latin sense, for example?

I understand that Eastern Catholics need to accept the Catholic dogmas and shouldn’t go against them. So our view of Purgatory should still fit in with the Latin one and not contradict it. Maybe it wouldn’t have quite the same details. But if we want to, COULD we personally follow these “Latin” details, and believe that they are true?

thank you

Eastern Canon Law:

Canon 12

1. The Christian faithful are bound by an obligation in their own patterns of activity always to maintain communion with the Church.
2. They are to fulfill with great diligence the duties which they owe to the universal Church and to their own Church sui iuris.

Canon 17

The Christian faithful have the right to worship God according to the prescriptions of their own Church sui iuris, and to follow their own form of spiritual life consonant with the teaching of the Church.

 

[MorEphrem]

I don’t find it helpful for Eastern Catholics to use Latin terminology. In fact, using equivalences is in contradict to maintaining the integrity of whatever Eastern tradition is in question. Going back to SyroMalankara’s language analogy, it would be like speaking a language by translating with constant word-to-word equivalences. You might be able to find equivalent words but such modality limits articulation and destroys exclusive idioms. You might as well not use the target language if that’s the case because you eliminate its own character if its simply an exercise in translation. The same holds for other traditions. And as one poster said, the Latins might use Greek terms but often not even with the same connotations as the language itself and only because of a limitation of Latin (one example that makes me cringe, whether or not true, is Pope Pius’s use of the word “hypostatic” to describe Mary’s relationship with the Holy Trinity).

In the same vein of thought, I hope Latins’ idea of purgatory agrees substantially with the Syriac idea of Sheol otherwise they would be accused of heresy. The problem arises when actual theological differences exist which people are unwilling to discuss (because of the oft replicated line about “same theology, different words”), but that’s a topic for an entirely different thread.

How entertaining to see someone quote the CCEO written and handed to us by Rome to justify why we should use our own source of expressions.

 

[Brendan]

(one example that makes me cringe, whether or not true, is Pope Pius’s use of the word “hypostatic” to describe Mary’s relationship with the Holy Trinity)…

As an FYI, he did not make such a comparison. The reference to the hypostatic union was in reference to Christ .

Here is the actual text from
the Encyclical AD CAELI REGINAM

1. As We have already mentioned, Venerable Brothers, according to ancient tradition and the sacred liturgy the main principle on which the royal dignity of Mary rests is without doubt her Divine Motherhood. In Holy Writ, concerning the Son whom Mary will conceive, We read this sentence: “He shall be called the Son of the most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end,” and in addition Mary is called “Mother of the Lord”; from this it is easily concluded that she is a Queen, since she bore a son who, at the very moment of His conception, because of the hypostatic union of the human nature with the Word, was also as man, King and Lord of all things. So with complete justice St. John Damascene could write: “When she became Mother of the Creator, she truly became Queen of every creature.” Likewise, it can be said that the heavenly voice of the Archangel Gabriel was the first to proclaim Mary’s royal office.

w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam.html

 

[Monica4316]

Eastern Canon Law:

Canon 12

1. The Christian faithful are bound by an obligation in their own patterns of activity always to maintain communion with the Church.
2. They are to fulfill with great diligence the duties which they owe to the universal Church and to their own Church sui iuris.

Canon 17

The Christian faithful have the right to worship God according to the prescriptions of their own Church sui iuris, and to follow their own form of spiritual life consonant with the teaching of the Church.

I didn’t really mean if we should use Latin expressions, rather… if we can, voluntarily, use them… ? I understand we have the right to follow the Eastern way, but can we for example agree with the Latin understanding of Purgatory, and use the word Purgatory, etc? From my understanding, Eastern Catholics can have their own expression but shouldn’t disagree with the Latin doctrines either, and the two shouldn’t contradict…

 

[Vico]

I didn’t really mean if we should use Latin expressions, rather… if we can, voluntarily, use them… ? I understand we have the right to follow the Eastern way, but can we for example agree with the Latin understanding of Purgatory, and use the word Purgatory, etc? From my understanding, Eastern Catholics can have their own expression but shouldn’t disagree with the Latin doctrines either, and the two shouldn’t contradict…

Well there is public and private devotions. In the liturgy, one follows the public form, rubrics, external practices and communal prayers. In private devotion, piety, which is not done in community, one can adopt any practices, even from other churches sui iuris. We see this particularly in the gaining of indulgences, which are not part of the eastern traditions, but are available for eastern Catholics, through the agency of the Latin Church.

Also, one must consider that there are Catholic families of mixed sui iuris church membership, so they may adopt different practices to be united, if desired.

 

[Monica4316]

Thank you! makes sense