Celebrating Communion with Eastern Catholics

[NCC0327]

Hey Guys,

I’m fairly new to the Roman Catholic faith. I came in Easter 2010. I’m a little confused about the relationship between Roman and Eastern Catholics in Communion with Rome.

I’m curious about the permissibility of receiving Communion between Latin and Eastern churches in communion with Rome. The missalette says that certain Eastern churches may receive communion, but it warns that those people follow the rules of their church. I don’t believe the Eastern churches allow them to receive Communion at a Latin church and I don’t believe Latin Catholics may receive Communion at Easter churches.

Correct me if I’m wrong.

If we are all in communion with Rome why can we not receive communion at each others parishes as we can within our own rite.

Thanks Guys,

Mark

 

[Alexander_Roman]

Dear Sir,

Any Catholic can receive Holy Communion at any Catholic Church of whatever Rite.

The information you have is about intercommunion with Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian Churches.

Rome will allow this under certain circumstances, but the Eastern Churches won’t in general. This is why one would need to inquire into the rules of the church/parish itself.

It is best to simply stick with the family of Ritual/Particular Churches in communion with Rome.

Alex

 

[KarenElissa]

I think the confusion here is Eastern CATHOLICS and Eastern ORTHODOX.

The Eastern Orthodox, while pretty similar, are not in union with the Pope and not Catholic. They do have valid orders and sacraments though and in certain circumstances, according to Catholic theology, we would be allowed to receive communion there. They, however, would not allow it. Same thing in reverse, we would allow them to receive, under certain circumstances, but their church won’t allow them.

Eastern Catholics, of which there are actually about 23 (I think that is the right number) different churches, are fully Catholic and fully in union with the Pope. Latin Catholics can fulfill their Sunday obligation and receive communion in any Eastern Catholic parish and Eastern Catholics can do the same in any Latin parish.

 

[ciero]

I think the confusion here is Eastern CATHOLICS and Eastern ORTHODOX.

The Eastern Orthodox, while pretty similar, are not in union with the Pope and** not Catholic. **They do have valid orders and sacraments though and in certain circumstances, according to Catholic theology, we would be allowed to receive communion there. They, however, would not allow it. Same thing in reverse, we would allow them to receive, under certain circumstances, but their church won’t allow them.

Eastern Catholics, of which there are actually about 23 (I think that is the right number) different churches, are fully Catholic and fully in union with the Pope. Latin Catholics can fulfill their Sunday obligation and receive communion in any Eastern Catholic parish and Eastern Catholics can do the same in any Latin parish.

The Eastern Orthodox are fully Catholic…but not in communion with the pope…just as Catholics are fully Orthodox…just not in communion with the Eastern Orthodox churches…it is important that we choose our words carefully.

 

[KarenElissa]

The Eastern Orthodox are fully Catholic…but not in communion with the pope…just as Catholics are fully Orthodox…just not in communion with the Eastern Orthodox churches…it is important that we choose our words carefully.

Wouldn’t that be the different between Catholic (with a big C) and catholic (with a little c) and the same for Orthodox and orthodox?

 

[Barbkw]

Pretty good explanation of the Eastern Catholic Churches:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Catholic_Churches

Alexandrian liturgical tradition:

Coptic Catholic Church (patriarchate): Cairo, [163,849], Egypt (1741)

Ethiopian Catholic Church (metropolia): Addis Ababa, [208,093], Ethiopia, Eritrea (1846)

Antiochian or West Syrian liturgical tradition:

Maronite Church[40] (patriarchate): Bkerke, [3,105,278], Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Syria, Argentina, Brazil, United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico (Never separated: union re-affirmed 1182)

Syriac Catholic Church (patriarchate): Beirut,[131,692], Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United States and Canada, Venezuela (1781)

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church[41] (major archepiscopate): Trivandrum, [412,640], India, United States (1930)

Armenian liturgical tradition:

Armenian Catholic Church[42] (patriarchate): Beirut, [375,182], Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Egypt,
Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Palestinian Authority, Ukraine, France, Greece, Latin America, Argentina, Romania, United States, Canada, Eastern Europe (1742)

Chaldean or East Syrian liturgical tradition:

Chaldean Catholic Church[43] (patriarchate): Baghdad, [418,194], Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, United States (1692)

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church[44] (major archepiscopate): Ernakulam, [3,902,089], India, Middle East, Europe, America (Never separated)

Byzantine (Constantinopolitan) liturgical tradition:

Albanian Catholic Church (apostolic administration): [3,510], Albania (1628)

Belarusian Catholic Church (no established hierarchy at present): [10,000], Belarus (1596)

Bulgarian Catholic Church[45] (apostolic exarchate): Sofia, [10,107], Bulgaria (1861)

Eparchy of Križevci[46] (an eparchy and an apostolic exarchate): Križevci, Ruski Krstur [21,480] + [22,653], Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro (1611)

Greek Byzantine Catholic Church[47] (two apostolic exarchates): Athens, [2,325], Greece, Turkey (1829)

Hungarian Catholic Church[48] (an eparchy and an apostolic exarchate): Nyiregyháza, [290,000], Hungary (1646)

Italo-Albanian Catholic Church (two eparchies and a territorial abbacy): [63,240], Italy (Never separated)

Macedonian Catholic Church (an apostolic exarchate): Skopje, [11,491], Republic of Macedonia (1918)

Melkite Greek Catholic Church[49] (patriarchate): Damascus, [1,346,635], Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Brazil, United States, Canada, Mexico, Iraq, Egypt and Sudan, Kuwait, Australia, Venezuela, Argentina (1726)

Romanian Church United with Rome[50] (major archiepiscopate): Blaj, [776,529] Romania, United States (1697)

Russian Catholic Church[51] (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[52] (a sui juris metropolia,[53] an eparchy,[54] and an apostolic exarchate [55]): Uzhhorod, Pittsburgh, [594,465], United States, Ukraine, Czech Republic (1646)

Slovak Catholic Church[56] (metropolia and an eparchy): Prešov, [243,335], Slovakia, Canada (1646)

Ukrainian Catholic Church[57] (major archiepiscopate): Kiev, [4,223,425], 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. canon 27 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches). The majority of Eastern Catholic Christians in the Georgian Republic worship under the form of the Armenian liturgical rite.

The list shows that 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 is also, unofficially, referred to as the Byzantine Catholic Church in America. 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 establishment 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 the 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 is 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.

 

[Rawb]

Wouldn’t that be the different between Catholic (with a big C) and catholic (with a little c) and the same for Orthodox and orthodox?

Not quite. Your church has our Church in a very special category.

Eastern Orthodox are allowed to receive Holy Communion in any Roman Catholic parish without needing any ‘special situation’ or ‘special permission’ by the teachings of the Roman Catholics.

Orthodox themselves do not permit inter-communion with Roman Catholics, and tell their members to not receive Holy Communion from a Roman Catholic parish.

Roman Catholics view the Eastern Orthodox as in imperfect union with them and hope the intercommunion will help speed up reconciliation.

Eastern Orthodox view the Romans as in schism from them, and do not allow anybody who’s not Orthodox to commune in their churches. We believe reconciliation first, intercommunion second.

 

[dcointin]

Personally I would commune at a Catholic Church, but I’m concerned about the ramifications for me as an Orthodox Christian.

 

[Rawb]

Personally I would commune at a Catholic Church, but I’m concerned about the ramifications for me as an Orthodox Christian.

It is something that should be confessed. Some (perhaps most) say it declares you anathema from The Church.

 

[malphono]

dcointin;7842478:

Personally I would commune at a Catholic Church, but I’m concerned about the ramifications for me as an Orthodox Christian.

It is something that should be confessed. Some (perhaps most) say it declares you anathema from The Church.

Just :twocents: worth (or is that “:twocents: worthless” ) from a non-EO.

Intercommunion in the Middle East (variously among OO, OC, EO, EC, and ACoE) is not particularly unusual. It actually happens quite frequently. By extension, many Orthodox (particularly but not exclusively Antiochian) clergy in the US seem to be more and more approachable in that regard. While it may not be regarded as a normal or even desirable practice among some EO, if it does not carry the “taint of anathema” in the Middle East, it logically cannot do so elsewhere.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Not just communion, but according to the Canon Law for Roman Catholics, you can also have your confessions heard by a priest of any Catholic Rite.

 

[NCC0327]

Everyone,

Thanks so much for the clarification. This site is awesome!!

Mark

 

[Rawb]

What Constantine and malphono say is true. All Roman Catholic sacraments are, by Roman Catholic teachings, open to Eastern Orthodox, and yes, this is something we’re more stringent about in America (and from what I’ve heard, in any place where Orthodox aren’t really on their ‘home turf’.)

I really should’ve said “Some (perhaps most) in America would say…”

Still, I cannot recommend it, and I know my SF would take it very seriously if I did. As in all things, it’s best to follow the recommendations of your SF.

 

[ConstantineTG]

What Constantine and malphono say is true. All Roman Catholic sacraments are, by Roman Catholic teachings, open to Eastern Orthodox, and yes, this is something we’re more stringent about in America (and from what I’ve heard, in any place where Orthodox aren’t really on their ‘home turf’.)

I really should’ve said “Some (perhaps most) in America would say…”

Still, I cannot recommend it, and I know my SF would take it very seriously if I did. As in all things, it’s best to follow the recommendations of your SF.

Well, not all. Under normal circumstances you should be baptized in the Rite of the Rite you are coming into. So if I am becoming a Roman Catholic, I cannot be baptized using the Ukrainian-Byzantine Rite of Baptism (again under normal circumstances).

Same for Confirmation/Chrismation. One should be Confirmed/Chrismated by the Bishop and or Priest of the Rite and sui juris they should belong to.

Same again for Marriage. Unless you are marrying someone in another Rite, the Rite of Marriage is done in the Rite of at least one of the couple.

The most strict of all is Ordination/Holy Orders. You can only be Ordained into the Rite you canonically belong to.

 

[Rawb]

Ah yes, I forget about things like that. We don’t have ‘rites’ like y’all do.

LoL I should just not talk…

 

[ciero]

Ah yes, I forget about things like that. We don’t have ‘rites’ like y’all do.

LoL I should just not talk…

Sure you do…the Western Rite of Orthodoxy…in both the Antiochian and ROCOR jurisdictions, and the Old Believers in the Moscow and ROCOR jurisdictions.

 

[Rawb]

Sure you do…the Western Rite of Orthodoxy…in both the Antiochian and ROCOR jurisdictions, and the Old Believers in the Moscow and ROCOR jurisdictions.

GAH! LoL, in my defense the Western Rite is much more rare than the Eastern Rites of Catholicism. I’m personally still unsure about whether that whole thing is a good idea.

Anyway yeah, s’official. shutting up.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Ah yes, I forget about things like that. We don’t have ‘rites’ like y’all do.

LoL I should just not talk…

Heheheh, yes it is complicated.