Churches in full communion with Holy See

[BusterMartin]

Hello Everyone,

I was browsing some forum posts and noticed some posts regarding other (non-Catholic) churches. That got me thinking about which churches are in full communion with the Holy See. I couldn’t find that list on this forum, but found a list of autonomous churches in full communion on Wikipedia (I know, not always reliable) at this URL en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_communion#Catholic_Church. I have some questions about this…

1. Does anyone know if this list is accurate?
   a. If so, is there any problem with going to one of these churches (if there are any nearby) on a Sunday instead of a Roman Catholic church? I’m interested to see how their services are conducted as compared with standard Roman Catholic Mass. If this is a problem, I would happily go to both as I don’t want to miss Mass (unless going to what the Church teaches is a suitable alternative).
2. Since they are in full communion, does that mean we share the same beliefs in the Eucharist and can receive communion there?
3. What about the other sacraments they offer?

Thank you for any advice you can provide!

 

[1ke]

1. Does anyone know if this list is accurate?

Yes, it is accurate.

a. If so, is there any problem with going to one of these churches (if there are any nearby) on a Sunday instead of a Roman Catholic church? I’m interested to see how their services are conducted as compared with standard Roman Catholic Mass. If this is a problem, I would happily go to both as I don’t want to miss Mass (unless going to what the Church teaches is a suitable alternative).

You have a misunderstanding about the term “Church.” There is one Church, the Catholic Church, and these particular Churches are 100% Catholic.

A particular Church is a Church headed by a Bishop. In other words, your diocese is a particular Church to which you belong. The particular Church to which you belong uses the Latin Rite for its liturgy and the Latin Code of Canon Law. This is referred to as a local particular Church.

The particular Churches listed in the article you site are Catholic. They have Catholic bishops. The grouping together of local particular Churches based on their Rite and canon law to which they are subject is known as a autonomous particular Churches.

Depending upon which paritcular Church you are talking about they use a different Rite for their liturgy-- for example Byzantine Rite, Chaldean Rite, etc-- and they are all under a separate Code of Canon Law.

Perhaps this article would help you:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particular_Church

Their Liturgy **IS **the Mass. So, yes, it fulfills your Sunday obligation per this canon in Canon Law:

Can. 1248 §1. A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.

1. Since they are in full communion, does that mean we share the same beliefs in the Eucharist and can receive communion there?

It means they are Catholics.

1. What about the other sacraments they offer?

They are Catholic.

Canon Law governs us in regard to the reception of Sacraments in our own Rite or that of one of the other Catholic Churches. Also, Canon Law specifies how one might change Rites.

 

[JMJ_coder]

The list is more-or-less accurate. There are some inconsistencies in the naming scheme, but not a big issue. And one could argue over potentially better divisions of the liturgical traditions (e.g., the Armenian and Byzantine rites are both descended from the Church of Constantinople, which itself is actually Antiochene in origin).

One potential inaccuracy, in the Byzantine tradition it lists the Macedonian Catholic Church, which I am unfamiliar with and omits the Georgian Catholic Church and the USA Church (there is certainly argument over whether the latter is in fact a sui iuris Church, but that’s for another thread).

1. One may fulfill their Sunday obligation at any Catholic Church – period! full stop!
2. Yes, they hold the same faith as those in the Latin Church, though they sometimes look at things in a different (but equal in truth and dignity) perspective and phrase things differently (for example, where we speak of substance, they’ll speak of essence – the difference stemming from one word derived from the Latin language (substania) and the other from the Greek language (ousia)).
3. All of their sacraments are fully valid and licit. Though, in general the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders are restricted to the Church you are canonically enrolled in. Matrimony and Anointing of the Sick are also generally from your canonical Church, though this is more to do with the fact that these are usually done where you tend to tread, so to speak. Communion and Penance can be received in any Church, though as the rites are different, the newcomer may be a little disoriented at first.

 

[BusterMartin]

Thank you, both! That was a big help in clarifying.

 

[curlycool89]

I always chuckle when these questions come up. I guess it’s different when you live in western Canada and the Ukrainian Catholic Church is pretty well known. I’ve actually seen a mass celebrated in the Latin Rite with a Roman priest as the celebrant and a Ukrainian Catholic Bishop concelebrating.

 

[Brendan]

I always chuckle when these questions come up. I guess it’s different when you live in western Canada and the Ukrainian Catholic Church is pretty well known. I’ve actually seen a mass celebrated in the Latin Rite with a Roman priest as the celebrant and a Ukrainian Catholic Bishop concelebrating.

I know what you mean. Within 5 miles of my house, I have 2 Chaldean parishs, 1 Rutherian and 1 Melkite.

When I was growing up, the Catholic school I went to had a Rutherian parish that ‘feed’ into the school, so about a 1/4 of my classmates were Byzantine.

I try an take my kids to an Eastern Church at least once every few months, especially the Chaldean parish. It’s good for them to hear the language Christ spoke.

(Chaldean liturgies are often done in Aramaic, and even when the rest is in English, they say the Eucharistic Prayer in Aramaic)

 

[choy]

I always chuckle when these questions come up. I guess it’s different when you live in western Canada and the Ukrainian Catholic Church is pretty well known. I’ve actually seen a mass celebrated in the Latin Rite with a Roman priest as the celebrant and a Ukrainian Catholic Bishop concelebrating.

do you go to the Ukranian Chruch for Divine Liturgy?

 

[curlycool89]

do you go to the Ukranian Chruch for Divine Liturgy?

I went once in grade 3 when our Catholic School decided to take everyone to a Ukrainian Catholic Divine Liturgy (to this day, I still how no idea why. The school never went again). I remember it was pretty cool, lots of singing. We spent a few “choir” classes learning the responses. I attend our university’s Catholic college’s chapel.