Congregation for the Oriental Churches

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I know a lot of the posters on this board are not fans of the concept of the Congregation… I have seen references to the “Colonial Office” more than once. I tend to agree that placing the Eastern Churches under a Roman congregation is conceptually problematic. That being said, on a practical level, are not all the Patriarchs and Major Archbishops members of the Congregation? Would not, then, most of the decisions be ultimately made by Eastern hierarchs… or does the Cardinal Prefect tend to overrule their wishes? I’m just wondering if it essentially operates as a pan-council of Eastern hierarchs or if it really is more akin to a Latin dominated “We know what’s best for the naughty little Easterners” situation as is often implied on this board…
 
I think it’s a tough question that would require some inside knowledge. I mean a cardinal shouldn’t be overruling anyone on anything in that context. I don’t understand why it exists. I don’t understand how you implement a code of canon law for all of the Eastern Churches. In fact the entire concept just seems to perpetuate the idea of Roman supremacy. At least that’s the way it looks to me.
 
Seraphim73 said:
I think it’s a tough question that would require some inside knowledge. I mean a cardinal shouldn’t be overruling anyone on anything in that context. I don’t understand why it exists. I don’t understand how you implement a code of canon law for all of the Eastern Churches. In fact the entire concept just seems to perpetuate the idea of Roman supremacy. At least that’s the way it looks to me.
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I suspect in practice the Eastern hierarchs govern their own affairs 99.9% of the time but it would be nice to know how the Congregation really operates day-to-day. I know it is responsible for nominating bishops outside of the traditional territories of the Eastern Churches and for Eastern Churches of metropolitan status or lower (as the Synods of Patriarchal and Major Archepiscopal Churches elect their own bishops within the traditional territories), but I believe even in those cases the names are taken from lists proposed by the Eastern synods / councils of hierarchs.

I personally think it should be suppressed. To ensure regular communication and cooperation between Rome and the Eastern Catholic Churches, perhaps the Pope could simply appoint the equivalent of nuncios to act as liaisons between the Holy See and the various Eastern synods. In the Latin Church, the nuncios represent the Holy See in each nation but they do not by any means rule or govern the local churches. There are practical reasons for the Holy See to be involved (in my opinion)…not to “boss” or “govern” the local Eastern Churches, but to provide charity, relief, and diplomatic intervention in times of need (our brethren in Syria and Iraq being a great example right now).
 
twf said:
I suspect in practice the Eastern hierarchs govern their own affairs 99.9% of the time but it would be nice to know how the Congregation really operates day-to-day. I know it is responsible for nominating bishops outside of the traditional territories of the Eastern Churches and for Eastern Churches of metropolitan status or lower (as the Synods of Patriarchal and Major Archepiscopal Churches elect their own bishops within the traditional territories), but I believe even in those cases the names are taken from lists proposed by the Eastern synods / councils of hierarchs.

I personally think it should be suppressed. To ensure regular communication and cooperation between Rome and the Eastern Catholic Churches, perhaps the Pope could simply appoint the equivalent of nuncios to act as liaisons between the Holy See and the various Eastern synods. In the Latin Church, the nuncios represent the Holy See in each nation but they do not by any means rule or govern the local churches. There are practical reasons for the Holy See to be involved (in my opinion)…not to “boss” or “govern” the local Eastern Churches, but to provide charity, relief, and diplomatic intervention in times of need (our brethren in Syria and Iraq being a great example right now).
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There’s nothing wrong with the various Churches having some kind of representation in Rome just as it’s appropriate for Rome to have representatives in at least the major Eastern Churches. That was the practice from ancient times. I suppose in my mind the most offensive parts are the fact that all of the Eastern Churches are lumped together.
 
First of all, it is congregation for Eastern Churches, not Eastern Catholic Churches. Since Jesus founded just and only ONE church, there is only one church. From Catholic point of view, anyone properly baptised with trinitarian formula is Christian and so is in the only Church that exists. Non-Catholics are part of the Church, they are just in schism, but still part of the Church.

In addition to the only and one Church, word “church” is also used to describe different tipes of entities like:
  • Catholic, Orthodox, Episcopal churches, …,
  • Catholic sui iuris churches, Orthodox autocephalus and autonomous churches, …,
  • local churches (by nations, geographical regions, cultural traditions…),
  • …
What I know, congregation in question also cares about relations with Orthodox, Oriental and Assyrian churches not in communion with Rome. Since the largest part of Christian East is not Catholic, it is sufficient to have only one Eastern congregation. I know there is no “protestant” congregation but despite of this I think this makes some sense.

The goal of Congregation for Eastern Churches is not only to govern. Congregation of bishops is not created to humiliate their bishopric authority as well as Congregation for education is not trying to dissolve rectors and rights of universities, or Congregation for religious (monks, nuns & co.) is not to by-pass abbots, general superiors etc.

What’s more, church with ten bishops, eight of them in war zone, or church with twenty priests worldwide and no bishops for decades, or diasporic church with <10 priests in which each must take care for people in ten cities hundreds of kilometres one from each other… simply does not have capacity to have regular synods, its own working offices etc.

There is also question how to handle not rarely quite “unoptimal” relationships between diaspora and home country. Some sui iuris churches evidently tend to produce new eparchies in enormous rate and without a little external control it would mean having two Latin dioceses for a million of people and ten eparchies for a half million of people in the same geographic area. On the other hand, sometimes it is needed to support smaller eastern churches and I think in a few last years we can see cases when Easten Catholic Churches were supported from Rome and thanks to this they achieved something what would have been impossible just by their own.

One point on cannon law: There is one general eastern cannon law but each church can and should have its own particular law. Having one central office simply prevents mess and chaos. I think situation now is better than e. g. in 1850 without eastern codification (with exception of Melkites and Romanians who had their own cannons).

Of course, it is not a perfect congregation, but I think it makes a good sense to have it. If we like it or not, Eastern Catholic Churches are specific and special and fact that they constitute only cca. 2 % (and not 40 %) of Catholics makes it only more visible and “feelable”.
 
If Rome truly cares about the possibility of restoring communion with the Orthodox, then abolish the Oriental Congregation, or at least get rid of the remotest possibility that it exercises any sort of authority whatsoever over the Eastern Churches. Orthodox bishops will never accept submitting to such an authority.
 
Seraphim73 said:
I think it’s a tough question that would require some inside knowledge. I mean a cardinal shouldn’t be overruling anyone on anything in that context. I don’t understand why it exists. I don’t understand how you implement a code of canon law for all of the Eastern Churches. In fact the entire concept just seems to perpetuate the idea of Roman supremacy. At least that’s the way it looks to me.
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The Congregation for the Oriental Churches began as part of the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide pro negotiis ritus orientalis, established by Pope Pius IX on January 6, 1862 with the Apostolic Constitution Romani Pontifices. Pope Benedict XV declared it independent on May 1, 1917 with the Motu Proprio Dei Providentis and named it Congregatio pro Ecclesia Orientali. Pope Paul VI with the Apostolic Constitution Regimini Ecclesiae Universae of Augsut 15, 1967 changed the name to Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus.

As an institution this Dicastery received from the Supreme Pontiff the mandate to be in contact with the Oriental Catholic Churches for the sake of assisting their development, protecting their rights and also maintaining whole and entire in the one Catholic Church, alongside the liturgical, disciplinary and spiritual patrimony of the latin rite, the heritage of the various Oriental Christian traditions.

Its responsibilities were notably increased by Pope Pius XI with the Motu Proprio Sancta Dei Ecclesia of March 25, 1938. More recently Pope Paul VI (Regimini Ecclesiae Universae) and Pope John Paul II (Pastor Bonus) further clarified the scope of the Dicastery, which exercises, ad normam iuris, the same authority over eparchies, bishops, clergy, religious and faithful of the Oriental Rite as do the Congregations for the Bishops, for the Clergy, for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life and for Catholic Education respectively over the dioceses, bishops, clergy, religious and faithful of the Latin Rite. In addition, it has exclusive authority over the following regions: Egypt and the Sinai peninsula, Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia, Southern Albania and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.
…

According to the different fields of competency the Dicastery is assisted by a College of about 50 Consultors who offer professional advice on particular questions or matters of great significance. The Congregation furthermore coordinates the work of three Commissions of experts: The Special Commission on the Liturgy, which seeks to deal with the matters reserved by the Code of Canons for the Oriental Churches to the Holy See concerning the liturgy of the oriental Catholic Churches; The Special Commission for the Studies of the Christian East, which undertakes to study the collection of documents and initiatives with the purpose of bringing knowledge of the East to Western Catholicism and of deepening the awareness of the patrimony of the Oriental Churches; The Commission for the Formation of the Clergy and Religious, which promotes the formation of oriental students in Rome or elsewhere according to the custom of their institute.

The complex reality of the Oriental Churches with respect to their geographical, cultural and social conditions requires that the great Catholic community will share its resources, which can help the Orientals to keep alive and to develop the most genuine traditions of their Churches according to the instructions of the Second Vatican Council, the norms of the Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches and the directives of the Supreme Pontiffs.

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/orientchurch/profilo/rc_con_corient_pro_20030320_profile.html
 
Nestor_kea said:
First of all, it is congregation for Eastern Churches, not Eastern Catholic Churches. Since Jesus founded just and only ONE church, there is only one church. From Catholic point of view, anyone properly baptised with trinitarian formula is Christian and so is in the only Church that exists. Non-Catholics are part of the Church, they are just in schism, but still part of the Church.
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Hi Nestor kea. Certainly, the name is “Congregation for Eastern Churches”. The word “Catholic” isn’t in there because it isn’t necessary; not – repeat not – out of some kind of triumphalism vis a vis other Christians. (Just read the name of other congregation, e.g. “Congregation for Bishops”, not “Congregation for Catholic Bishops”, “Congregation for the Clergy”, not “Congregation for Catholic Clergy” etc.)
RyanBlack said:
Orthodox bishops will never accept submitting to such an authority.
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See my response to Nestor kea.
 
I also believe the Congregation for the Oriental Churches should be abolished. Rome needs to stop trying to oversee the legitimate churches of the Eastern Tradition. We are in communion with, not under Rome. Alot needs to change within the papacy before reunification can occur.
 
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