Coptic and Ge'ez Rite Catholics in America

[jschwartz]

Hello all,

There seems to be a very strong representation in the northeast, where I live, of Christians from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, who have their own very beautiful traditions.

Are corresponding Catholics of the Coptic and Ge’ez (Ethiopian and Eritrean) Catholic Churches organized at all in the US? If so, is their liturgy Latinized?

Lastly, the Tewahedo church seems to have retained many Jewish practices, such as specific modes of slaughter, not eating pork, men and women seating separately and removing their shoes prior to entering a church, women not entering the church during their menses, etc. Do Ethiopian Catholics follow any of these practices?

Many thanks.

 

[adamhovey1988]

Hello all,

There seems to be a very strong representation in the northeast, where I live, of Christians from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, who have their own very beautiful traditions.

Are corresponding Catholics of the Coptic and Ge’ez (Ethiopian and Eritrean) Catholic Churches organized at all in the US? If so, is their liturgy Latinized?

Lastly, the Tewahedo church seems to have retained many Jewish practices, such as specific modes of slaughter, not eating pork, men and women seating separately and removing their shoes prior to entering a church, women not entering the church during their menses, etc. Do Ethiopian Catholics follow any of these practices?

Many thanks.

I have no idea but that is a really good question

 

[malphono]

There are two Coptic parishes in union with Rome in the US. The larger one is in Los Angeles while the smaller one (without a website that I could find) is in Brooklyn. AFAIK, there are no Ge’ez.

 

[phil19034]

There are two Coptic parishes in union with Rome in the US. The larger one is in Los Angeles while the smaller one (without a website that I could find) is in Brooklyn. AFAIK, there are no Ge’ez.

Actually, there are Ge’ez parishes in the US

byzcath.org/index.php/find-a-parish-mainmenu-111?sid=67:all_active

NOTE: I don’t claim to believe that this list is all encompassing. I also would not be surprised to learn that there are more Coptic Catholic communities too.

 

[Elizium23]

The three sui iuris Alexandrian Rite Churches only have established territory in their native lands. There is no hierarchy or eparchial structure in the diaspora. I believe that as a result, the parishes and their priests and faithful are entrusted to the care of the local Latin ordinary of the place.

 

[jschwartz]

My research has brought forth some fruit.

There are 4 coptic catholic churches in North America, LA, Brooklyn, Toronto and Laval, Quebec.

There are a few Latin rite RC churches that seem to host Ge’ez liturgies. Only a couple actual such churches seem to have been incorporated.

These include Ge’ez liturgies in Holy Cross Cathedral Boston, St. Thomas of Canterbury Chicago, St. Joseph the Worker Berkeley, San Nicola diBari in Toronto, and two churches in the DC/Arlington area, Kidane Mehret and Medhanie Alem. I haven’t found anything in the NYC area, despite the presence of Ethiopian Orthodox churches.

 

[jschwartz]

I compiled the following list of Eritrean and Ethiopian communities offering the Ge’ez Rite, in the Anglo world.

Kidane Mehret Ge’ez Rite Catholic Church, Washington, DC kidane-mehret.org/

Kidane Mhret Church of Toronto, ON kidanemhret.com/joomlatest/index.php

Kidane Mehret Catholic Church, Leeds, UK kidanemehret.org/

Holy Redeemer Eritrean Catholic Gheez-Rite Chaplaincy, London, UK catholicgheez.org/

Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, Queensway, London, UK, Ethiopian Gheez Rite
parish.rcdow.org.uk/queensway/

Kidaste Selassie (Holy Trinity Ge’ez Rite Catholic Church), Calgary, AB kidestselassiecatholic.org/

Medhanie Alem Ge’ez Rite Eritrean Catholic Church, Annandale, VA
medhanealemcatholic.org/

St. Joseph the Worker Church, Berkeley, CA
stjosephtheworkerchurch.org/Eritrean/main.html

Kidane Mehret Ge’ez Rite Catholic Church, Stone Mountain, GA
atlantakidanemehret.org/
corpuschristicc.org/uploads/3/9/7/6/39768046/11292015_bulletin.pdf

Charlotte Catholic Gheez-Rite Chaplaincy, Charlotte, NC
eritreancatholiccharlotte.org/about/

St. Thomas of Canterbury, Chicago, IL
stcuptown.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25&Itemid=63

Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, MA (Ge’ez Rite (Ethiopian))
holycrossboston.com/schedule.html

I could be missing some, but this is what I came up with. Surprisingly, there are none in NYC, despite the presence of immigrants from Ethiopia/Eritrea here. When I wish to see other liturgies at play, I prefer going to Catholic over Orthodox services, since I can receive at EC services, but I suppose I’ll have to wait until I’m out of town in DC or Boston or just suck it up and visit an EOTC, which we do have in NYC.

I’d like to visit Resurrection Coptic Catholic Church and then visit a Coptic Orthodox Church and compare the two.