Differences between Latin and Eastern

[turtleoompa]

Hello. I am a Roman Catholic. Have been all of my life. I love my faith. How are Latin Catholics different than Eastern Catholics? What are the opinions of Eastern Catholics regarding Latin Catholics? How do Eastern Catholics view us? To me a Catholic is a fellow Catholic, we share a faith that was begun by Jesus and His Diciples. I am new to this part of the forum.

 

[East_and_West]

Hello. I am a Roman Catholic. Have been all of my life. I love my faith. How are Latin Catholics different than Eastern Catholics? What are the opinions of Eastern Catholics regarding Latin Catholics? How do Eastern Catholics view us? To me a Catholic is a fellow Catholic, we share a faith that was begun by Jesus and His Diciples. I am new to this part of the forum.

Oh my. This is gonna be fun.

 

[Woodstock]

Welcome, Turtle!

I’ll start with a few of the easier differences.

There are 23 different Catholic Churches in union with each other. You are part of the Latin Church. Your Church’s patriarch is the Pope of Rome. There are 6 current patriarchs, each over a different one of the 23 Churches. Obviously, the other 5 patriarchs are eastern. The remaining 17 Churches have different hierarchal structures dependent on a lot of issues like their needs, politics, size, etc.

You are under the Latin Code of Canon Law. The other 22 Churches have the Eastern Code of Canon Law which means people in those Churches don’t have the same canons to follow as you. When they fast, rules about marriage, ordinations, feast days, all sorts of things are different. Each Church then also has its own particular law that adds on to the eastern canon law.

Your Church uses the Latin, Ambrosian, and Mozarabic rites. I never can get which of the religious orders’ rites are current, but they exist as well.

The Eastern and Oriental Churches use different rites. The most common is the Byzantine Rite. The eastern canon law defines a rite as “the liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony, culture and circumstances of history of a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the faith is manifested in each Church sui iuris. The rites treated in this code, unless otherwise stated, are those which arise from the Alexandrian, Antiochene, Armenian, Chaldean and Constantinopolitan traditions.”

Some of the liturgical, theological, spiritual, disciplinary, cultural, and historical differences in the Byzantine rite include

• the disciplinary allowance of the ordination of married men
• the lack of Eucharistic adoration or Corpus Christ processions
• the Liturgies of St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, St. James, and Pre-Sanctified Liturgy
• the Sign of the Cross made touching the right shoulder first with the fingers formed three together and two down
• a 1-year liturgical cycle
• a distinct calendar of saints, feasts, and fasts
• A requirement to be married in the Church by a priest because of a different theological understanding of who the minister of the sacrament is
• a use of icons in worship
• a lack of use of statues
• different traditional prayers and devotions
  I’m sure this is enough to get things started.

 

[turtleoompa]

Thankyou for your response. Do we have similar Masses? Would I recognize the Mass if I went to an Eastern one? So are you saying that the Eastern priests can marry? I presume the Orthodox are a different matter. Pardon me if I sound ignorant, but I do have a thirst for Catholocism and want to know as much as I can about different aspects and it’s history.

 

[Woodstock]

Thankyou for your response. Do we have similar Masses? Would I recognize the Mass if I went to an Eastern one?

The Divine Liturgy follows a different structure from the Mass. You would recognize parts like the readings, the prayers of petition, the Eucharistic prayers, and the blessings. Other parts you wouldn’t recognize like the proskomedia, which is the service before Liturgy preparing the bread and wine. You would probably figure out the Little and Great Entrances, which are processions first with the Gospel and then with the Gifts. All in all, it is probably close enough for you to know what is going on but different enough to keep you on your toes on a first visit.

Most of the liturgy is litanies petitioning God, so it is fairly easy to follow.

So are you saying that the Eastern priests can marry? I presume the Orthodox are a different matter.

The Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches may ordain married men, but do not allow ordained men to marry. This is the same tradition as the Orthodox Churches, from whom most of the Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches came.

Pardon me if I sound ignorant, but I do have a thirst for Catholocism and want to know as much as I can about different aspects and it’s history.

You have to start somewhere! Don’t be embarrassed to ask.

 

[Edmac]

What you need to do is to go to an Eastern Catholic Liturgy and
see how it works. It may be quite bewildering at first (it was for me), but you will eventually get the idea. The underlying structure is the same.

Edmac

 

[Irish_Melkite]

There are 23 different Catholic Churches in union with each other. You are part of the Latin Church. Your Church’s patriarch is the Pope of Rome. There are 6 current patriarchs, each over a different one of the 23 Churches. Obviously, the other 5 patriarchs are eastern.

Actually, there are 6 Eastern or Oriental Patriarchs - the Coptic, Maronite, Melkite, Syriac, Chaldean, and Armenian.

Many years,

Neil

 

[Woodstock]

Actually, there are 6 Eastern or Oriental Patriarchs - the Coptic, Maronite, Melkite, Syriac, Chaldean, and Armenian.

Many years,

Neil

:doh2:
Thank you.

 

[Melchior]

Hello. I am a Roman Catholic. Have been all of my life. I love my faith. How are Latin Catholics different than Eastern Catholics? What are the opinions of Eastern Catholics regarding Latin Catholics? How do Eastern Catholics view us? To me a Catholic is a fellow Catholic, we share a faith that was begun by Jesus and His Diciples. I am new to this part of the forum.

Eastern Catholics have better food and like to be around each other after church.

 

[mardukm]

Dear brother turtleoompa,

Hello. I am a Roman Catholic. Have been all of my life. I love my faith. How are Latin Catholics different than Eastern Catholics? What are the opinions of Eastern Catholics regarding Latin Catholics? How do Eastern Catholics view us? To me a Catholic is a fellow Catholic, we share a faith that was begun by Jesus and His Diciples. I am new to this part of the forum.

There are differences in the theological language of the Easterns/Orientals as distinct from the Latins, but, as you say, we are all of the same FAITH. Sometimes, it is difficult to see the shared FAITH that undergirds our different theological language. But I believe there is an apostolic imperative to overcome those differences, as indicated in my signature line below. These different expressions are normally thoroughly and zealously discussed in other threads, so watch out for them.

The Eastern/Oriental Churches have a more synodal ecclesiology than the Western (or Latin) Church. However, the main point of the synod is to ensure unity. The complementary term and practice in Latin ecclesiology is “collegiality.” The difference is that collegiality (in the Latin Church) is not always realized in the form of a formal Synod. Collegality (i.e., unity among bishops) is often expressed in the Latin Church simply through the unity of teaching, instead of a formal display of unity as evinced by a Synod.

From my experience and understanding, Latins normally look to the Pope first, and then their local bishop second. In distinction (though I certainly would not say it is a contradistinction), Easterns and Orientals look to their local bishop first, and then the Pope second. In terms of FAITH, there is no difference in either practice. It becomes relevant, however, when it comes to disciplinary issues, and local expressions and Traditions.

There are a few differences between the Oriental and Eastern Catholic Churches, but that is not the purpose of this thread.

Blessings,
Marduk