Eastern Rite canon law question

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Dear brothers and sisters:

The law concerning remarriage and the sacramental life differs between Latin Rite Catholics and Orthodox Chrustians, obviously.

The Orthodox are allowed 3 marriages due to their application of economia.

Do the Eastern Rite Churches hold to this also?

Thanks.
 
Not officially, not in the Eastern canon law.

Catholic Church holds that having second marriage while still being in first valid marriage is breaking the Divine Law. Being in communion with someone who breaks Divine Law would be counterproductive.
 
Dair said:
Dear brothers and sisters:

The law concerning remarriage and the sacramental life differs between Latin Rite Catholics and Orthodox Chrustians, obviously.

The Orthodox are allowed 3 marriages due to their application of economia.

Do the Eastern Rite Churches hold to this also?

Thanks.
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No. This is a incompatibility between Eastern Orthodox and Catholic (Latin or eastern).
 
Hi.

That’s the Latin teaching, certainly. If That’s the teaching of the ER too then they’re identical.

Thanks.
 
Thanks: that confirms the continuity between Eastern and Western CL on this point then.

Do the ER dispense with economia altogether then?
I know that ER CL differs on certain points from the LR, and so it doesn’t always follow Rome.

That’s pretty complex.
 
Hi, your use of abbreviations is confusing especially because you have confused “Rite” with “Church”.

The Western Church is the Latin Church, based on the Roman Rite. Colloquially, the ambiguous term “Latin Rite” may be used to designate the Latin Church or even the Roman Rite. The term “CIC” (Codex Iuris Canonici) is used to refer to Western Canon Law.

The Eastern Catholic Churches are true sui iuris (self-governing) Churches, with their own hierarchical structures, eparchies, priests and bishops, etc. and are not merely “Rites”. The term “CCEO” is used to refer to that Canon Law that applies to all Eastern Catholic Churches.
 
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Dair said:
Thanks: that confirms the continuity between Eastern and Western CL on this point then.

Do the ER dispense with economia altogether then?
I know that ER CL differs on certain points from the LR, and so it doesn’t always follow Rome.

That’s pretty complex.
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There is the Latin Canon Law (CIC) of 1983 and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO) of 1990. Also each Catholic sui iuris church has particular law specific for itself. In some sense there is economia for example with fast and abstinence, a milder requirement than traditional is obligatory in practice, yet while still encouraging the traditional observance. Sunday and Holy Day Divine Liturgy is obligatory, however, alternatively the faithful may participate in Great Vespers on the evening before.
 
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I know in the Byzantine Catholic Church, once a priest divorces his wife he will be laicized.
 
Hi Alexandria.

I didn’t know that, but it makes total sense. 100% biblical.

Thanks for that.
 
the thing with the Eastern Catholic Churches is that they are more diverse than you think.

Only the Byzantine Rite Catholics are from the Byzantine/Eastern Orthodox tradition.

I’m SyroMalabar Catholic (East Syriac Rite)- our counterpart church is not Orthodox. It’s the Assyrian Church of the East. But we are heavily latinized. On areas such as marriage, we follow the same way as the Latins. our priests cannot marry as well. We are fully Catholic and in full communion with Rome.
 
"Russian Orthodox canon lawyers of the nineteenth century readily admitted that the Roman Church’s insistence on the point of the indissolubility of marriage was the original, apostolic doctrine. In fact, this doctrine was so strict that St. Paul views remarriage in the case of ‘widowed’ persons a concession to human weakness.

Indeed, the Orthodox Church uses the rite for remarriage of widows and widowers for the remarriage of divorced persons, thus implying that the justification for remarriage before the death of living spouse is that the union is “dead.” The Oriental Orthodox (Armenians, Syrians, Copts, and Ethiopians) observe a stricter discipline closer to that of the Roman Church."

 
Rites can be used if one doesn’t speak of a particular sui iuris Church. For example both the ukrainian greek catholic church and the ruthenian catholic church are of the byzantine rite.
 
Fascinating. Thank you.

I’m only really familiar with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
I actually did think that all Eastern Churches were, basically, Orthodox Churches in communion with Rome.

So the Assyrian Church of the East is not what we would commonly call Oriental Orthodox?

Thanks again.
 
Can I just say thank you to everyone here. It’s a real pleasure to speak with you and to read your interactions with one another.

This is the only thread I’ve actually read or participated in where everyone is so friendly, helpful and respectful. It’s also the most focused. It’s all light and no heat.

It’s a real pleasure to be involved in this discussion with you fine people.

Thank you.
 
Dair said:
So the Assyrian Church of the East is not what we would commonly call Oriental Orthodox?
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no, it’s not. The Assyrian Church tried to get in communion with the Syriac Orthodox (SOC) in the late 90s, but things didn’t work out. interestingly the majority of the ethnic Assyrians are either part of the SOC or the Chaldean Catholic Church. The Chaldean Catholics are the faction of the Assyrian Church that joined in communion with Rome. And the SyroMalabars are the Indian faction, that originally were a part of the Church of the East, that is now in full communion with Rome.

In essence, through all the 23 Eastern Catholic churches, all the 5 Eastern liturgies are a part of the Catholic Church now. 1. Byzantine Rite, 2. Alexandrian (Coptic) Rite, 3. Armenian Rite, 4. West Syriac Rite, and 5. East Syriac Rite.

Corresponding eastern churches are:
  1. Eastern Orthodox employ Byzantine Rite (most familiar to Western audience)
  2. Oriental Orthodox are a group of 3 - Alexandrian Rite, Armenian Rite and West Syriac Rite
  3. historic Church of the East - East Syriac Rite
 
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