Multi-ritual Priests

[KnightOfSPUD]

Could a priest be of more than one rite? Like Latin and Syro-Malabar Rites in one priest. If it could be possible, how does one attain such a state?

 

[DJJG]

***A priest is a priest of only one rite; however he may have faculties in another rite, to celebrate the mysteries/sacraments in a second rite ( this is called bi-ritual faculties ). Fr. Mitch Pacwa, on EWTN is a Latin rite priest with faculties in the Maronite rite, Bishop Edward Gross, aux. Bishop in Buffalo has bi-ritual faculties in the Ukrainian Cath. Church.

To get faculties in another rite they need permission from their bishop or patriarch of both rites, and have a good reason why they need those faculties

Also if a priest has bi-ritual faculties and he becomes a bishop, he automatically looses the faculties and has to reapply for them if he was to retain bi-ritual faculties. This is because celebration of the mysteries/sacarments and his duties are much different as a bishop.***.

 

[MorEphrem]

A priest is a priest of only one rite; however he may have faculties in another rite, to celebrate the mysteries/sacraments in a second rite ( this is called bi-ritual faculties ). Fr. Mitch Pacwa, on EWTN is a Latin rite priest with faculties in the Maronite rite, Bishop Edward Gross, aux. Bishop in Buffalo has bi-ritual faculties in the Ukrainian Cath. Church.

To get faculties in another rite they need permission from their bishop or patriarch of both rites, and have a good reason why they need those faculties

Also if a priest has bi-ritual faculties and he becomes a bishop, he automatically looses the faculties and has to reapply for them if he was to retain bi-ritual faculties. This is because celebration of the mysteries/sacarments and his duties are much different as a bishop.

In slight nuance, a priest is not a priest of a rite but of the Church to which he is canonically ascribed (otherwise if he was only of “one rite” he couldn’t be biritual). This is an important distinction because it is the individual Church that grants the faculty to celebrate its ritual - so Fr Pacwa is a Roman priest but given faculties by the Maronite Church (by specifically Bishop Zayek I think).

The only time you would need permission of the patriarch is if he is the local authority.

Anyway, obtaining biritual faculties is relatively simple and I’m yet to hear of a case in which they’ve been denied to a priest in good standing - inform your bishop for courtesy and obtain the permission from the ordinary from whom you would receive faculties. The “good reason” bit is de facto untrue as I’m familiar with Latin priests with no need or knowledge of the Maronite liturgy obtaining faculties.

 

[malphono]

Anyway, obtaining biritual faculties is relatively simple and I’m yet to hear of a case in which they’ve been denied to a priest in good standing - inform your bishop for courtesy and obtain the permission from the ordinary from whom you would receive faculties. The “good reason” bit is de facto untrue as I’m familiar with Latin priests with no need or knowledge of the Maronite liturgy obtaining faculties.

Biritual faculties are actually not granted by the local ordinary of the Church from whom the priest requests such faculties, but rather by Rome on the recommendation of that local ordinary. In cases where a local ordinary does not exist in a given territory, the petition goes directly the Oriental Congregation.

In any case, such faculties are granted for a defined period (I’ve forgotten the duration but it might be 3 years) and automatically expire unless a petition for renewal is submitted by the local ordinary. The Oriental Congregation issues a formal document which is kept in triplicate: one each for both dioceses and one for the priest himself. Normally the granting (or renewal) of biritual faculties by Rome is pro-forma, but they can be denied or not renewed. (In the recesses of my memory, I seem to think there was at least one case of denial or non-renewal, but I can’t recall the details. OTOH, I do recall a case where a priest requested renewal but the local ordinary’s recommendation to Rome was against it and the renewal was denied.)

The above concerns what I’ll call “standing faculties” but it’s not at all uncommon for a priest to be granted ad-hoc faculties. This happens, e.g, in cases where a priest of one Church is invited to concelebrate in another, and in such cases the local ordinary (or even the pastor of the place) is competent to allow it.

 

[Vico]

Could a priest be of more than one rite? Like Latin and Syro-Malabar Rites in one priest. If it could be possible, how does one attain such a state?

There are two indults: indult of Adaptation of Rite and the indult of Bi-ritual faculties. The bi-ritual indult proceeds through both bishops and then to the The Congregation for Eastern Churches.Biritualism is a grant for a period of time to celebrate in the Divine Liturgy or Holy Mass and the Holy Sacraments according to the liturgical rite of another Church sui iuris as well as one’s own Church sui iuris, yet always ascribed to your own Church sui iuris.
The adaptation of rite is a papal indult allowing the foregoing and to be part of the liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony of another Church sui iuris, yet always ascribed to one’s own Church sui iuris.

This adaptation of rite is more common for those in religious institutes (such as a Latin Catholic in a Byzantine monastary or even for incardination of an eastern priest in a Latin diocese.) If the reason for the grant ceases, so does the indult.
Source:

Inter-Ecclesial Relations Between Eastern and Latin Catholics: A Canonical-Pastoral Handbook by Dimitri Salachas & Krzysztof Nitkiewicz, English Edition by George Dmitry Gallaro, 2009, 157 pp., ISBN 1-932208-23-2

Also this may be interesting to you:
ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage_print.asp?number=343924&language=en

 

[Elizium23]

A local UGCC priest was having trouble obtaining faculties in the Latin Church and he told me it was because Rome did not like the fact that he is married. This was about 12 years ago. Today he is Mitred Archpriest and head of his own parish, and I don’t know if he was ever granted Latin faculties, but I doubt he is hurting too much from that.