The Word Uniate

[HagiaSophia]

Because of another thread I became curious as to the origin of, and change in, usage of the term “uniate”. To the best of my recollection it was kind of a “badge of identity” and used with no pejorative meaning until sometime post Vatican Council.

Alex Roman (Ukranian Catholic) provides background on this and when it changed at:

unicorne.org/orthodoxy/articles/alex_roman/useoftheword.htm

I then inquired of someone far more knowledgable than myself and the information I have received is as follows:

The term “Unia” was adopted by Rome in the 16th century and it was worn with pride by all those Orthodox especially in the
Ukraine (where the majority reside) and in Poland who became Catholic while retaining their Orthodox rites.

Likewise the term “Uniate” was an official term which Rome applied to all such people, and they themselves wore it with pride so to now say the Orthodox created these terms in order to be
offensive seems not only a bit unfair but not historically accurate.

Up until the 1960s ALL Vatican documents use “Unia” and “Uniate” and , less frequently “Greek Catholic”, (even if is not to “Greeks” they are referring but to Ukrainians and other nationalities.) So these terms have a currency within the Catholic Church of about 500 years.

Reading Vatican documents and Catholic magazines more than 40 years old will bear this out. Example documents between Archbishop Ireland and Alexis Toth both of whom
use these terms freely in their correspondence with one another.

I additionally found this link which Fr. Ambrose provided in one of his earlier postings:

Alexis Toth and the Uniate Return to Orthodoxy
oca.org/pages/orth_chri/…rsion.html#toth

where the term was obviously being used in a non pejorative way.

I wondered about why the word after being used for centuries became “outre” (the oly reason I could find was the one offered by Alex Roman) – as an example when the Irish came here in great numbers the pejorative term “mackerel snappers” was applied to them, by the seond generation Irish, it was being used by them laughingly to describe themselves and lost its original pejorative.

Does anyone here have any additional information?

 

[Hesychios]

You’ve got it about right, in official terminology it isn’t supposed to be a problem. But then, Quisling was a real man doing a job and his name wasn’t supposed to be an insult either.

In person to person contacts between Orthodox and Catholics the term is often used disparagingly. I have heard it used that way myself, even by Latin Rite Catholics with a sort of “we will bury you” type of insinuation.

Some Orthodox have the attitude that Byzantine rite Catholics of whatever jurisdiction are merely Roman Catholics “playing church”! The term Uniate comes across as something like oreo, if you are familiar with how that term is used among blacks in the U.S.A.

Therefore a significant number of people now resent the term.

There is no reason to dwell on it, but it is interesting how people can take a label and either reject it or adopt it.

I have black friends who call each other “n*gger”, yet I should not use the expression about them! Blacks call whites “cracker” sometimes, I think it’s a funny expression and couldn’t care less, but they mean it in the most derogatory fashion and when a person accidentally blurts it out in my presence they get all apologetic and embarassed. The term “cracker” is a serious insult, and normally used that way.

So we Uniates are the Oreos and Crackers of the Orthodox world. Believe me, the Orthodox at street level use it as an insult.

It would be nice if Roman Catholics were all as sensitive to this issue as you seem to be.

+T+

 

[HagiaSophia]

Hesychios:

You’ve got it about right, in official terminology it isn’t supposed to be a problem. But then, Quisling was a real man doing a job and his name wasn’t supposed to be an insult either.

In person to person contacts between Orthodox and Catholics the term is often used disparagingly. I have heard it used that way myself, even by Latin Rite Catholics with a sort of “we will bury you” type of insinuation.

Some Orthodox have the attitude that Byzantine rite Catholics of whatever jurisdiction are merely Roman Catholics “playing church”! The term Uniate comes across as something like oreo, if you are familiar with how that term is used among blacks in the U.S.A.

Therefore a significant number of people now resent the term.

There is no reason to dwell on it, but it is interesting how people can take a label and either reject it or adopt it.

I have black friends who call each other “n*gger”, yet I should not use the expression about them! Blacks call whites “cracker” sometimes, I think it’s a funny expression and couldn’t care less, but they mean it in the most derogatory fashion and when a person accidentally blurts it out in my presence they get all apologetic and embarassed. The term “cracker” is a serious insult, and normally used that way.

So we Uniates are the Oreos and Crackers of the Orthodox world. Believe me, the Orthodox at street level use it as an insult.

It would be nice if Roman Catholics were all as sensitive to this issue as you seem to be.

+T+

Thank you both for the compliment and for the explanation: I take it that is is like the word discriminating. It always denoted a person of good taste, cultured and educated. Now to be told one is discriminating is usually a pejorative. It’s a shame. Another good word co-opted.

 

[Volodymyr]

The use of word Unia in Ukraine and Russia is unique in being applied to certain religious and political situations, usually involving Western peoples and, religions. We have examples: the Lublinska Unia which created Grand Princedom of Litva, the Florentitska Unia which tried to create union of Byzantia Orthodox and Catholic Church and finally the Beresteska Unia which created the Ukrainian hreko Catholic Church.

The word is Unia is of Latin and not Slavic origin. Unfortunately now in Ukraine uniatska tserkva (Church) is used as both religious and political attack to frighten Russian speaking Ukrainians that Orthodoxy will disappear if Viktor Iushenko is president. Such ideas advanced by ultranationaistic Orthodox party - Single Fatherland. However, problem for ultranationalistic Orthodox is that the hreko-catholic church (which is the church that the soviets and Single Fatherland call the uniatska tserkva) is very much working well with the Orthodox church, Kyiv Patriarchiate and the Orthodox Autokephalic Church of ukraine.

Situation now quite tense. All Christians must pray for understanding between ukrainian speaking and Russian speaking ukrainians - that Nasha Ukraina - can be for both and that Orthodox and hreko Catholics can live together in peace. Problem is that Ultranationalist Orthodox consider Ukraine still to be “Little Russia” that Moscow must control.

 

[panoikei]

Timely topic. Uniate is used in derogatory contexts these days. Interesting. We sand Ave Maria at our Fundamentalist church on this Christmas. Blew my mind.