Ukrainian Catholic Church

[EIF5A]

I’m not sure if I’m posting in the right forum, but I was wondering about the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

In a couple months, I’ll be moving, and the closest Catholic parish is affiliated with the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy. A cursory look at the churches showed more “eastern” looking iconography.

Are they in communion with the Roman Catholic Church? I’ve only just begun attending Mass, and I almost feel like I would “betray” if I went to a different church.

Here’s their website.

 

[Rolltide]

Short answer, Yes, they are fully Catholic! They are part of the Eastern Catholic Church. While their services will be different (basically Orthodox, but in communion with Rome), you may still attend, fulfill your Mass obligation, and partake in all of the sacraments.

 

[Rolltide]

Long answer:

Most people are not aware that the “Catholic Church” is actually comprised of twenty-three self-governing Catholic Churches, all in union with the pope. The Western, or Latin Catholic Church, is so large, however, that many people, even Catholics, are completely unaware of the other twenty-two churches, which make up the Eastern Branch. (Some have from only a few thousand members to a few million.)

Originally, there was only one denomination… the Catholic Church (the word Catholic meaning “universal”). However, there were five cities that early on were singled out as being important centers of Christianity. They were Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and of course, Rome. Each developed its own unique traditions and liturgy, but ALL shared a common theology and were in communion with each other and the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope. However, about 1000 years ago, due to a variety of unfortunate problems, the other four cities, allied with the Byzantine Empire, mutually broke off from Rome, forming the various Eastern Orthodox Churches. Although doctrinally, they are virtually identical to Catholics, they refuse to acknowledge that the pope is more than a “first among equals”. (A couple groups broke of much earlier in the 400s AD also, to form what are known as the Oriental Orthodox Churches).

What has happened is that over time, some portions of each of the various Orthodox groups have decided to reconcile with the Catholic Church and come back into communion with Rome. When they do, they are allowed to keep all of their traditions and much of their independence, although they acknowledge the authority of the Pope. They become truly Catholic, in that anyone from ANY branch of the Catholic Church can participate in the liturgy and ceremonies of any OTHER branch of the Catholic Church. The only two Eastern groups that never fell out of communion with the Catholic Church were the Maronite Catholic Church, and the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church. So… for every branch of the Orthodox Churches that are NOT in communion with Rome, there is a corresponding and virtually identical branch of the Eastern Catholic Church that IS in communion with Rome. Since their customs and liturgies date from before the Council of Trent, they are allowed to remain.

The following liturgies are used by the Eastern Catholic Churches:

• The Liturgy of St. Basil
• The Chaldean Mass
• The Order of the Divine and Holy Liturgy of Our Father Among the Saints Gregory the Theologian (or Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts)
• The Liturgy of St. James
• The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
• The Liturgy of St. Mark
• The Holy Qorbono

continued…

 

[Rolltide]

Here is a listing that includes EACH of the twenty-three Catholic Churches in union with the Pope. Do not confuse “churches” with “rites”. A rite is a series of traditions, that includes different customs and liturgies. Several different churches may use the exact same rite. A Church has its own rules and separate line of authority to the Pope. It may also have a figure in charge, like a Metropolitan or a Patriarch (like an Archbishop), since these churches are generally very small and work very hard to preserve their unique traditions. The major rites are the Latin, Alexandrian, Antiochian, Armenian, Chaldean, and Byzantine.

**The Western (Latin) Catholic Church

Latin liturgical tradition**

1. Ordinary Form (This is the form of the Mass that you will find in virtually every Latin Catholic Church almost every day of the week. This Mass has existed since the mid-1960s, ever since reforms were made following the Second Vatican Council.)
2. Extraordinary Form (This is the form of the Mass that was used in virtually every Latin Catholic Church from the Middle Ages until the mid-1960s. It may still be said in Catholic Churches should a priest choose to use it. Some of the differences from the Ordinary Form include the exclusive use of the Latin language (except for the homily), the receipt of Communion exclusively on the tongue and kneeling, the priest facing the same direction as the people (toward the altar and God) so he can lead the people in prayer, no lay participation on the altar, and usually, no responses by lay people.)
3. Ambrosian Rite (Only permitted in the Archdiocese of Milan)
4. Mozarabic Rite (Only permitted in the Cathedral of Toledo, Spain and a few surrounding churches of the diocese)
5. Bragan Rite (Only permitted in the Archdiocese of Braga, Portugal)
6. Anglican-Use Mass (This form was once only permitted in the extremely rare circumstance in which an Anglican priest converted to Catholicism and brings his entire parish with him. In that event, a parish could continue to use the Anglican liturgy, with corrections to make it conform with Catholic teachings. It was originally meant as a transitional liturgy, and upon the death of the pastor, the church would revert to the Ordinary Form. With the recent provisions announced by the Vatican to allow Anglicans into the Catholic Church and keep their traditions, it seems that the Anglican-Use will now become both far more widespread AND permanent.)

**Rites of Religious Orders **

1. Dominican Rite
2. Carthusian Rite
3. Carmelite Rite
4. Cisternian Rite

Note: Technically, the forms of the Latin liturgy listed above are NOT different rites, but variations of the SAME rite, although people do tend to commonly use the term somewhat erroneously in this context. The differences between the Latin “rites” are FAR less than those between the Latin liturgy and any of the Eastern Rites.)

**The Eastern Catholic Churches

1. Alexandrian liturgical tradition**
2. Coptic Catholic Church (patriarchate): Egypt (1741)
3. Ethiopian Catholic Church (metropolia): Ethiopia, Eritrea (1846)
   2. Antiochian (Antiochene or West-Syrian) liturgical tradition
4. Maronite Church (patriarchate): Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Argentina, Brazil, United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico (union re-affirmed 1182)
5. Syriac Catholic Church (patriarchate): Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United States and Canada, Venezuela (1781)
6. Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (major archiepiscopate): India, United States (1930)
   3. Armenian liturgical tradition:
7. Armenian Catholic Church (patriarchate): Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Palestine, Ukraine, France, Greece, Latin America, Argentina, Romania, United States, Canada, Eastern Europe (1742)
   4. Chaldean or East Syrian liturgical tradition:
8. Chaldean Catholic Church (patriarchate): Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, United States (1692)
9. Syro-Malabar Church (major archiepiscopate): India, Middle East, Europe and America.
   5. Byzantine (Constantinopolitan) liturgical tradition:
10. Albanian Greek Catholic Church (apostolic administration): Albania (1628)
11. Belarusian Greek Catholic Church (no established hierarchy at present): Belarus (1596)
12. Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church (apostolic exarchate): Bulgaria (1861)
13. Byzantine Church of the Eparchy of Križevci (an eparchy and an apostolic exarchate): Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro (1611)
14. Greek Byzantine Catholic Church (two apostolic exarchates): Greece, Turkey (1829)
15. Hungarian Greek Catholic Church (an eparchy and an apostolic exarchate): Hungary (1646)
16. Italo-Albanian Catholic Church (two eparchies and a territorial abbacy): Italy (Never separated)
17. Macedonian Greek Catholic Church (an apostolic exarchate): Republic of Macedonia (1918)
18. Melkite Greek Catholic Church (patriarchate): Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Jerusalem, Brazil, United States, Canada, Mexico, Iraq, Egypt and Sudan, Kuwait, Australia, Venezuela, Argentina (1726)
19. Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic (major archiepiscopate): Romania, United States (1697)
20. Russian Catholic Church: (two apostolic exarchates, at present with no published hierarchs): Russia, China (1905); currently about 20 parishes and communities scattered around the world, including five in Russia itself, answering to bishops of other jurisdictions
21. Ruthenian Catholic Church (a sui juris metropolia, an eparchy, and an apostolic exarchate): United States, Ukraine, Czech Republic (1646)
22. Slovak Greek Catholic Church (metropolia): Slovak Republic, Canada (1646)
23. Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (major archiepiscopate): Ukraine, Poland, United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Germany and Scandinavia, France, Brazil, Argentina (1595)

 

[jaimeleglise]

Thank you very much for explaining this. You are quite well informed.

 

[Amiciel]

Very informative! Thank you for taking the time to explain. God bless!

 

[5Loaves]

I’m not sure if I’m posting in the right forum, but I was wondering about the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

In a couple months, I’ll be moving, and the closest Catholic parish is affiliated with the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy. A cursory look at the churches showed more “eastern” looking iconography.

Are they in communion with the Roman Catholic Church? I’ve only just begun attending Mass, and I almost feel like I would “betray” if I went to a different church.

Here’s their website.

The Ukrainian Catholic Church celebrates the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, not the Roman Rite Mass of the Latin/Roman Church. So you will find it quite different from the Mass you have “only just begun attending”. The parish website should let you know if Liturgy is in Ukrainian, English or a combination of both. Eastern Catholic parishes are often, although not always, much smaller than Roman Catholic parishes so don’t be surprised if this is smaller than the Catholic Churches you may have visited up to now.

You can look here at “find-a-parish” by location to find out whether there are Eastern Catholic Churches near you current location you could visit.

 

[aaservi]

Long answer:

… (A couple groups broke of much earlier in the 400s AD also, to form what are known as the Oriental Orthodox Churches)…
…

This is the first I’ve heard of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and a split like that in the 400s. Do you have any more information about that? I’d like to learn more about that.

 

[SyroMalankara]

There are Catholic counterparts to each of the Oriental Orthodox Churches as well.

 

[aaservi]

There are Catholic counterparts to each of the Oriental Orthodox Churches as well.

That is really interesting. Do you know where there is more information to read about those various Catholic alternatives to the Oriental Catholic Churches?

 

[5Loaves]

That is really interesting. Do you know where there is more information to read about those various Catholic alternatives to the Oriental Catholic Churches?

Oriental Catholic Churches are Catholic Churches so I don’t know what you mean about “alternatives”.

If you go to the Wikipedia page on Eastern Catholics I linked to above, there is a section “list of Churches” which links to some information on various Churches.

 

[Rolltide]

That is really interesting. Do you know where there is more information to read about those various Catholic alternatives to the Oriental Catholic Churches?

The Chaldean Catholic Church (and I believe the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church) are the counterparts to the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East, which broke after the First Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. This was the council that condemned the Nestorian heresy.

The Oriental Orthodox broke after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. This was the council that condemned the Monophysite and Miaphysite heresies. The Catholic counterparts (I believe) are the Coptic Catholic Church, the Ethiopian Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and the Armenian Catholic Church.

 

[Amadeus]

To be more specific, only 20 of the 22 Eastern Catholic Churches enumerated above have counterparts in Orthodoxy (and in the ACoE). The Maronite Catholic Church and the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church have no counterparts as they never separated from Rome.

For an overview of each of the Eastern Catholic Churches and their counterparts, I recommend Fr. Roberson’ s CNEWA website.

 

[RyanBlack]

The Chaldean Catholic Church (and I believe the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church) are the counterparts to the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East, which broke after the First Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. This was the council that condemned the Nestorian heresy.

The Oriental Orthodox broke after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. This was the council that condemned the Monophysite and Miaphysite heresies. The Catholic counterparts (I believe) are the Coptic Catholic Church, the Ethiopian Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and the Armenian Catholic Church.

The Assyrian Church’s break in communion with the Catholic Church actually goes back to 424, due in part to interference from the Sassanid emperor.

Also, I am very uncomfortable with the term “Miaphysite heresy,” especially in light of the fact that some Oriental Catholics use that term for their own understanding christology. Also, common christological agreements between Rome and the Oriental Orthodox show that Rome does not consider miaphysitism to be heretical. What is heretical is Eutychian monophysitism, which the Oriental Orthodox themselves condemn.

 

[Rolltide]

Also, I am very uncomfortable with the term “Miaphysite heresy,” especially in light of the fact that some Oriental Catholics use that term for their own understanding christology. Also, common christological agreements between Rome and the Oriental Orthodox show that Rome does not consider miaphysitism to be heretical. What is heretical is Eutychian monophysitism, which the Oriental Orthodox themselves condemn.

You are correct, and I should clarify that. Monophysitism is heretical in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Miaphysitism, the way it is understood today, is generally NOT considered heretical by the Catholic Church.

 

[aaservi]

That is really interesting. Do you know where there is more information to read about those various Catholic alternatives to the Oriental Catholic Churches?

My apologies for the late-at-night “brain burp”: I meant to say Oriental Orthodox Churches, not Oriental Catholic Churches in that posting.

 

[frjohnmorris]

The Assyrian Church’s break in communion with the Catholic Church actually goes back to 424, due in part to interference from the Sassanid emperor.

Also, I am very uncomfortable with the term “Miaphysite heresy,” especially in light of the fact that some Oriental Catholics use that term for their own understanding christology. Also, common christological agreements between Rome and the Oriental Orthodox show that Rome does not consider miaphysitism to be heretical. What is heretical is Eutychian monophysitism, which the Oriental Orthodox themselves condemn.

Chalcedon condemned Monophysism. It did not condemn the miaphysite view. Since miaphysite is used to describe the Christology of St. Cyril of Alexandria, the Eastern Orthodox do not consider it heretical. The Council of Chalcedon ratified the Tome of Leo, but it also ratified the Letter of St. Cyril to John of Antioch. The 5th Ecumenical Council, Constantinople II in 553 mandated that Chalcedon must be interpreted in conformity with the Christology of St. Cyril of Alexandria. More recently Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox theologians have met and after much discussion have agreed that we both affirm the same Christology, but use different terms to describe what we believe. What still divides us is that the Eastern Orthodox have a different interpretation of history. We consider some men schismatics and heretics like Dioscorus and Servius of Antioch that the Oriental Orthodox consider Saints.

Fr. John W. Morris

 

[Peter_J]

My apologies for the late-at-night “brain burp”: I meant to say Oriental Orthodox Churches, not Oriental Catholic Churches in that posting.

Hi aaservi. Not trying to beat this to death, but I wouldn’t call them “alternatives to the Oriental Orthodox Churches”. Granted, it sometimes does happen that an Oriental Orthodox decides to convert to Catholicism … but it’s not like the Oriental Catholic Churches are there for that purpose.

 

[Peter_J]

I’m not sure if I’m posting in the right forum, but I was wondering about the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

In a couple months, I’ll be moving, and the closest Catholic parish is affiliated with the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy. A cursory look at the churches showed more “eastern” looking iconography.

Are they in communion with the Roman Catholic Church? I’ve only just begun attending Mass, and I almost feel like I would “betray” if I went to a different church.

Here’s their website.

To cut right to the chase, I would recommend waiting till you move to start worrying about it. Who knows, you may decide to go there every week, or you may go a couple times and then never again. Or you may become an occasional visitor.

 

[aaservi]

Hi aaservi. Not trying to beat this to death, but I wouldn’t call them “alternatives to the Oriental Orthodox Churches”. Granted, it sometimes does happen that an Oriental Orthodox decides to convert to Catholicism … but it’s not like the Oriental Catholic Churches are there for that purpose.

The original quote (which I was responding to) used the word “counterpart” instead of alternative. My use of the word alternative was meant to be synonymous with the word counterpart in referring to the original quote, and had not intended for it to imply one church trying to get the members of another church:

Originally Posted by SyroMalankara
There are Catholic counterparts to each of the Oriental Orthodox Churches as well.