Were any eastern rites perpetually faithful

[Vico]

Not all.

The Maronites of Cyprus came to the island in three waves of migration spanning centuries. The island state was controled by Roman Catholics from the lifetime of king Richard the Lionheart of England (1192AD).

The Maronites on Cyprus came into communion with Rome 250 years later, in 1445AD.

Thank you, I was not aware of that.

 

[LumenGent]

For the Maronites in Cyprus to enter in communion with Rome 250 years “later” presupposes that they weren’t in communion with Rome in the first place. It also means that they weren’t subject to the Maronite Patriachate. Their is no point for them to enter into communion with Rome seperately, unless they were a seperate sui juris Chuch and were not part of the Patriachate. As I understand it, all of the above are not true.

BTW, the affirmation in 1182 is exactly what is suggests: It affirmed the union which always existed.

 

[Hesychios]

For the Maronites in Cyprus to enter in communion with Rome 250 years “later” presupposes that they weren’t in communion with Rome in the first place. It also means that they weren’t subject to the Maronite Patriachate.

I agree that they were not in communion with Rome in the first place.

These are not another Sui Iuris church.

 

[LumenGent]

I agree that they were not in communion with Rome in the first place.

These are not another Sui Iuris church.

That is my point, the Cypriot Maronites are part of the Maronite Patriachate. Perhaps they were* out of contact* rather than out of communion, since the later implies schism or heresy, albeit both charges are unqualified.

 

[Hesychios]

That is my point, the Cypriot Maronites are part of the Maronite Patriachate. Perhaps they were* out of contact* rather than out of communion, since the later implies schism or heresy, albeit both charges are unqualified.

How could they be out of contact when the island was crawling with Roman Catholics and the place was a colony of Roman Catholic nations of the west? The third migration (noted in histories on the subject) happened after the island was taken over by crusaders and after the affirmation! They came in through the ports and settled. They brought Arabic with them, which is apparently still spoken. There was also a fourth migration after the fall of Tripoli at a later date.

Yet they needed to come into communion with Rome in 1445, after the Council of Florence.

Everyone knew who they were, in Lebanon and Syria as well as Cyprus. They knew everyone else around them, including the Christians in communion with Rome (Melkites in Syria until after 1054, Roman Catholics in Cyprus after 1192), and they were not communing.

This ‘out of contact’ claim appears to be all myth.

 

[LumenGent]

I don’t think there was a formal ecclesial structure of the Maronite Church in Cyprus in the period you describe. There also has never been an internal schism in the Maronite Church, so there are various question marks concerning this “affirmation” date post Florence.

As you may well know, when formal communion is made, it happens by the Patriarch and Synod, not by individual communities. If the affirmation was made in 1182, it was made in the name of the whole Maronite Church. The Cypriot Maronites** were** not and did not constitute a seperate Church. Why that affirmation didn’t include them (if that was the case), or why they had to affirm their union with Rome 250 years later (again, provided that this did happen) should be approached carefully and contextually, based on the history of circusmtances surrounding the issue.

BTW, under what qualification do you state that the Melkites pre-1054 were in communion with Rome?