What Exactly Does "Eastern" Catholic Mean?

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dailey

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I am confused by the different “types” of Catholics?? I thought being “catholic” meant we all believed the same thing…I guess I was wrong. :o

I was wondering if someone could explain or perhaps point me in the right direction? I would like to learn more…thanks
 
From what I know, there are different rites. For example, if you are a Roman Catholic you are part of the Roman rite. If you are Byzantine Catholic, you are part of the Byzantine rite. From what I have heard, the main difference between the rites is the liturgy. Other than that, we all believe in the Eucharist, in the Pope, and pretty much everything else.

If I got something wrong, please correct me.
 
There are 23 Catholic Churches sui iuris (or sui juris) (meaning autonomous). One is the Latin Catholic Church (also known as the Roman Catholic Church). The other 22 are collectively known as Eastern (or Oriental) Catholic Churches. They are all in communion with the Holy See.

Each Church has its own head. The Pope is the head of the Latin Church. The Eastern Catholic Churches either have a patriarch, major archbishop, or a metropolitan. The Pope is the Supreme Pontiff off all 23 Catholic Churches.

Each Church has one or more liturgical rites, i.e. the way it celebrates its Liturgy. The Latin (or Roman) Catholic Churches has a number of rites: Roman Rite Ordinary Form (OF), Roman Rite Extraordinary Form (EF), Ambrosian Rite, Mozarabic Rite (I probably have not listed them all).

In the 22 Eastern Catholic Churches there are less rites than there are churches, e.g. 14 of the Churches use the Byzantine Rite.

I am not a big fan of Wikipedia but this link may help you (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Catholic_Churches)
 
dailey said:
I am confused by the different “types” of Catholics?? I thought being “catholic” meant we all believed the same thing…I guess I was wrong. :o

I was wondering if someone could explain or perhaps point me in the right direction? I would like to learn more…thanks
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Catholics are united in hierarchy, sacraments/mysteries, and faith (dogmas of faith). The expression of the theology and liturgy and discipline varies between the ritual Churches. Many doctrines are speculative and not required for common faith.
 
Matthew_Holford said:
Each Church has its own head. The Pope is the head of the Latin Church. The Eastern Catholic Churches either have a patriarch, major archbishop, or a metropolitan. The Pope is the Supreme Pontiff off all 23 Catholic Churches.
IB]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Catholic_Churches
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)

I would just like to point out, that the Pope is the head of the Latin Church, and as the successor of Peter has primacy over all the 23 sui juris churches.
 
Catherine Alexander has a number of excellent interviews with the monks of Holy Resurrection Romanian Catholic Monastery at YourWordFromTheWise including “Who are Eastern Catholics?”

Father Thomas Loya’s weekly The Light Of The East radio programs are dedicated to teaching about the Eastern Catholic Churches.

There are a number of older threads here that explore this topic also.
 
Pakesh said:
I would just like to point out, that the Pope is the head of the Latin Church, and as the successor of Peter has primacy over all the 23 sui juris churches.
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Each jurisdiction has one of these structrues:

U
|
|-P-MB (Latin, Armenian, Syrian, Maronite, Coptic, Melkite, Chaldean)
|
|–AMB (Ukrainian, Romanian, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara)
|
|—MB (Slovak, Byzantine, Ethiopian-Eritrean)
|
|----B (others)

U = Pope (Universal Bishop with Roman Curia)
P = Patriarch
A = Major Archeparch
M = Metropolitan Archbishop/Archeparch
B = (Diocese) Bishop/Eparch/Exarch/Military Ordinary/Abbot/
Vicar/Prefect/Administrator/Autonomous Superior/
Personal Ordinary/Personal Prelate/Personal Administrator
 
Building on what Vico said, Eastern Catholics express theology differently than Roman Catholics express it. Eastern Catholics are Eastern Orthodox in their theology. They speak and write about “mysteries” and “theosis.” They follow Orthodox traditions. The rosary is not part of their tradition. The Jesus Prayer is. (It’s older than the rosary!) Their Orthodoxy also comes out their liturgy and their calendars (except that Easter or Pascha or whatever it is called is celebrated when Romans celebrate it) and in how the church buildings are built and decorated. Eastern Catholic church buildings have icons, and the altar is hidden behind an “iconostasis.”
 
Most people are not aware that the “Catholic Church” is actually comprised of twenty-three independent 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
 
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)
 
scottm said:
Building on what Vico said, Eastern Catholics express theology differently than Roman Catholics express it. Eastern Catholics are Eastern Orthodox in their theology. They speak and write about “mysteries” and “theosis.” They follow Orthodox traditions. The rosary is not part of their tradition. The Jesus Prayer is. (It’s older than the rosary!) Their Orthodoxy also comes out their liturgy and their calendars (except that Easter or Pascha or whatever it is called is celebrated when Romans celebrate it) and in how the church buildings are built and decorated. Eastern Catholic church buildings have icons, and the altar is hidden behind an “iconostasis.”
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Actually, although it goes under a different name (“Rule of prayer of the Theotokos”), the rosary IS an integral part of Orthodox Christian tradition. The Russian Saint Seraphim of Sarov prayed it daily, as did the Old Rite Russian New Hieromartyr St Seraphim Zvezdinsky. It is prayed on Mt Athos where a full prostration to the floor follows each Hail Mary.

In the 2003 Moscow Patriarchate publication “Encyclopedia of Orthodoxy,” the rosary/rule of the Theotokos is presented therein with 15 mysteries for each of the decades (the mysteries are somewhat different and focus on Our Lady’s life e.g. her Nativity, Presentation in the Temple, Annunciation, etc.).

Alex
 
scottm said:
Building on what Vico said, Eastern Catholics express theology differently than Roman Catholics express it. Eastern Catholics are Eastern Orthodox in their theology. They speak and write about “mysteries” and “theosis.” They follow Orthodox traditions. The rosary is not part of their tradition. The Jesus Prayer is. (It’s older than the rosary!) Their Orthodoxy also comes out their liturgy and their calendars (except that Easter or Pascha or whatever it is called is celebrated when Romans celebrate it) and in how the church buildings are built and decorated. Eastern Catholic church buildings have icons, and the altar is hidden behind an “iconostasis.”
Click to expand...
Dido to what Alexander said about the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos. I’ve also heard it claimed that the PRT has been in existence in the East at least since ca. the 9th Century. I’ve also heard that St. Dominic simply adapted the PRT for Latin use. Who knows if that’s actually true. 🤷 More common devotions to the Theotokos, however, include the Akathist to the Mother of God and the Paraklesis.

To answer the original question I will only repeat what the Melkite Greek Catholic Synod of Bishops affirmed over a decade ago:
  1. I believe everything that Orthodoxy teaches.
  2. I am in communion with the Bishop of Rome as first among equals according to the understanding of the Eastern Fathers in the First Millennium before the separation.
This “Confession of Faith” was signed by 24 out of 28 bishops of the Melkite Synod. Our own Patriarch Gregorios III has publicly stated that he is “Orthodox with a plus”. 👍
 
Pakesh said:
I would just like to point out, that the Pope is the head of the Latin Church, and as the successor of Peter has primacy over all the 23 sui juris churches.
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I do not see how your statement differs from what I said.
 
Phillip_Rolfes said:
Dido to what Alexander said about the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos. I’ve also heard it claimed that the PRT has been in existence in the East at least since ca. the 9th Century. I’ve also heard that St. Dominic simply adapted the PRT for Latin use. Who knows if that’s actually true. 🤷 More common devotions to the Theotokos, however, include the Akathist to the Mother of God and the Paraklesis.

To answer the original question I will only repeat what the Melkite Greek Catholic Synod of Bishops affirmed over a decade ago:
  1. I believe everything that Orthodoxy teaches.
  2. I am in communion with the Bishop of Rome as first among equals according to the understanding of the Eastern Fathers in the First Millennium before the separation.
This “Confession of Faith” was signed by 24 out of 28 bishops of the Melkite Synod. Our own Patriarch Gregorios III has publicly stated that he is “Orthodox with a plus”. 👍
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Dear Phillip,

In fact, St Seraphim of Sarov taught that the Mother of God revealed to him in a vision that the PRT (took me a while to figure out what this meant! 🙂 ) was the most important devotion to implore the protection of the Mother of God and ahead of anything else . . .

Further to your point on the Zoghby initiative, it used to be, and I sometimes still hear this, that when there is discussion about a Roman dogma the Orthodox don’t accept, it is said that the Orthodox believe the opposite of what the dogma espouses - and nothing could be further from the truth!

The Orthodox don’t have the dogma of the Immaculate Conception - but they have ALWAYS believed in the sinlessness of the Mother of God. Orthodoxy does not accept the Augustinian view of what Original Sin is and believes, as this is shown in her liturgy, that the Mother of God was sanctified at her Conception and grew in holiness/theosis throughout her life and in heaven - quite the dynamic view. So this was never an issue as it was in the Roman Catholic Church prior to the definition of the Immaculate Conception in the 19th century. Until that time, it was actually permissible for RC’s to believe that our Lady was conceived with the “stain of Original Sin.” There were exceptions since the Spanish Empire decreed that all Catholics within its realm must believe in the IC. But, again, this was never an issue in the Eastern Churches whose Cappadocian theology would not allow Augustinian a priori’s.

The Mother of God is glorified mightily in the Orthodox Church and when it comes to daily liturgical devotion, even more than in the RC Church (although the veneration paid to her is the same in both Churches).

I love the MANY prayers to her throughout the daily Byzantine Office, the beautiful Akathists and Canons and other prayers of the Saints to her. This does not obtain in any Western liturgical tradition (I’m speaking of the Daily Office).

There are miraculous and locally-venerated Icons of the Mother of God galore! The Pochaiv icon of the Mother of God in Ukraine has more than 300 miraculous copies around the world alone. In Ukraine, there are more than 1,000 + miraculous and locally venerated icons of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The East does not accept Purgatory - but it has its own eschatology and prayer for the dead is an integral part of Orthodox liturgical prayer that outdoes anything in the West. Prayer for the dead occurs every Saturday and on twelve other times in the year. When a person dies, there is incessant prayer for their soul etc. I’m not boasting . . . OK, yes I am! 😃

The Eastern focus on God is on the Three Persons of the Trinity and They are glorified ceaselessly together in the daily liturgy (in the West, this devotion is expressed as prayer to “God the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit”).

I could go on, but I suddenly feel a great need to pray!

Alex
 
The first known liturgical propers to the Mother of God were used in the East, and the first specific paraliturgical services to the Mother of God, namely the Akafist (6th century) and Paraklis (9th to 11th depending on whose commentary you read) were both in use and well loved in the Constantinopolitan tradition centuries before the rosary.

And speaking of the Pochaiv icon, the commemoration of its glorification is September 8/21 in the UGCC! Пресвята Богородиця, спаси нас!
 
Dear Rev. Father Diakon!

Glory be to Jesus Christ!

I have the privilege of saluting you in our Lord, sir, and to wish you every blessing from On High on your work in the Vineyard of Christ!

Your servant,

Alex
 
Дуже дякую, Пане Докторе! І Вам також!
 
Alexander_Roman said:
Actually, although it goes under a different name (“Rule of prayer of the Theotokos”), the rosary IS an integral part of Orthodox Christian tradition. The Russian Saint Seraphim of Sarov prayed it daily, as did the Old Rite Russian New Hieromartyr St Seraphim Zvezdinsky. It is prayed on Mt Athos where a full prostration to the floor follows each Hail Mary.

In the 2003 Moscow Patriarchate publication “Encyclopedia of Orthodoxy,” the rosary/rule of the Theotokos is presented therein with 15 mysteries for each of the decades (the mysteries are somewhat different and focus on Our Lady’s life e.g. her Nativity, Presentation in the Temple, Annunciation, etc.).
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Well, okay – but my point was that it’s not what you’ll hear people reciting in a Roman Catholic church! 🙂
Alexander Roman:
The East does not accept Purgatory - but it has its own eschatology and prayer for the dead is an integral part of Orthodox liturgical prayer that outdoes anything in the West. Prayer for the dead occurs every Saturday and on twelve other times in the year. When a person dies, there is incessant prayer for their soul etc. I’m not boasting . . . OK, yes I am!
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I would say we do accept the substance of purgatory – but not by that name. The fact that we pray for the dead so much (at my church it’s once a month, but my church is small) proves that we believe our prayers aid them in some way, and that is the essence of the Roman doctrine. However, in my Byzantine church I have not encountered the practice of or even talk of almsgiving or penance or indulgences by the living on behalf of the dead, yet these things are in the CCC.
 
scottm said:
Their Orthodoxy also comes out their liturgy and their calendars (except that Easter or Pascha or whatever it is called is celebrated when Romans celebrate it)
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My ECC Parish is on the “Revised Julian” calendar so we did celebrate Pascha/Easter last year and will this coming year on the same day as the Latin Church but most years our Pascha on a different Sunday from theirs.
 
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