Which Churches are in full communion with Rome?

[DougMiller]

Can anyone post (or point me to) a comprehensive list of all the Churches, Eastern or otherwise, which are in full communion with Rome? Our local paper recently printed a feature on the Byzantine-rite parish in the area, and quoted the priest as saying that there are some two dozen Churches which are in full communion with Rome. I already knew about the Byzantine, Melkite, Armenian, and Chaldean Churches – but two dozen was quite a surprise to me. Is there a list somewhere?

 

[jheii]

I count 22 on this wikipedia article.

* Alexandrian liturgical tradition
      o Coptic Catholic Church (patriarchate): Egypt (1741)
      o Ethiopian Catholic Church (metropolia): Ethiopia, Eritrea (1846)

* Antiochian (Antiochene or West-Syrian) liturgical tradition
      o Maronite Church (patriarchate): Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Argentina, Brazil, United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico (union re-affirmed 1182)
      o Syriac Catholic Church (patriarchate): Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United States and Canada, Venezuela (1781)
      o Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (major archiepiscopate): India, United States (1930)

* Armenian liturgical tradition:
      o 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)

* Chaldean or East Syrian liturgical tradition:
      o Chaldean Catholic Church (patriarchate): Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, United States (1692)
      o Syro-Malabar Church (major archiepiscopate): India, United States (at latest, 1599)

* Byzantine (Constantinopolitan) liturgical tradition:
      o Albanian Greek Catholic Church (apostolic administration): Albania (1628)
      o Belarusian Greek Catholic Church (no established hierarchy at present): Belarus (1596)
      o Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church (apostolic exarchate): Bulgaria (1861)
      o Byzantine Church of the Eparchy of Križevci (an eparchy and an apostolic exarchate): Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro (1611)
      o Greek Byzantine Catholic Church (two apostolic exarchates): Greece, Turkey (1829)
      o Hungarian Greek Catholic Church (an eparchy and an apostolic exarchate): Hungary (1646)
      o Italo-Albanian Catholic Church (two eparchies and a territorial abbacy): Italy (Never separated)
      o Macedonian Greek Catholic Church (an apostolic exarchate): Republic of Macedonia (1918)
      o Melkite Greek Catholic Church (patriarchate): Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Jerusalem, Brazil, United States, Canada, Mexico, Iraq, Egypt and Sudan, Kuwait, Australia, Venezuela, Argentina (1726)
      o Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic (major archiepiscopate): Romania, United States (1697)
      o 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
      o Ruthenian Catholic Church (a sui juris metropolia, an eparchy, and an apostolic exarchate): United States, Ukraine, Czech Republic (1646)
      o Slovak Greek Catholic Church (metropolia): Slovak Republic, Canada (1646)
      o Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (major archiepiscopate): Ukraine, Poland, United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Germany and Scandinavia, France, Brazil, Argentina (1595)

 

[jheii]

Based on the list you provided, you’re probably thinking of ‘rites’ or as the article calls them ‘liturgical traditions’ within the Universal Church. There are many sui iuris Churches which use the same rites as one another, as you can see above.

 

[rosarygirl7]

I assume by ‘Churches’, you mean rites, because only Roman Catholic churches are in full communion with Rome. Within the Roman Catholic Church, there are, I think, 20 different rites. When the apostles went to spread the Gospel in different parts of the world, they developed the different rites from the languages and culture of the part of the world they were in. Rites are just different ways to worship. For example, in the Byzantine rite, they would bow instead of genuflect.

The rites are listed here, with some other information: ewtn.com/expert/answers/rites.htm
Hope that helps.

 

[Nicholas82]

I assume by ‘Churches’, you mean rites, because only Roman Catholic churches are in full communion with Rome. Within the Roman Catholic Church, there are, I think, 20 different rites. When the apostles went to spread the Gospel in different parts of the world, they developed the different rites from the languages and culture of the part of the world they were in. Rites are just different ways to worship. For example, in the Byzantine rite, they would bow instead of genuflect.

The rites are listed here, with some other information: ewtn.com/expert/answers/rites.htm
Hope that helps.

Ohhhh boy! lol

 

[jdnrite01]

I would like to encourage you to attend the Liturgy in each of the rites which have been specified to you. I am Latin, nevertheless, I attend as many of our Sister rite that I can. I just feel clean afterwards!

 

[jheii]

I assume by ‘Churches’, you mean rites, because only Roman Catholic churches are in full communion with Rome.

This is incorrect. There are many sui iuris (self governing? I’m just guessing so those of you who know latin well feel free to correct/clarify) Churches that are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, our Holy Father. These are not “Roman Catholic Churches,” but they do belong to the “Catholic” or Universal Church.

Read the wikipedia link I posted. It’s titled “Eastern Catholic Churches.”

Also, from the link that you posted:

The Church of Christ is also fully present sacramentally in ritual Churches that represent an ecclesiastical tradition of celebrating the sacraments and which are organized under a Patriarch, who together with the bishops and other clergy of that ritual Church represent Christ the head to the people of that tradition.

What this article refers to as “ritual Churches,” and what I refer to as sui iuris churches are, I believe, the same thing.

 

[rosarygirl7]

Oh, sorry.

 

[Aramis]

I assume by ‘Churches’, you mean rites, because only Roman Catholic churches are in full communion with Rome. Within the Roman Catholic Church, there are, I think, 20 different rites. When the apostles went to spread the Gospel in different parts of the world, they developed the different rites from the languages and culture of the part of the world they were in. Rites are just different ways to worship. For example, in the Byzantine rite, they would bow instead of genuflect.

The rites are listed here, with some other information: ewtn.com/expert/answers/rites.htm
Hope that helps.

Your terminology is WAY out of date.

Canon Law for the Eastern Churches lists 5 rites, and defines that the specific groups in union with Rome are Churches Sui Iuris.

Canons 27-41 deal with it. Here’s link to the index of an English translation: intratext.com/IXT/ENG1199/_INDEX.HTM

What this article refers to as “ritual Churches,” and what I refer to as sui iuris churches are, I believe, the same thing.

Almost the same thing. Not every Ritual Church is a Sui Iuris Church. There are three closely aligned terms that overlap.

A Particular Church is one or more dioceses with a common factor; it can refer to a specific diocese/eparchy, to a province ecclesiastical (An Archbishop and his suffragans), or a patriarchal church.

A Church Sui Iuris is a particular church that has self-jurisdiction, that is, it is autonomous in operation, but in union with Rome.

An Autonomous Church is the orthodox equivalent to a Church Sui Iuris: still under the Omophor of its parent church, but operating independently for almost all purposes.

An Autocephalous Church is completely independent of its parent church. Again, this is an Orthodox term.

A Ritual Church is a particular Church with its own liturgical praxis; it can be Sui Iuris, Exarchial, Dependent*, Autonomous, or Autocephalic.

*A dependent church is not a formal term, but a situation of a ritual church without autonomy under the omophor of a different ritual church; the Eparchy of Mucachevo is a good example for Catholics, while the OCA’s Romanian Diocese is a good example for the Orthodox.