Background Eastern Catholic Churches have their origins in the
Middle East,
North Africa,
East Africa,
Eastern Europe and
South India. However, since the 19th century,
diaspora has spread to
Western Europe, the
Americas and
Oceania in part because of
persecution, where
eparchies have been established to serve adherents alongside those of Latin Church
dioceses.
Latin Catholics in the Middle East, on the other hand, are traditionally cared for by the
Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The communion between Christian churches has been broken over matters of faith, whereby each side accused the other of
heresy or departure from the true faith (
orthodoxy). Communion has been broken also because of disagreement about questions of authority or the legitimacy of the election of a particular bishop. In these latter cases, each side accused the other of
schism, but not of heresy. The following ecumenical councils are major breaches of communion:
Council of Ephesus (AD 431) In 431, the churches that accepted the teaching of the
Council of Ephesus (which condemned the views of
Nestorius) were classified as heretics by those who rejected the council's statements. The
Church of the East, which was mainly under the
Sassanid Empire, never accepted the council's views. It later experienced a period of great expansion in Asia before collapsing after the
Mongol invasion of the Middle East in the 14th century. Monuments of their presence still exist in China. Now they are relatively few in number and have divided into three churches: the Chaldean Catholic Church—an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with Rome—and two Assyrian churches which are not in communion with either Rome or each other. The
Chaldean Catholic Church is the largest of the three. The groups of Assyrians who did not reunify with Rome remained and are known as the
Assyrian Church of the East, which experienced an internal schism in 1968 which led to the creation of the
Ancient Church of the East. The
Syro-Malabar and
Syro-Malankara churches are the two Eastern Catholic descendants of the Church of the East in the Indian subcontinent.
Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) In 451, those who accepted the
Council of Chalcedon similarly classified those who rejected it as
Monophysite heretics. The Churches that refused to accept the Council considered instead that it was they who were orthodox; they rejected the description
Monophysite (meaning
only-nature) preferring instead
Miaphysite (meaning
one-nature). The difference in terms may appear subtle, but it is theologically very important. "Monophysite" implies a single divine nature alone with no real human nature—a heretical belief according to
Chalcedonian Christianity—whereas "Miaphysite" can be understood to mean one nature as God, existing in the person of Jesus who is both human and divine—an idea more easily reconciled to Chalcedonian doctrine. They are often called, in English,
Oriental Orthodox Churches, to distinguish them from the
Eastern Orthodox Church. This distinction, by which the words
oriental and
eastern that in themselves have exactly the same meaning but are used as labels to describe two different realities, is impossible to translate in most other languages, and is not universally accepted even in English. These churches are also referred to as
pre-Chalcedonian or now more rarely as
non-Chalcedonian or
anti-Chalcedonian. In languages other than English other means are used to distinguish the two families of churches. Some reserve the term "Orthodox" for those that are here called "Eastern Orthodox" churches, but members of what is called "
Oriental Orthodox" Churches consider this illicit.
East–West Schism (1054) The
East–West Schism came about in the context of
cultural differences between the Greek-speaking East and Latin-speaking West, and of rivalry between the churches in Rome—which claimed a primacy not merely of honour but also of authority—and in
Constantinople, which claimed parity with Rome. The rivalry and lack of comprehension gave rise to controversies, some of which appear already in the acts of the
Quinisext Council of 692. At the
Council of Florence (1431–1445), these controversies about Western theological elaborations and usages were identified as, chiefly, the insertion of "
Filioque" into the
Nicene Creed, the use of
unleavened bread for the
Eucharist,
purgatory, and the authority of the pope. The schism is generally considered to have started in 1054, when the
Patriarch of Constantinople,
Michael I Cerularius, and the
Papal Legate,
Humbert of Silva Candida, issued mutual
excommunications; in 1965, these excommunications were revoked by both Rome and Constantinople. In spite of that event, for many years both churches continued to maintain friendly relations and seemed to be unaware of any formal or final rupture. However, estrangement continued. In 1190, Eastern Orthodox theologian
Theodore Balsamon, who was
patriarch of Antioch, wrote that "no
Latin should be given Communion unless he first declares that he will abstain from the doctrines and customs that separate him from us". Later in 1204,
Constantinople was sacked by the Catholic armies of the
Fourth Crusade, whereas two decades previously the
Massacre of the Latins (i.e., Catholics) had occurred in Constantinople in 1182. Thus, by the 12th–13th centuries, the two sides had become openly hostile, each considering that the other no longer belonged to the church that was orthodox and catholic. Over time, it became customary to refer to the Eastern side as the
Orthodox Church and the Western as the Catholic Church, without either side thereby renouncing its claim of being the truly orthodox or the truly catholic church.
Attempts at restoring communion of the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Parties within many non-Latin churches repeatedly sought to organize efforts to restore communion. In 1438, the
Council of Florence convened, which featured a strong dialogue focused on understanding the theological differences between the East and West, with the hope of reuniting the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Several eastern churches associated themselves with Rome, forming Eastern Catholic churches. The See of Rome accepted them without requiring that they adopt the customs of the Latin Church, so that they all have their own "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary heritage, differentiated by peoples' culture and historical circumstances, that finds expression in each '''' Church's own way of living the faith".
Emergence of the churches in
Kadisha Valley,
Lebanon, the historical stronghold of the
Maronite Church Most Eastern Catholic churches arose when a group within an ancient church in disagreement with the See of Rome returned to full communion with that see. The following churches have been in communion with the Bishop of Rome for a large part of their history: • The
Maronite Church, which has no counterpart in
Byzantine, nor
Oriental, Orthodoxy. The Maronite Church has historical connections to the
Monothelite controversy in the 7th century. It re-affirmed unity with the
Holy See in 1154 during
the Crusades. However, the
Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the
Syro-Malabar Church and the
Italo-Albanian Catholic Church also claim perpetual communion. • The
Albanian Greek Catholic Church and Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, which, unlike the Maronite Church, use the same liturgical rite as the
Eastern Orthodox Church. • The former
Melkite Church considered itself in dual communion with Rome and Constantinople until
an exclusively Orthodox body was formed in the 18th century, leaving a remainder unified exclusively with Rome as the
Melkite Greek Catholic Church. • The Oriental Orthodox
Armenian Apostolic Church had included a long-standing minority that accepted Roman primacy until the
Armenian Catholic Church was officially established in the 18th century. The
canon law shared by all Eastern Catholic churches, , was codified in 1990. The
dicastery that works with the Eastern Catholic churches is the
Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, which by law includes as members all Eastern Catholic patriarchs and major archbishops. The largest six churches based on membership are, in order, the
Syro-Malabar Church (East Syriac Rite), the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC; Byzantine Rite), the Maronite Church (West Syriac Rite), the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Byzantine Rite), the
Chaldean Catholic Church (East Syriac Rite), and the
Armenian Catholic Church (Armenian Rite). These six churches account for about 85% of the membership of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
Orientalium dignitas issued the
apostolic constitution Orientalium dignitas. Photogram of the 1896 film
Sua Santità papa Leone XIII, the first time a pope appeared on film. On 30 November 1894,
Pope Leo XIII issued the
apostolic constitution Orientalium dignitas, in which he stated:
Adrian Fortescue wrote that Leo XIII "begins by explaining again that the ancient Eastern rites are a witness to the Apostolicity of the Catholic Church, that their diversity, consistent with unity of the faith, is itself a witness to the unity of the Church, that they add to her dignity and honour. He says that the Catholic Church does not possess one rite only, but that she embraces all the ancient rites of Christendom; her unity consists not in a mechanical uniformity of all her parts, but on the contrary, in their variety, according in one principle and vivified by it." Leo XIII declared still in force
Pope Benedict XIV's
encyclical Demandatam, addressed to the Patriarch and the Bishops of the
Melkite Catholic Church, in which Benedict XIV forbade Latin Church clergy to induce Melkite Catholics to transfer to the Roman Rite, and he broadened this prohibition to cover all Eastern Catholics, declaring: "Any Latin rite missionary, whether of the secular or religious clergy, who induces with his advice or assistance any Eastern rite faithful to transfer to the Latin rite, will be deposed and excluded from his benefice in addition to the
ipso facto suspension
a divinis and other punishments that he will incur as imposed in the aforesaid Constitution
Demandatam."
Orientalium Ecclesiarum The Second Vatican Council directed, in
Orientalium Ecclesiarum, that the traditions of Eastern Catholic Churches should be maintained. It declared that "it is the mind of the Catholic Church that each individual Church or Rite should retain its traditions whole and entire and likewise that it should adapt its way of life to the different needs of time and place" (n. 2), and that they should all "preserve their legitimate liturgical rite and their established way of life, and ... these may not be altered except to obtain for themselves an organic improvement" (n. 6; cf. n. 22). It confirmed and approved the ancient discipline of the sacraments existing in the Eastern churches, and the ritual practices connected with their celebration and administration, and declared its ardent desire that this should be re-established if circumstances warranted (n. 12). It applied this in particular to administration of sacrament of
Confirmation by priests (n. 13). It expressed the wish that, where the permanent
diaconate (ordination as deacons of men who are not intended afterwards to become priests) had fallen into disuse, it should be restored (n. 17). Paragraphs 7–11 are devoted to the powers of the patriarchs and major archbishops of the Eastern Churches, whose rights and privileges, it says, should be re-established in accordance with the ancient tradition of each of the churches and the decrees of the
ecumenical councils, adapted somewhat to modern conditions. Where there is a need, new patriarchates should be established either by an ecumenical council or by the Bishop of Rome.
Lumen gentium The Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,
Lumen gentium, deals with Eastern Catholic Churches in paragraph 23, stating:
Unitatis redintegratio The 1964 decree
Unitatis redintegratio deals with Eastern Catholic Churches in paragraphs 14–17.
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches The First Vatican Council discussed the need for a common code for the Eastern churches, but no concrete action was taken. Only after the benefits of the Latin Church's
1917 Code of Canon Law were appreciated was a serious effort made to codify the Eastern Catholic Churches' canon laws. This came to fruition with the promulgation of the 1990
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, which took effect in 1991. It is a framework document that contains canons that are a consequence of the
common patrimony of the churches of the East: each individual '''' church also has its own canons, its own particular law, layered on top of this code.
Joint International Commission In 1993 the
Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church submitted the document
Uniatism, method of union of the past, and the present search for full communion, also known as the
Balamand declaration, "to the authorities of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches for approval and application," which stated that initiatives that "led to the union of certain communities with the See of Rome and brought with them, as a consequence, the breaking of communion with their Mother Churches of the East ... took place not without the interference of extra-ecclesial interests".
Liturgical prescriptions building in
Damascus, the capital city of
Syria The 1996
Instruction for Applying the Liturgical Prescriptions of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches brought together, in one place, the developments that took place in previous texts, and is "an expository expansion based upon the canons, with constant emphasis upon the preservation of Eastern liturgical traditions and a return to those usages whenever possible—certainly in preference to the usages of the
Latin Church, however much some principles and norms of the
conciliar constitution on the Roman rite, "in the very nature of things, affect other
rites as well." The
Instruction states: Past interventions by the Holy See, the Instruction said, were in some ways defective and needed revision, but often served also as a safeguard against aggressive initiatives. ==Organisation==