| The Difference Between Churches and Rites |
| Holy Icon (Surpabadger) of The Prayer of Saint Anna Mother of the Mother of God Patroness of the Armenian Catholic Eparchy's Cathedral of the United States and Canada |
Many Catholics are unaware that Eastern Catholics belong to
Churches rather than rites. The U.S. Bishops explain:
"We have been accustomed to speaking of the Latin (Roman
or Western) Rite or the Eastern Rites to designate these different
Churches. However, the Church's contemporary legislation as
contained in the Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons
of the Eastern Churches makes it clear that we ought to speak
not of rites, but of Churches. Canon 112 of the Code of Canon
Law uses the phrase 'autonomous ritual Churches' to designate the
various Churches."
From the document by the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops: Eastern Catholics in the United States of America
Churches rather than rites. The U.S. Bishops explain:
"We have been accustomed to speaking of the Latin (Roman
or Western) Rite or the Eastern Rites to designate these different
Churches. However, the Church's contemporary legislation as
contained in the Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons
of the Eastern Churches makes it clear that we ought to speak
not of rites, but of Churches. Canon 112 of the Code of Canon
Law uses the phrase 'autonomous ritual Churches' to designate the
various Churches."
From the document by the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops: Eastern Catholics in the United States of America
| Soorp Anna Cathedral in Brooklyn, New York & His Excellency, Bishop Mikael Mouradian, the new Armenian Catholic Eparch of the USA and Canada |
| The Armenian Catholic Church & other Eastern Catholic Churches |
| Eastern Catholic Essays & Info. The Other Catholics: A Brief Guide to the Eastern Catholic Churches The Courage to be Ourselves: by Most Rev. Abp. Joseph Tawil A Diagram of the various Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches: From Wikipedia The Eastern Catholic Churches: From CNEWA Catholic Rites and Churches: by Colin B. Donovan, STL The Difference between Church and Rite: by Dr. Anthony Dragani Catholics belong to Churches not Rites: by Rev. Sb. Dn. Der-Ghazarian The Rights and Obligations of the Laity from the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches Transferring from One Catholic Church to Another by Rev. Sb. Dn. Der-Ghazarian The Challenge of Eastern Catholicism (upcoming) by Rev. Sb. Dn. Der-Ghazarian Helpful Eastern Catholic Links The Byzantine Forum: For discussions on Eastern Christianity Opus Libani: The Seven Catholic Churches of the Near East |
| The Venerable Vartabed Abbot Mekhitar of Sebastia Founder of the Mekhitarist Order |
| The Mission of Eastern Catholics: To Manifest the Riches of Eastern Christianity within the one Communion of the Catholic Church. |
| The diffusion of the liturgical rites of the Catholic Church and the various autonomous Churches which practice them: |
Today the Vatican has called upon the Eastern Catholic Churches to return to
our true and historic Orthodox traditions, both liturgical and theological. Thus we
have been called to recover things like our full, historic Divine Liturgies & Sacramental
Services, the offering of our Canonical Hours services in our parishes, fully initiating
our infants into the Mysteries of Baptism, Chrismation and Holy Communion. Clergy
are called to return to our Church's historic clerical attire, our Temples are to once
again reflect our historic architecture (rather than that of the Latin Church) and our
iconography should be that of our historic tradition rather than using Western art.
In the landmark document: Instruction for Applying the Liturgical
Prescriptions of the Eastern Code of Canons, Rome called upon us to restore all
of this without delay. It has become apparent that the Latin Church, with over a
billion members, doesn't need the help of Eastern Catholics to keep the Latin
tradition. Instead, the Church greatly needs us to discard latinizations and restore
our own liturgical and theological tradition to show these are compatible within the
communion of the Catholic Church. This is the precise call of the Second Vatican
Council in its document on the Eastern Catholic Churches (Orientalium Ecclesiarum).
our true and historic Orthodox traditions, both liturgical and theological. Thus we
have been called to recover things like our full, historic Divine Liturgies & Sacramental
Services, the offering of our Canonical Hours services in our parishes, fully initiating
our infants into the Mysteries of Baptism, Chrismation and Holy Communion. Clergy
are called to return to our Church's historic clerical attire, our Temples are to once
again reflect our historic architecture (rather than that of the Latin Church) and our
iconography should be that of our historic tradition rather than using Western art.
In the landmark document: Instruction for Applying the Liturgical
Prescriptions of the Eastern Code of Canons, Rome called upon us to restore all
of this without delay. It has become apparent that the Latin Church, with over a
billion members, doesn't need the help of Eastern Catholics to keep the Latin
tradition. Instead, the Church greatly needs us to discard latinizations and restore
our own liturgical and theological tradition to show these are compatible within the
communion of the Catholic Church. This is the precise call of the Second Vatican
Council in its document on the Eastern Catholic Churches (Orientalium Ecclesiarum).
| The Recovery of our Church Tradition |
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