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Dear Lawrence,

Your mention of Our Lady of Lebanon reminded me of the picture painted of Our Lady of Zeitun in Egypt as she appeared over the dome of a Coptic Orthodox Church.

An eye-witness painted the Mother of God just as she appeared.

Interestingly, the painting would be recognized as Our Lady of Grace or Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal!

I suppose the Mother of God accepts all Rites . . .

Alex

Yes, and speaking of Our Lady of Lebanon... when I was there in 1999, some of our Lebanese hosts told us about how, during the peak of the civil war the statue had turned around 180� to face Beirut. I always thought this strange, you would also if you saw how huge this statue is. Most of you are, I believe, Americans, so I supose you could try to imagine the Statue of Liberty turning around or sitting down... you'd expect this to have been such a huge event that it would be widely known and documented, but I don't believe it has, I saw no photographs or anything... I am still not sure if it was just a myth that was repeated to me or if it's actually true. Have any of you heard about it before?
Filipe

Sorry - speechless twice

Dear Felipe,

Yes, I have heard of that.

The nice thing about the Western tradition of dedicating a statue of Our Lady of Grace to "the place" is that it can be adapted to any situation.

At the Shrine of the North American Jesuit Martyrs in Midland, Ontario, there is a shrine to "Our Lady of Huronia."

The Jesuits dedicated Canada to the "Conception of St Anne" and the title above became official in the 1630's.

The statue overlooks an picture of the Jesuit Martyrs preaching to the Native peoples and is surrounded by the pine trees that would have been very familiar to the Martyrs when they lived there.

I now have in my possession a photo of a statue of Our Lady of Grace that is in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.

It is a Roman Catholic shrine, to be sure.

But many Ukrainian Greek-Catholics and even Orthodox newlyweds go to it to present flowers and to pray before it!

My Godson's mother who was recently there for a wedding brought the picture and the account of the shrine back for me.

Alex

Amado,

I think this is the one you're talking about. It's not short, my brother; as a matter of fact, it may be eligible for consideration as a Readers Digest Condensed Book. (I am hiring Amado as my agent )

Sarah,

In accordance with instructions from "the Windy City's Latin Catholic most in touch with, but least likely to change to, Eastern Christianity" (that was his nick originally, but it took so long loading that he fell asleep every time and switched to "Amado"), here's the story:

Churches

There are 23 Churches sui iuris that, together, constitute the Catholic Church - 1 Western and 22 Eastern. The term sui iuris means, literally, "of their own law", or self-governing. All 23 are in communion with Rome. Obviously, the most well-known and largest is the Latin Church.

Rites

The 22 Eastern Catholic Churches use six different Rites among them. The largest number of Churches (14) use the Byzantine Rite.

As you already know, Eastern Catholic Churches generally represent bodies of persons whose ancestors entered into communion with Rome from the Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Churches. As a consequence, there is a counterpart Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Church to every Eastern Catholic Church except two - the Maronite and Italo-Grieco-Albanian Byzantine Catholic Churches, neither of which were ever separated from Rome. (You will occasionally see assertions that some other Eastern Catholics never left communion with Rome, particularly the Melkites and Syro-Malabarese, but those claims aren't fully supported by historical fact.)

Churches that utilize the Byzantine Rite are sometimes termed Eastern Catholic Churches, with the remainder being referred to as the Oriental Catholic Churches. This distinction mirrors the one that is made among our counterpart or Sister (Orthodox) Churches, where Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches can also be distinguished by the Rite that each uses.

Originally, there were three Rites - Latin, Alexandrean, and Antiochene; the Byzantine (or Constantinoplian) Rite was added thereafter. These arose from the customs and style of worship in what were then the four most important Christian centers, other than Jerusalem. The differences among the Rites sprung from the fact that uniformity of worship and liturgical practice was difficult to maintain over time, as the number of clergy increased, local cultures and customs began to be woven into the rituals used, and both travel and communication were hampered by geography and the limited means available to make and maintain contact between churches and clerics.

Over time, the four were modified or developed further in new regions. Some variations were so distinctive as to be deemed separate Rites. The Maronite and Armenian Rites, both developed in relative isolation because of geography. The result is that most authorities term the Maronite as a Rite unto itself; while a minority place it within the West Syrian Tradition of the Antiochene Rite, where it originated. As to the Armenian, it is always deemed a separate Rite, although it originated as a Byzantine Rite.

Of late, Chaldean has been added to the list of Rites; historically, it was always classed as belonging to the East Syrian Tradition of the Antiochene Rite. There are two possible reasons to account for this: the change may relate to a unique aspect observed in the Liturgy of its counterparts, the Assyrians, i.e., that there are no explicit Words of Institution in the Anaphora they most commonly use (and this was also true of the Chaldeans, prior to their return to communion with Rome); or, it may reflect a desire on Rome's part to have a Rite associated with each Patriarchate.

The Latin, Armenian, Chaldean, and Maronite Rites are each used by only a single Church sui iuris and the Church's name and that of the Rite are identical.

(continued)

Traditions, Rescensions, Usages

Traditions are breakdowns within a Rite that principally reflect variations of culture or ecclesial language.

Rescensions occur within some Traditions, when there has been further defining of the form of worship by characteristics unique to one or more of the Churches in a Tradition.

Usage is a term of recent origin that ordinarily denotes limited, localized differences within a Church itself (as opposed to Rescensions, which occur within a Rite or Tradition).

The breakout, then, is:

• Rite
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• Tradition
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• Rescension
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• Church
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• Usage

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The Churches

This break-out shows the distribution of the Churches among the Rites:

• Alexandrean Rite
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• Coptic Tradition
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• Coptic Catholic Church

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• Ge'ez Tradition
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• Ethiopian (& Eritrean) Catholic Church

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• Antiochene Rite
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• East Syrian Tradition
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• Syro-Malabarese Catholic Church
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• Knanaya Usage

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• West Syrian Tradition
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• Syriac Catholic Church
• Syro-Malankarese Catholic Church

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• Armenian Rite
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• Armenian Catholic Church

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• Byzantine Rite
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• Byzantine-Greek Tradition
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• Greek Rescension
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• Albanian Catholic Church
• Greek Catholic Church

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• Grieco-Arabic Rescension
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• Melkite Catholic Church

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• Grieco-Georgian Rescension
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• Georgian Catholic Church

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• Grieco-Italian Rescension
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• Italo-Greco-Albanian Catholic Church
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  • Italo-Albanian Catholic Church - Eparchy of Lungro degli Italo-Albanesi in Calabria
  • Italo-Albanian Catholic Church - Eparchy of Piana in Sicily degli Albenisi
  • Italo-Greek Catholic Church - Exarchic Abbey & Territorial Monastery of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata degli Italo-Grieco
• 
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  • Byzantine Rite
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  • Byzantine-Slav Tradition
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  • Great Russian Rescension
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  • Belarusan Catholic Church
  • Bulgarian Catholic Church
  • Russian Catholic Church
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  • Russian Catholic Church - Apostolic Exarchate of Harbin
  • Russian Catholic Church - Apostolic Exarchate of Moscow
• 
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  • Romanian Rescension
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  • Romanian Catholic Church
• 
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  • Ruthenian Rescension
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  • Croatian Catholic Church
  • Hungarian Catholic Church
  • Ruthenian Catholic Church
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  • Ruthenian Metropolitan Catholic Church - Metropolitinate of Pittsburgh
  • Ruthenian Eparchial Catholic Church - Eparchy of Mukachevo
• Slovakian Catholic Church
• Ukrainian Catholic Church</ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">
  • Chaldean Rite
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  • Chaldean Catholic Church
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  • Arabic Usage
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  • Maronite Rite
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  • Maronite Catholic Church
    
• 
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  Notice that I listed some specific canonical jurisdictions under the Italo-Greico-Albanian, Russian, and Ruthenian Catholic Churches. Each of those is a separate canonical jurisdiction that, technically, constitutes a Church sui iuris onto itself, since there is no formal canonical relationship between or among the jurisdictions and none of the hierarchs have been singularly designated as the Church's principal hierarch.
  
  (continued)

Presiding Hierarchs

Patriarchal Churches

There are six. The incumbent patriarchs are:

Armenian Catholic Church:
His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Catholicos & Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenias for All the Catholic Armenians & Archeparch of Cilicia of the Armenians

Melkite Greek-Catholic Church:
His Beatitude Gregory III (Loutfi) Laham, BSO, Patriarch of Antioch and All The East, of Alexandria, and of Jerusalem, of the Greek-Melkites & Archeparch of Antioch of the Melkites

Chaldean Catholic Church:
His Holiness Mar Emmanuel III Delli, Catholicos and Patriarch of Babylon and Ur of the Chaldees for the Catholic Chaldeans & Archeparch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans

Coptic Catholic Church:
His Holiness Stephanos II (Andraos) Cardinal Ghattas, CM, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Catholic Copts & Archeparch of Alexandria of the Copts

Maronite Catholic Church:
His Beatitude Mar Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch and All The East of the Maronites & Archeparch of Antioch of the Maronites

Syriac Catholic Church:
His Beatitude Mar Ignace Pierre VIII (Gregoire) Abdel-Ahad, Patriarch of Antioch and All The East of the Syrian Catholics & Archeparch of Antioch of the Syrians

Major Archepiscopal Churches

There are 2 of these. The incumbents are:

Syro-Malabarese Catholic Church:
His Eminence Mar Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, CSsR, Major-Archbishop of the Syro-Malabarese Catholics & Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamali of the Syro-Malabarese; and,

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church:
His Eminence Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, Major- Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholics & Archbishop of Lvov of the Ukrainians

Metropolitan Arch-Episcopal or Arch-Eparchial Catholic Churches

There are four. The incumbents are:

Ethiopian (Ge'ez) (& Eritrean) Catholic Church: His Excellency Berhane-Yesus Demerew Souraphiel, CM, Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa of the Ethiopians

Romanian Greek Catholic Church:
His Excellency Lucian Muresan, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Arch-Eparchy of Alba Iulia and Fagares of the Romanian Greek Catholics United with Rome

Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church: His Eminence Metropolitan Archbishop Basil Myron Schott, OFM, Arch-Eparch of Pittsburgh for the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholics in the United States

Syro-Malankarese Catholic Church:
His Grace, The Most Reverend Cyril Mar Baselios Malancharuvil, OIC, MADD, JCL, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Trivandrum for the Syro-Malankarese Catholics

Episcopal (or Eparchial) Catholic Churches:

These are Eastern Catholic Churches "entrusted to hierarchs who preside over [the Church] as per the norms of common and particular laws�.

All such Churches are of the Byzantine-Greek or Byzantine-Slav Traditions. Their presiding hierarchs are all of the Order of Bishop, but are variously styled: Abbott vere nullius dioecesis; Apostolic Administrator; Apostolic Exarch; Apostolic Visitator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis; Bishop; Eparch; or Vicar Apostolic.

Each derives precedence from his office [i.e., having canonical jurisdiction over a Church sui iuris] not from the particular ecclesiastical rank or title that he holds.

Albanian Greek-Catholic Church:
His Excellency, Bishop Hil Kabashi, OFM, Apostolic Administrator of Albania Meridionale [Southern Albania] for the Albanian Byzantines

Bulgarian Greek-Catholic Church:
His Excellency, Bishop Christo Proykov, Byzantine-Slav Apostolic Exarch of Sophia for the Byzantine Bulgarian Catholics & Titular Bishop of Briula

Croatian Greek-Catholic Church:
His Excellency, Monsignor Slavomir Miklovs, Vladyka [Bishop] of the Eparchy of Krizevci for the Byzantine Croatian Catholics and for All Byzantine Catholics [in the former Republics of Yugoslavia]

Byzantine Greek Catholic Church:
His Excellency, Bishop An�rghyros Printesis, Apostolic Exarch of Athens for the Faithful of the Eastern Rite of the Byzantine Greek Catholics

Hungarian Greek-Catholic Church:
His Excellency Szil�rd Keresztes, Bishop of the Diocese of Hajd�dorog of the Byzantine Hungarian Catholics

Slovak Greek-Catholic Church:
His Excellency J�n Babjak, SJ, Bishop of the Eparchy of Presov of the Byzantine Slovakian Catholics

The next two Episcopal/Eparchial Churches sui iuris are the Byzantine Italo-Greico-Albanian and Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Churches. I already alluded to the issue of multiple independent jurisdictions for these Churches and the fact that no one hierarch has been designated as presiding the Church.

Byzantine Italo-Grieco-Albanian Catholic Church:
Technically, three distinct Churches, although counted as one for purposes of calculating the number of Eastern Churches. The presiding hierarchs are:

His Excellency Ercole Lupinacci, Bishop of the Eparchy of Lungro degli Italo-Albanesi [for the Italo-Albanians] in Calabria

His Excellency Sot�r Ferrara, Bishop of the Eparchy of Piana degli Albenisi [for the Italo-Albanians] in Sicily

Right Reverend Archimandrite Emiliano Fabbricatore, OSBI, Abbott vere nullius dioecesis of the Exarchic Abbey and Territorial Monastery sui iuris of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata for the Byzantine Italo-Greek Catholics

Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church: This Church and its suffragn jurisdictions, situated in the Eastern Europe homelands of its faithful, has no formal canonical relationship with the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Metropolitan Church sui iuris in the US. As a result, it is technically a Church sui iuris unto itself, although the two are also considered as a single entity for purposes of counting Eastern Catholic Churches.

His Excellency Milan Sasek, CM, Apostolic Administrator of the Eparchy of Muka�evo of the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholics.

Episcopal (or Eparchial) Catholic Churches without Hierarchy

This final grouping is of Churches �entrusted to hierarchs (not of the Rite) who preside over (the Church) as per the norms of common and particular laws� (hierarchs locum tenens), either because the Church was never formally organized with its own hierarchy or its principal See is vacant. All of these Churches are of the Byzantine Greek or Slav Traditions.

Belarusan Greek-Catholic Church:

The hierarchical jurisdiction, the Apostolic Exarchate for the Byzantine Belarusan Catholics, is sede vacante and has been since after WWII, when the Church and Exarchate were suppressed. The Church's rights were restored in 1989, but the See has not been reconstituted.

Most Reverend Father Archimandrite Sergius Gajek, MIC, is presently Apostolic Visitator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis for Greek-Catholics in Belarus.

Georgian Greek-Catholic Church:

The Apostolic Exarchate of Istanbul for the Byzantine Georgian Catholics is sede vacante. His Excellency Bishop Louis Pel�tre, AA, [Latin] Vicar Apostolic of Istanbul is locum tenens. The viability of the Church is in question. There is a single parish and a handul of faithful, but at last report there are no clergy of the Church.

Russian Greek-Catholic Church:

This Church has two canonical jurisdictions with no formal canonical relationship between the two, and neither's hierarch was ever singularly designated as presiding. Thus, they technically constitute separate Churches sui iuris, although they represent a single entity for purposes of counting such Churches.

The jurisdictions are:

The Apostolic Exarchate of Moscow for Byzantine Russian Catholics in Russia and the Apostolic Exarchate of Harbin for Russian Byzantines and All Oriental Rite Catholics in China. Both are sede vacante since the martyrdom of their incumbents under the Communists. The Church's last hierarch, Bishop Andrei Katkov, of blessed memory, an episcopus ordinans without jurisdiction, reposed in 1996.

There are a small number of other ethnic communities of Eastern Catholics that have never been formally accorded their own sui iuris status but have distinct jurisdictions within various sui iuris Churches. These principally are the Czechs, Macedonians, and Serbians.

The important distinctions between Eastern Catholic Churches sui iuris of Patriarchal status and the others relate to the authority, rights, and privileges of the presiding hierarch, which differ significantly among the various types.

Many years,

Neil, who decided it was kinder to break this up into a few posts, despite Amado's description of it as "short"

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!

Neil, your "short posts" are a great help. I plan to print them out and study them, and then ask lots more questions. I hope you don't mind....

In my ignorance I may blunder into explosive subjects now and then, but I suspect that is something that many posters enjoy

Blessings,
Sarah

Dear Administrator,

I would like to suggest that Neil's posts above ought to be placed in a special, separate section for future reference by all who would like to get a comprehensive overview of the EC situation.

Including me . . .

What say you, Scion of the Forerunner?

Alex

As the humble questioner who inspired this reposting of Neil's wonderful info. I second Alex's request.

Dear Neil:

The "plea" was intended also for me because your iteration of the Eastern Catholic Churches, with those interesting historical vignettes, has been the clearest and most concise bar none!

Now, before the Admin "enshrines" your masterpiece, at the urging of Alex and Sarah, let me have my agent's commission.

Amado

I would love to be able to find Neil's excelent posts on this subject in one place. Truly they have been a blessing and extremely informative!

In His Name,
Stephen

I am printing Neil's posts out. That is the best summary I have seen so far.

Hi,

Sorry to disappoint, but slaves do not have the right to vote in your country.

I did follow the elections with payerful attention, if that counts.

Shalom,
Memo.