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Catholic Churches sui iuris

There are 23 Churches sui iuris (literally, "of their own law", commonly paraphrased as "self-governing" or "autonomous"). Together, the single Western, 14 Eastern, and 8 Oriental Churches constitute the Catholic Church or, perhaps better phrased, the Catholic Communion.

All 23 Churches are in communion with one another. The Latin (or Western) Church is the most populous and many Catholics and non-Catholics alike are only cognizant of Catholicism as it is manifested through the liturgical, spiritual, and theological forms of that particular Church. The 23 Churches exhibit significant diversity in liturgical praxis, spirituality, theological expression, and multiple other aspects of their religious identities. Although the manner in which their beliefs are expressed and understood differ in a variety of instances, they have a shared adherence to the teachings enunciated by the Magisterium.

In response to those who would query how 23 can be 1, and with no intent to trivialize the Mystery of the Trinity, one can only suggest reflecting on Saint Patrick's example of the three-leaved shamrock.

The sui iuris nature of the Eastern and Oriental Churches

Arguments are raised as to whether 22 is an accurate number as to the non-Western Churches, since the long-term sede vacante status that attends to the hierarchical ranks of some Churches begs the question as to how those can be termed sui iuris.

Failure to designate a primatial hierarch has divided others into two or more distinct canonical entities rather than the single ecclesia that would be both expected and more conducive to assertion of the status purportedly accorded to an entity that is styled as sui iuris. Additional considerations of concern, in this regard are that one such Church is, in fact, jurisdictionally sited within the Western Church and others of these Churches are dependent on it.

An effort has been made to address these points hereafter, whether successfully or not is for the reader to judge.

[Continued]

Self-Governance in sui iuris Churches

Note: This document evolved from a simple list of Rites and Churches created a few years ago, has been expanded several times by addition of pertinent information, and has had related texts merged with it to afford a fuller picture of the structure of Eastern and Oriental Catholicity. In most of its prior iterations, editorial comment was avoided in favor of strictly factual presentation, leaving analysis, interpretation, and conclusions to the mind and imagination of the reader. However, of late, the compulsion to address the validity of terming Eastern & Oriental Catholic Churches as [i]sui iuris has overtaken and vanquished self-restraint.[/i]

Patriarchal & Major-Archepiscopal Churches

Patriarchal and Major-Archepiscopal Churches are, to an extent, self-governing. Within the so-called "historical territories" of the primatial hierarch of each such Church, the hierarch and synod have the power of governance, with only subtle differences between the two statuses. Most notably, the election of a patriarch is noticed by Rome, while the election of a Major-Archbishop requires approval by Rome. In virtually all other aspects of organization and governance, the two are identically empowered under the provisions of the Eastern Code of Canon Law (CCEO).

In recent history, however, there have been two instances in which the scope of authority accorded by the CCEO to a Major Arch-Episcopal Church sui iuris was withheld by Rome.*

Move outside the circumscribed bounds of historical territory and, this time by law, the powers of both hierarch and synod diminish significantly, effectively being reduced to those concerned with matters liturgical. In all other respects, those canonical entities of a sui iuris Church which are situated in the diaspora are exempt from the authority of the primatial hierarch and synod. Stand-alone parishes in the diaspora are subject to the local Latin Ordinary in almost all instances; the canonical jurisdictions are subject to the Oriental Congregation.

Is there a justification for this? Maybe once upon a time, when individual Churches were competing for bodies of faithful and jurisdictional authority over a given place. These days, the constituent population of each Church is effectively defined by tradition, with provisions in place to permit transfer of canonical enrollment for those whose spirituality or circumstances draw them to another Church. So, if there is justification, the argument is elusive, at the least.

Is there even a coordinating role for Rome to play? I gave a lot of thought to that aspect, thinking about the clustering of multiple Sees in a single city and concluded, for a brief moment, "ahhh, there's the need", but then disabused myself of the notion. After all, presently, Rome does site canonical jurisdictions in the diaspora - has that resulted in a return to the canonical precept of "one city, one bishop?" Hardly, Chicago boasts three; even Parma, not exactly a major metropolis, guests two - has it no suburbs?

Although, we're no longer subjected to indignity the like of that inflicted on Saint Alexis Toth by Archbishop John Ireland or on Father John Wolansky, of blessed memory, by Archbishop John Ryan, certainly, having Rome at one's shoulder or being physically situated in the jurisdictional bounds of your Latin brother hasn't always been to the benefit of our Churches in the diaspora.

Granted, if you were Bishop Justin (Najmy), of blessed memory, in process of establishing a Melkite Exarchate, the fraternal benevolence and generosity of the late Richard Cardinal Cushing was a boon, instrumental to your success.

If, on the other hand, you were Bishop Manuel (Batakian) and learned that the local Latin Cardinal Archbishop was closing the church which served as the Cathedral of your Armenian Eparchy, with no offer of an alternative, you might justifiably feel less than blessed.

While it cannot be argued that the latter situation would have been different under the direct omophor of the Armenian Patriarch, it is illustrative that direct supervision by the Oriental Congregation has no cachet attached and fraternity apparently has its bounds.

Metropolitan & Eparchial Churches

For Metropolitan and Eparchial Churches sui iuris, the situation as to self-governance marks sui iuris as that much more a contradiction in terms. While the primatial hierarch and Council of Hierarchs of a Metropolitan Church enjoy minor privileges, the hierarch of an Eparchial Church - even in its historical territory - exercises no more autonomy than does any local Ordinary of the Latin Church.

The few Eparchies which have another jurisdiction attached have no authority over it. All such subordinate jurisdictions are Apostolic Exarchates and as such are responsible to him on whose behalf the Exarch acts; in this instance, that is the Apostolic See.

Where is the self-governance in that? What does being sui iuris do for our Churches?

Presently, every Church sui iuris, other than some of Eparchial status, has either one or more canonical jurisdictions or at least one parish in the diaspora. Even among Churches technically of Eparchial rank, only two are 'self-contained' (canonical jurisdictions without any attached jurisdiction - suffragn or otherwise), the Bulgarian and Albanian Churches. Neither of those, however, has yet been elevated to Eparchial rank.

To my jaundiced eye, the totality of these facts and circumstances suggests that there is no Eastern or Oriental Catholic Church which can be truly described as sui iuris. Is it any wonder that our Orthodox brethren shake their heads in wonder as we trumpet our autonomous status? I think not.

*Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

Two restrictions were imposed on the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church during the first decade (1993-2003) after it was elevated to Major Arch-Episcopal status.

(1) For the first five years of that period, the Church was denied decision-making authority as to matters liturgical, despite the fact that both Patriarchs and Major-Archbishops have and exercise such authority even outside the circumscribed "historical bounds" of their respective ecclesia.

Knowledgeable observers were clear on the issues involved here. The Church was in significant internal turmoil as regards liturgical praxis, with competing demands for a return to its historical liturgical forms and for retention of a then more common and so-called 'indianized' liturgical form.

The former (its historical forms) were Assyro-Chaldean in origin, reflective of the Church's East Syrian antecedents, while the latter - outside of India - were most often perceived as 'latinizations'. The competing forces in regards to the two forms were vociferous and some believed the matter was potentially threatening to the Church's unity.

After Rome lifted the restriction, the issue remained active for a considerable period thereafter, with a third 'compromise' form (a hybridization) introduced at one point. Although not widely discussed presently, the variations in praxis persist.

(2) It was five years more before the same sui iuris Church was accorded the right to nominate hierarchs to canonical jurisdictions within the territory of the Major Arch-Episcopate.

When elevated from Metropolitan to Major-Archepiscopal status, barely more than a century had passed since appointment of the Syro-Malabar Church's first indigenous hierarchs (1886); and only 80 years since a full hierarchical structure was established for it (1923). Thus, although no explanation was offered then (or since), some rationalized that the delay in allowing the Church to nominate its own hierarchs was related to a perceived lack of historical experience.

Such, however, begs the question - is it appropriate to thusly interfere, interject, or intervene in the day-to-day decision-making of an ecclesia that is denominated as sui iuris and has just been canonically elevated to a status then accorded to only two Churches?

On reflection, the answer is "no!" - the more so because centuries of ill-advised superintendence, exercised over the indigenous Church by transplanted Latin hierarchs in the name of Roman dicastries, was a significant factor in creating the situations that the imposed restrictions were intended to control, if not solve.

[Continued]

Eastern & Oriental Catholic Churches

Historically, all of what are ordinarily termed Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches were once part, with the Western Church, of a single Church that splintered through the centuries.

The first division occurred subsequent to the Council of Ephesus, another after that of Chalcedon, and the third in a time-frame surrounding the so-called Great Schism of 1054 (the schism had its beginnings a century and a half prior and was not complete for as long thereafter).

The specific events involved in the separation of these Churches from one another and with the Western Church, and the circumstances that led to some of their adherents reuniting with Rome, are far too involved for this discussion, which is intended primarily as a quick reference to the structure of the Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches as they presently exist.

A brief but excellent summary of the historical circumstances peculiar to each of the Churches, reasonably objective and free of polemics, is at The Eastern Christian Churches - A Brief Survey [cnewa.org] by Father Ron Roberson, CP, at the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) site [cnewa.org] .

Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches, generally, represent bodies of faithful whose ancestors, at various points in history, entered into communion with Rome from Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Churches, effectively mending, for their part, the mutual schisms that occurred some centuries prior. Since these reunions were not corporate (i.e., none involved reunification in toto of a Church's hierarchy, clergy, and faithful), there is a counterpart Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Church to every Eastern or Oriental Catholic Church except two - the Maronite Catholic Church and the Italo-Graeco-Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church.

The reason usually advanced as to why these two Churches have no counterpart among the Orthodox Churches is that neither was ever separated from the Church of Rome. However, the continuous communion of the Maronites is a matter of debate among historians. As regards the Italo-Graeco-Albanians, the reality of continuous communion is only true of the Church in its present form, an amalgamation of what were once three distinct ecclesial communities, two of which (Greek and Albanian) have Orthodox counterparts (the third - Italo-Byzantines - is no longer extant as a discernible ecclesia, its faithful having been subsumed into the Italo-Greek Church) .

Arguments are sometimes advanced that the Melkite Greek-Catholic and Syro-Malabarese Catholic Churches, among others, also never parted communion with Rome. In response to such claims (and similar ones have been advanced on behalf of various other Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches), it may be that there were individual canonical jurisdictions (i.e., eparchies) or communities (e.g., parishes) of an Eastern or Oriental Church which remained in union with Rome, de facto, if not overtly. (Certainly, there are documented instances in which jurisdictions maintained dual communion with Rome and Constantinople).

However, incontrovertible evidence to support continuous communion with Rome are not readily available or accessible. (In truth, all such claims are of little consequence, given that they are employed primarily as 'one-upmanship' by thoses seeking to demonstrate that they are 'more Catholic' than others.)

Classifying Eastern & Oriental Catholic Churches

There are multiple ways in which one might classify Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches, but the most common are:

• Eastern versus Oriental

• Rite/Tradition/Rescension/Usage

• Ecclesial/Hierarchical Status

[Continued]

Eastern versus Oriental Catholic Churches

Churches that utilize the Byzantine Rite should technically be termed Eastern Catholic Churches, with most others properly referred to as Oriental Catholic Churches. This distinction mirrors that made between the two Orthodox Communions, i.e., those Orthodox Churches which serve the Divine Liturgy according to the Byzantine or Constantinoplian Rite are commonly termed Eastern Orthodox; those which serve it according to other Rites are ordinarily styled as Oriental Orthodox.

It should be noted, though, that the terms 'Eastern' and 'Oriental' are actually synonyms and this distinction is, therefore, artificial at best - and cannot readily be made in some languages - French, for instance. In fact, Eastern Catholic and Oriental Catholic are often employed interchangeably as umbrella terms, most commonly by the Vatican, to encompass all Catholic Churches sui iuris other than the Latin or Western Church.

My personal preference is in favor of making the distinction and I generally do so, although it is admittedly oft-times cumbersome and always verbose.

The Maronite Catholic Church, as a consequence of having no Orthodox counterpart, fails to fall neatly into either category - Eastern or Oriental. Similarly, Chaldean and Syro-Malabarese Catholic Churches can not be properly classified into either group, since their historical antecedent is the Assyrian Church of the East, which is of neither the Eastern or Oriental Orthodox communions. The tendency, in all three instances, is to include these Churches with the Oriental Catholic Churches, as they are not Byzantine but have some historical and liturgical ties to Churches of the Antiochene Rite, which are classed as Oriental.

To simplify an already complex discussion, I generally follow that rule (the list below is an exception to my usual practice, for relatively obvious reasons).

• Eastern Catholic Churches:

• Albanian Catholic Church
• Bielorussian Catholic Church
• Bulgarian Catholic Church
• Croatian Catholic Church
• Georgian Catholic Church
• Greek Catholic Church
• Hungarian Catholic Church
• Italo-Graeco-Albanian Catholic Church
• Melkite Catholic Church
• Romanian Catholic Church
• Russian Catholic Church
• Ruthenian Catholic Church
• Slovak Catholic Church
• Ukrainian Catholic Church

• Oriental Catholic Churches:

• Armenian Catholic Church
• Coptic Catholic Church
• Ethiopian (& Eritrean) Catholic Church
• Syriac Catholic Church
• Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

• Other Non-Latin Catholic Churches:

• Chaldean Catholic Church

• Maronite Catholic Church

• Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

[Continued]

Rites

Note that this discussion addresses the historical development of Rites in relatively simple fashion. There is further history involved, but it is beyond the scope of what is hoped to be accomplished here, which is to make the reader aware of the different Rites and which Churches use them. The 22 Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches use six different Rites among them. The largest number of Churches (14) use the Byzantine Rite.

Originally, there were three Rites - Latin, Alexandrean, and Antiochene; the Byzantine (or Constantinoplian) Rite was added thereafter. Rites arose from the customs and style of worship in what were then the four most important Christian centers, other than Jerusalem.

Differences among the Rites in liturgical language, rubrics, ritual, devotionals, prayers, liturgical and clerical vesture, etc., sprang initially from the fact that uniformity of praxis was impossible to maintain over time, as the number of clergy increased, local cultures and customs began to be woven into rituals, and both travel and communication were hampered by geography and the limited means available to make and maintain contact among churches and clerics.

Over time, those four Rites were modified or further developed as they were introduced into new regions. Some of these variations were so distinctive as to be deemed separate Rites, among these were the Maronite and Armenian Rites, which each developed in relative isolation because of geography. The result was that many authorities denoted the Maronite as a Rite unto itself; while others placed it within what was termed the West Syrian Tradition of the Antiochene Rite, from whence it had originated. As to the Armenian Rite, although acknowledged to have originated within the Byzantine Rite, it has long since been acknowledged as distinct. The Melkites originally served according to the Antiochene Rite but, as a consequence of coming under the influence of Constantinople, later adopted use of the Byzantine Rite.

Of late, Chaldean has been added to the list of Rites, being formally cited as such in the CCEO, although, historically, it had been classed in the East Syrian Tradition of the Antiochene Rite. I offer two theories to account for it being accorded as a Rite unto itself, with no basis to support either, other than my own personal musings on the matter:

• the change may relate to the unique aspect observed in the Liturgy of its counterpart Church, the Assyrian Church of the East, i.e., that there are no explicit Words of Institution in the Anaphora which they most commonly use (although that explanation is weakened by the fact that the Chaldeans themselves serve the Liturgy with explicit Words of Institution); or,

• it may reflect an intent on Rome's part to have a Rite associated with each Patriarchate.

The Maronite Rite is not cited in the CCEO as a distinct Rite. My speculation is that the need for the Maronites to recover their historical, traditional liturgical identity has, of necessity, caused them to look to their brethren of the Antiochene Rite and will, assuredly, sacrifice some of the blended Antiochene and Latin praxis that has marked their liturgical style until now and cause them to be more definitively denominated as Antiochene. I have retained the older usage, designating it as a distinct Rite.

[Continued]

Church vs. Rite

For a long time, each group of Eastern Catholics was referred to by its name (most often reflective of its historical cultural/national identity or ethnic origin), followed by the word �Rite�. Thus, you would hear references to someone being of the �Ukrainian Rite� or to �Melkite Rite Catholics�. At the urging of the Eastern and Oriental Catholic hierarchs participating in the Second Vatican Council, particularly His Beatitude Maximos IV Saigh, Patriarch of Antioch & All the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem of the Greek-Melkites, of blessed memory, the Church recognized the status of the Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches as sui iuris ecclesial entities, each of which uses a particular Rite. Thus, it is a disparagement (as well as inaccurate) to substitute �Rite� for �Church� in the name of any of these bodies.

The distinction is made in Canons 27 and 28 of the Eastern Code of Canon Law:

Canon 27

• A group of Christian faithful united by a hierarchy, according to the norm of law, which the supreme authority of the Church, expressly or tacitly, recognizes as sui iuris, is called in this Code a Church sui iuris.

Canon 28

• 1. A Rite is the liturgical, theological, spiritual, and disciplinary patrimony, culture, and circumstances of history of a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the faith is manifested in each Church sui iuris.

Beyond the codified definition of �Rite�, it should be further understood to be the collected liturgical patrimony or heritage by which a body of faithful conduct their religious life. It is more than just differences in language, culture, and vesture, although those are often among the most immediately obvious distinctions. It's often thought of as strictly applicable to liturgical worship service; it actually includes the totality of a people's religious expression, including their sacraments, sacramentals, devotionals, prayers, music, and even aspects of their religious artistic expression and ecclesial architecture.

Interestingly, in the West, persons belong to a Rite and Rites to a Church (which uses more than a single Rite). In the East, persons belong to a Church and the Church (in some instances, more than a single Church) to a Rite. (In the cases of the Armenian, Chaldean, and Maronite Rites, each Rite is used by only a single Church sui iuris and, in each of these instances, the Church's name and that of the Rite are identical.)

By way of example:

• most Western Catholics belong to the Latin Rite with smaller numbers adhering to the Ambrosian, Bragan, and Mozarabic Rites, all of which Rites belong to the Latin Church; while,

• some Eastern Catholics belong to the Melkite Church, which (with 13 other Churches) uses the Byzantine Rite.

Rites, the delineations within each (e.g., Traditions, Rescensions, and Usages) and the jurisdictional considerations which affect those, have been used to illustrate the functional structure of Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches as applied to liturgical praxis.

[Continued]

Tradition, Rescension, Usage

Tradition is a distinction within a Rite that principally reflects variations of culture, sometimes including ecclesial language. Within some Traditions, there are also what are styled Rescensions.

Rescension is a distinction in characteristics of the form of worship that is unique to one or more of the Churches or their constituent canonical jurisdictions that follow a particular Tradition (or, in some instances, a particular Rite in which there is no intervening break-down by Tradition).

Church is a sui iuris body of faithful which worships according to a particular Rite.

Usage is a term that ordinarily denotes limited, localized differences within a Church itself (as opposed to a Rescension, which generally occurs at the level of Rite or Tradition). Although employed in the Latin Church {e.g., the Anglican Usage), to the best of my knowledge, it is not anywhere officially applied to any of the Eastern or Oriental Churches. However, in my opinion, it is the most logical term to describe liturgical praxis that accommodates specific, localized variations in language and/or ceremony. I�ve qualified these by whatever jurisdictional limits are known to be applicable to the Usage.

Jurisdiction indicates a canonical entity within a Church. Jurisdictions are listed in either of the following instances (in some cases, both considerations apply):

• When none of two or more jurisdictions in a Church has been designated as its primatial See (e.g., as is the case with the Italo-Graeco-Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church), each of the jurisdictions comprising the Church is listed; or,

• When some distinctive consideration (i.e., Tradition, Rescension, Usage) is either applicable to or excludes one or more specific jurisdictions (e.g., a metropolia) within a Church from the praxis of the Church as a whole, the relevant jurisdictions are cited.

Dependent Jurisdiction further defines the canonical entity or entities (e.g., an eparchy within a metropolia) to which application of a praxis factor (i.e., Tradition, Rescension, Usage) is limited or from which it is excluded.

Jurisdictional Limitations narrow, yet further, the canonical entity or entities (e.g., a parish within an eparchy) to which application of a praxis factor is limited or from which it is excluded.

Special Circumstances document unique considerations applicable to a Church or certain of its jurisdictions. As examples, these might include:

• That one or more of a Church�s jurisdictions canonically serve a discrete ethnic or national sub-group within that Church, albeit there is not a distinct Tradition, Rescension, or Usage involved in doing so.

• That one or more of a Church�s jurisdictions have designated pastoral responsibility for the faithful of another Church;

• That some or all of a Church�s pastoral entities (i.e., parishes or missions) are subject to the canonical authority of another Church

• That some or all of a Church�s jurisdictions are suppressed de facto, albeit not de jure.

That a Church has or does not have canonical jurisdictions in the diaspora is not routinely noted. In instances where such is documented, it was for the purpose of recording some particular fact. (Admittedly, there are also some relatively trivial details reported as to some Churches or jurisdictions. The purpose in that was to assure that information of a principally nostalgic nature, not uncommonly disregarded in formal histories, was recorded somewhere, for whatever it is worth.)

The schematic is intended as a self-explanatory, quick reference to the praxis of Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches. Over time, detail has been added because it seemed important to do so or in response to repeated requests for its inclusion. Such detail has created, in turn, the need for yet more information, requiring explanatory notes in some instances and making it increasingly difficult for the schematic to be a stand-alone document. To assure clarity, while attempting to maintain the integrity of the schematic, the notes have been added at the end.

[Continued]

The outline of the schematic is generally as follows. (Every effort has been made to avoid or minimize instances in which the breakout deviates from this because of the intervention of peculiar circumstances, requiring more levels of detail. But, it's not for nothing that many of us are called 'byzantine':

[*]Rite
[*]Tradition
[*]Rescension
[*]Church
[*]Usage
[*]Jurisdiction
[*]Jurisdictional Limits-1
[*]Jurisdictional Limits-2
[*]Special Circumstances

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[*]Alexandrean Rite
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Coptic Tradition
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Coptic Catholic Church
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Parishes in diaspora
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Parishes in diaspora are canonically subject to the local Latin Ordinary

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[*]Ge'ez Tradition (See Note 1)
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Ethiopian (& Eritrean) Catholic Church (See Note 2)
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Eparchies of Asmara, Barentu, & Keren of the Ethiopians canonically serve Eritrean Catholics

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[*]Parishes in diaspora
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Parishes in diaspora are canonically subject to the local Latin Ordinary

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[*]Antiochene Rite
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">West Syrian Tradition (See Note 3)
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Syriac Rescension
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Syriac Catholic Church

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[*]Malankara Rescension
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Knanaite Usage (See Note 4)
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Metropolitan Arch-Eparchy of Kottayam of the Knanaites
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[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Episcopal Vicariate for the Malankara Knanaites
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Fifteen Parishes

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

[*]Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Malankara Usage
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">All canonical jurisdictions, except
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Single Parish, Arch-Eparchy of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankara

[*]Single Parish, Eparchy of Tiruvalla of the Syro-Malankara

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

[*]Parishes in diaspora
</font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Parishes in diaspora are canonically subject to the local Latin Ordinary

</ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></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">

[*]Knanaite Usage
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Arch-Eparchy of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankara
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Single Parish only

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

[*]Eparchy of Tiruvalla of the Syro-Malankara
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Single Parish only

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

[*]Armenian Rite
</font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Armenian 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"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

[*]Chaldean Rite
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">East Syrian Tradition (Formerly of the Antiochene Rite) (See Note 3)
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Assyro-Chaldean Rescension
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Chaldean Catholic Church
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Syriac Usage
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">All canonical jurisdictions, except,
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Eparchy of Alep of the Chaldeans

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

[*]Arabic Usage
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Eparchy of Alep of the Chaldeans only

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

[*]Syro-Malabarese Rescension
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
</font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">No break-down is available as to the division of the various Usages (other than that of the Knanaites) among the canonical jurisdictions or parishes of the Syro-Malabarese Church

</font></li></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">

[*]Assyro-Chaldean Usage

[*]Knanaite Usage
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Metropolitan Arch-Eparchy of Kottayam of the Knanaites
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">All Parishes, except
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Parishes of the Episcopal Vicariate for Malankara Knanaites
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">The fifteen Parishes of the Episcopal Vicariate for Malankara Knanaites canonically serve the Knanaite Usage of the Malankara Rescension of the Antiochene Rite

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

[*]Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Chicago of the Syro-Malabarese
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Vicariate for Knanaya Catholic Community in NA only
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Ten Parishes

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

[*]Malarbarese Usage

[*]Mixed (Chaldean-Malabarese) Usage

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></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"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

[*]Maronite Rite
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">West Syrian Tradition (See Note 3)
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Maronite Rescension
</font><ul type="square">
[*]<font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Maronite Catholic Church

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">
[Continued]

• Byzantine Rite
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Byzantine-Greek Tradition
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Greek Rescension
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Albanian Greek-Catholic Church

• Greek Byzantine Catholic Church (See Note 5)

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Graeco-Arabic Rescension
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Melkite Greek-Catholic Church

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Graeco-Georgian Rescension
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Georgian Greek-Catholic Church (See Note 6)
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Apostolic Exarchate - canonically suppressed
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Single Parish only
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish, Istanbul, Turkey - canonically subject to the local Latin Ordinary, is suppressed de facto

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></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"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Graeco-Italian Rescension
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Italo-Graeco-Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church (See Notes 7 & 8)
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Arberesh (Italo-Albanian) Usage
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Italo-Albanian Greek-Catholic Church
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Eparchy of Lungro degli Italo-Albanesi in Calabria

• Eparchy of Piana in Sicily degli Albenisi

• Single Mission in diaspora
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Our Lady of Grace Mission, Staten Is., NY - canonically subject to the local Latin Ordinary

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Italo-Greek Usage
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Italo-Byzantine Greek-Catholic Church
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">No extant canonical jurisdictions or parishes - subsumed into Italo-Greek Byzantine Catholic Church

</font></li></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">

• Italo-Greek Byzantine Catholic Church
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Exarchic Abbey & Territorial Monastery sui iuris of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata degli Italo-Graeco

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></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">

• Ruthenian Greek-Catholic Church
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Italo-Greek Usage
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Metropolia of Pittsburgh of the Ruthenians
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Eparchy of Van Nuys of the Ruthenians
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Our Lady of Wisdom Parish only
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Our Lady of Wisdom Parish, Las Vegas, NV was erected by and is a parish of the Eparchy of Van Nuys of the Ruthenians, established to provide pastoral care to Italo-Greek Catholics according to the Byzantine Graeco-Italian Rescension

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></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">

• Byzantine-Slav Tradition
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Great Russian Rescension
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Belarusan Greek-Catholic Church
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Apostolic Exarchate - sede vacante
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Apostolic Visitator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis for Greek-Catholics in Belarus

• All Parishes in Belarus are canonically subject to local Latin Ordinaries

• Apostolic Visitator for Belarusan Greek-Catholics Outside Belarus (sited in UK)

• Single Mission in diaspora - Marian House, London, England, is canonically subject to the local Latin Ordinary

• Christ the Redeemer Parish, Chicago, IL, memory eternal, which had been canonically subject to the local Latin Ordinary, was canonically suppressed in 2003; pastoral care of the suppressed Parish�s faithful was assumed by the Eparchy of Saint George in Canton of the Romanians

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></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"></font></li></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">

• Bulgarian Greek-Catholic Church

• Russian Greek-Catholic Church
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Apostolic Exarchate of Harbin - sede vacante</font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Exarchate suppressed de facto but not de jure

• No Parishes extant

</ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></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">

• Apostolic Exarchate of Moscow (sede vacante)
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">All Parishes, except
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Single Old Ritualist Parish

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Parishes in the diaspora
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">All Parishes in the diaspora are canonically subject to local Latin Ordinaries, although some are or were under the spiritual omophor of hierarchs of other Byzantine Rite Churches
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Saint Andrew Parish, El Segundo, CA - under the spiritual omophor of the Eparch of Newton of the Melkites

• Ss. Cyril & Methodius Mission, Denver, CO - under the spiritual omophor of the Eparch of Saint George in Canton of the Romanians

• Chapel of Saint Nicholas, Kew, Victoria, Australia - under the spiritual omophor of the Eparch of Saint Michael in Sydney of the Melkites

• Our Lady of Kazan Chapel, South Boston, MA, memory eternal, was under the spiritual omophor of the then-Apostolic Exarch for Melkite-Greek Catholics in the US; the Chapel was canonically suppressed in 1974

</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"></font></li></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"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Old Ritualist Usage
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Apostolic Exarchate of Moscow
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Single Parish only

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></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"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Romanian Rescension
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Romanian Greek-Catholic Church
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Pastoral care of the Church�s faithful in Canada is the canonical responsibility of the Arch-Eparchy and Eparchies of the Metropolia of Winnipeg of the Ukrainians

• Pastoral care of the faithful of a canonically suppressed Bielorussian Greek-Catholic Parish was undertaken by the Eparchy of Saint George in Canton of the Romanians

</font></li></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">

• All canonical jurisdictions,except
  </font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Eparchy of Maramures of the Romanians
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Eparchy of Maramures of the Romanians serves according to the Little Russian (Ruthenian) Rescension of the Byzantine Rite

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• Little Russian (Ruthenian) Rescension
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• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Croatian Greek-Catholic Church (See Note 9)
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• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia canonically serves Macedonian Greek-Catholics

• Apostolic Exarchate of Montenegro & Serbia canonically serves Montenegron & Serbian Greek-Catholics

• Ss Peter & Paul Parish, Chicago, IL, memory eternal, was given over to the pastoral care of the then-Apostolic Exarchate of the Ruthenians in the US in 1937, transferred to Eparchy of Parma of the Ruthenians in 1969, and canonically suppressed ca. 1985

• Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker Parish, Cleveland, OH, was given over to the pastoral care of the then-Apostolic Exarchate of the Ruthenians in the US ca. 1937 and subsequently transferred to the Eparchy of Parma of the Ruthenians in 1969

• Pastoral care of the Church�s faithful in the US is the canonical responsibility of the Arch-Eparchy and Eparchies of the Metropolia of Pittsburgh of the Ruthenians

</font></li></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"></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Hungarian Greek-Catholic Church
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• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Pastoral care of the Church�s faithful in Canada is the canonical responsibility of the Arch-Eparchy and Eparchies of the Metropolia of Winnipeg of the Ukrainians

• Pastoral care of the Church�s faithful in the US is the canonical responsibility of the Arch-Eparchy and Eparchies of the Metropolia of Pittsburgh of the Ruthenians

</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"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Romanian Greek-Catholic Church
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• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Eparchy of Maramures of the Romanians only

</ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Ruthenian Greek-Catholic Church
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• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Pastoral care of the Church�s faithful in Canada is the canonical responsibility of the Eparchy of Ss Cyril & Methodius in Toronto of the Slovaks

</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">

• Eparchy of Mukachevo of the Ruthenians
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• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Apostolic Exarchate of the Czech Republic canonically serves Czech Greek-Catholics

</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"></font></li></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">

• American Usage
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• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Metropolia of Pittsburgh of the Ruthenians
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• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Arch-Eparchy and Eparchies of the Metropolia of Pittsburgh of the Ruthenians - pastorally responsible for Croat, Hungarian, & Slovak Greek-Catholics in the US

</font></li></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">

• All Parishes of all canonical jurisdictions, except
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• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Our Lady of Wisdom Parish
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• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Our Lady of Wisdom Parish, Las Vegas, NV ( Eparchy of Van Nuys of the Ruthenians) provides pastoral care to Italo-Greek Catholics according to the Byzantine Graeco-Italian Rescension

</font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></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"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Slovakian Greek-Catholic Church
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Pastoral care of the Church�s faithful in the US is the canonical responsibility of the Arch-Eparchy and Eparchies of the Metropolia of Pittsburgh of the Ruthenians

• Eparchy of Ss Cyril & Methodius in Toronto of the Slovaks - pastorally responsible for Ruthenian Greek-Catholics in Canada

</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"></font></li></ul><font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">

• Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church
  </font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square"></font><ul type="square">
• <font size="2" face="verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Arch-Eparchy and Eparchies of the Metropolia of Winnipeg of the Ukrainians - pastorally responsible for Hungarian & Romanian Greek-Catholics in Canada

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[Continued]

Note 1: Ge�ez Tradition - There is frequent use of the terminology �Ge�ez Rite�, including by Ethiopian Catholics themselves. This reflects, in part, an effort to assert a distinction between their liturgical form and that of the Copts, a task made more difficult by the tendency to style the Rite of all North African Churches as �Coptic� rather than �Alexandrian.� I adhere to the usage of �Alexandrian� for the Rite and employ �Ge�ez� to distinguish between the Copts and Ethiopians on the basis of Tradition. (Ge�ez is actually the name of an ancient tongue, related to Amharic, and is the traditional liturgical language of the Ethiopian Churches, Catholic and Orthodox.)

Note 2: Ethiopian (& Eritrean) Catholic Church - Increasingly, the name of the Ethiopian Catholic Church is rendered as Ethiopian/Eritrean Catholic Church (or Eritrean used parenthetically, as here). This is significant because it acknowledges that the Ethiopian Church is affording pastoral care to a distinct ethnic/national/cultural body of Eastern Christians (and, like it or not, in the homelands at least, Eastern & Oriental Catholic Churches are generally very much defined by such characteristics).

Note 3: East versus West Syrian Traditions - This distinction is less important now that the Chaldean and Syro-Malabarese Catholic Churches are considered to be of a Chaldean Rite, rather than being included within the Antiochene Rite. The styling is retained here primarily for reference purposes.

Note 4: Knanaya/Knanaites - The Knanya are Catholic and Orthodox who are descended from 72 families of Christian Jews, comprising about 400 persons, who emigrated to India in three ships about 345 AD under the leadership of Knaithomman or Thomas the Cananite. The immigrants are said to have been accompanied by a bishop, whom history records as Uraha Mar Yausef (Joseph), four presbyters, and deacons. The Knanaites, a strictly endogenous community, retain particular liturgical, devotional, and cultural practices unique to themselves and, by the Apostolic Brief Universi Christiani, Pope Saint Pius X erected a personal jurisdiction (now the autonomous Metropolitan Arch-Eparchy of Kottayam) for them within the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Although formal Knanya jurisdictions exist only in that Church and the Syrian Orthodox Jacobite (Indian) Church, there are Knanaites within each of the Indian ecclesial communities (other than the Latin Catholic) and, officially or otherwise, provisions are made to accommodate their praxis in all of the Churches of Saint Thomas Christians.

Note 5: Greek Byzantine Catholic Church - �Greek-� as the adjectival descriptor to �Catholic� is used throughout for the majority of the Churches in the Byzantine Rite. The inclusion of 'Byzantine' in styling the Greek and Italo-Graeco-Albanian Catholic Churches reflects the fact that 'Greek' is already an integral part of the cultural and ethnic heritage reflected in their names. (The Metropolia of Pittsburgh of the Ruthenian Greek-Catholic Church has adopted the term 'Byzantine' as an integral aspect of its name, not without some negative reaction from those of other Churches which are also Byzantine in practice.)

Note 6: Georgian Greek-Catholic Church - Reference to this Church is frequently missing from lists of Eastern & Oriental Catholic Churches and, within a few decades - if not sooner, mention of it will, almost assuredly, be in a footnote accompanied by the prayer �memory eternal�. The Church has been without clergy for almost a half-century and its surviving faithful presently are estimated to number in the hundreds.

Note 7: Italo-Graeco-Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church - See the comments at Note 5 regarding retention of the usage �Byzantine� in the Church�s name.

Note 8: Italo-Graeco-Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church - Although Byzantine in Rite, this Church is technically of the Latin or Western Patriarchate.

Note 9: Croatian Greek-Catholic Church - There is a decided tendency to label this Church by the name of its canonical jurisdiction, Krizevci, for reasons that are unclear, or as �Greek Catholics in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia� (a term suggestive of Tito�s effort to meld a country of a myriad of ethnicities who really wanted nothing to do with one another). The primatial jurisdiction is essentially comprised of Croats, a point made more clear by the establishment of separate jurisdictions within its overall structure for three other ethnic bodies; the more accurate descriptor �Croatian� is used here.

[Continued]

Ecclesial/Hierarchical Status

Other than historical precedent (and even that is not consistent across all instances), no factor is acknowledged as determinant in deciding the ecclesiastical office to be accorded to the primatial hierarch of any Eastern or Oriental Catholic Church. Changes in the past century, elevating the ruling hierarchs of several Churches (and, accordingly, the ecclesiastical status of the Churches themselves), arguably support the proposition that the number of faithful is the primary consideration in so doing. Less clear is the motivation that inspired Rome to create a hitherto non-existent canonical jurisdiction (i.e., major archepiscopate) and accompanying hierarchical styling (i.e., major-archbishop) intermediate to the traditional patriarchate and metropolia, although reasonable hypotheses can be offered toward explaining it.

Presently, within each Rite, there is one hierarch of the dignity of Patriarch; in most instances, but not all, this can be explained by tradition. Major-Archbishops exist in four Churches, of three different Rites. Metropolitans are the ruling hierarchs of two Churches.

In theory, the remaining Churches should each be headed by a bishop exercising the office of Eparch; in fact, some are headed by bishops, others by minor prelates. The incumbents are variously styled as Eparch, Exarch, Apostolic Administrator, Apostolic Visitator, or Abbot, corresponding to the jurisdictions headed; among those, only Eparchs can be said to actually exercise hierarchical jurisdiction. One Church lacks even a minor prelate.

Ordinariates for Faithful of the Eastern or Oriental Rites are jurisdictions erected in nations with a Catholic population that is predominantly Latin, but with a substantial minority presence of Eastern or Oriental Catholic faithful who are without a canonical jurisdiction or hierarch. Officially, there are five such Ordinariates, although one appears to be suppressed de facto; a sixth Ordinariate, not formally designated, exists de facto, albeit not de jure.

The import of a Church�s ecclesial/hierarchical status chiefly lies in the degree of autonomy which its primatial hierarch and its hierarchy, as a body, are able, technically, to exercise without recourse to Rome or the necessity to be accorded confirmation or approval by Rome of appointments, decisions, etc..

• Patriarchal Churches

• Armenian Catholic Church

• Chaldean Catholic Church

• Coptic Catholic Church

• Maronite Catholic Church

• Melkite Catholic Church

• Syriac Catholic Church

• Major Archepiscopal Churches

• Romanian Catholic Church

• Syro-Malabaese Catholic Church

• Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

• Ukrainian Catholic Church

• Metropolitan Churches

• Ethiopian Catholic Church

• Ruthenian Catholic Church (US)

• Eparchial Churches

• Bulgarian Catholic Church

• Croatian Catholic Church

• Greek Catholic Church

• Hungarian Catholic Church

• Italo-Grieco-Albanian Catholic Church

• Ruthenian Catholic Church (Europe)

• Slovak Catholic Church

• Eparchial Churches sine episcopi

• Albanian Catholic Church

• Belarusan Catholic Church

• Georgian Catholic Church

• Russian Catholic Church

• Ordinariates

• Ordinariate of Argentina, Faithful of the Oriental Rites

• Ordinariate of Austria, Faithful of the Eastern Rites (Byzantine)

• Ordinariate of Brazil, Faithful of the Oriental Rites

• Ordinariate of France, Faithful of the Eastern Rites

• Ordinariate of Poland, Faithful of the Eastern Rites

• Ordinariate of Russia, Faithful of the Eastern Rites (unofficial)

[Continued]

Presiding Hierarchs

Patriarchal Churches

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

Chaldean Catholic Church
His Holiness Mar Emmanuel III (Karim) Delli, Catholicos and Patriarch of Babylon and Ur of the Chaldees for the Catholic Chaldeans & Arch-Eparch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans

Coptic Catholic Church
His Holiness Antonios Naguib, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Catholic Copts & Arch-Eparch 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 & Arch-Eparch of Antioch of the Maronites

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 Melkite Greek Catholics & Arch-Eparch of Antioch of the Melkites

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

Major Archepiscopal Churches

Romanian Greek Catholic Church
His Eminence Lucian Muresan, Major-Archbishop of the Romanian Greek-Catholics United With Rome & Arch-Eparch of Alba Iulia & Fagares of the Romanians

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

Syro-Malankarese Catholic Church
His Eminence Cyril Mar Baselios Malancharuvil, OIC, Major-Archbishop and Catholicos of the Syro-Malankarese Catholics & Arch-Eparch of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankarese

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
His Eminence Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, Major-Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholics & Arch-Eparch of Kyiv-Halyc of the Ukrainians

Metropolitan Arch-Eparchial Churches

Ruthenian Greek-Catholic Church
His Eminence Basil Myron Schott, OFM, Metropolitan Arch-Eparch of Pittsburgh of the Byzantine Ruthenians in the United States

Note: This is the only Church sui iuris constituted in the diaspora, rather than its historic homeland.

Ethiopian Catholic Church
His Excellency Berhane-Yesus Demerew Souraphiel, CM, Metropolitan Arch-Eparch of Addis Abeba of the Ethiopians

[Continued]

Eparchial Catholic Churches

Eparchial Churches are Eastern Catholic Churches �entrusted to hierarchs who preside over (the Church) as per the norms of common and particular law�.

All such Churches are of the Byzantine-Greek or Byzantine-Slav Traditions. All but one of the presiding hierarchs are of the Order of Bishop, but are variously styled as to the offices they hold, since not all of the jurisdictions are currently designated as eparchies. Each of the presiding hierarchs derives and is accorded precedence based on his office (i.e., that he exercises canonical jurisdiction over a Church sui iuris) rather than his ecclesiastical rank or title.

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

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

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

Hungarian Greek-Catholic Church
His Excellency Szil�rd Keresztes, Bishop of the Eparchy of Hajd�dorog of the Byzantine Hungarians

Italo-Graeco-Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church

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 & Territorial Monastery sui iuris of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata for the Byzantine Italo-Greeks

Note: Since there are three independent jurisdictions within this Church and no one hierarch has been designated as presiding the Church, there are, technically, three distinct Churches sui iuris. However, the Church is counted as one for purposes of calculating the number of Eastern Churches.

Ruthenian Greek-Catholic Church

His Excellency Bishop Milan Sasek, CM, Apostolic Administrator, Eparchy of Mukachevo of the Byzantine Ruthenians

Note: This Church, situated in the Eastern Europe homeland of its faithful, has no formal canonical relationship with the Metropolia of the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church sui iuris in the US. Therefore, technically, each is a Church sui iuris, however, the two are a single entity for purposes of counting Eastern Churches.

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

Eparchial Catholic Churches sine episcopi (without hierarchs)

These are Churches �entrusted to hierarchs (not necessarily 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 a hierarchy or its principal See is vacant (sede vacante). All are of the Byzantine Greek or Slav Traditions.

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

Belarusan Greek-Catholic Church

Apostolic Exarch for the Byzantine Belarusan Catholics sede vacante

Note: The Apostolic Exarchate for Byzantine Belarusan Catholics, has been vacant since WWII, when the Church was civilly suppressed under Communist rule. The Church�s last hierarch, Bishop Vladimir Tarasevitch, OSB, of blessed memory, reposed in exile. The Church's rights were restored in 1989 but, to date, the See has not been reconstituted.

The prelates delegated responsibility (but not jurisdiction) for the Church at present are:

Right Reverend Mitred Archimandrite Sergius Gajek, MIC, Apostolic Visitator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis for Greek-Catholics in Belarus

Right Reverend Mitred Archpriest Alexander Nadson, Apostolic Visitator for Belarusan Greek- Catholics Outside Belarus

Georgian Greek-Catholic Church

Apostolic Exarch of Istanbul for the Byzantine Georgian Catholics sede vacante

Note: The Apostolic Exarchate of Istanbul for the Byzantine Georgian Catholics has been vacant since the martyrdom in odium fidei of the Servant of God Father Archimandrite & Exarch Shio Batmanishvili by the Communists in 1937. The single temple has been given over to the use and care of another Church sui iuris, there are less than 200 faithful, and there are no clergy.

His Excellency Bishop Louis Pel�tre, AA, (Latin) Vicar Apostolic of Istanbul is, effectively, locum tenens.

Russian Greek-Catholic Church

Apostolic Exarch of Moscow for Byzantine Russian Catholics sede vacante
Father Archimandrite Sergii Golovanov, Administrator, Apostolic Exarchate of Moscow for Byzantine Russian Catholics

Apostolic Exarch of Harbin for Russian Byzantines & All Oriental Rite Catholics in China sede vacante

Note: This Church has two jurisdictions with no formal canonical relationship between the two, and no one hierarch was ever designated as presiding the Church. Therefore, technically, each is a Church sui iuris, however, the two are a single entity for purposes of counting Eastern Churches.

Both jurisdictions were considered to have been vacant since the martyrdom in odium fidei of their last known incumbents. Blessed Father Archimandrite & Exarch Kliment Sheptitsky, Apostolic Exarch of Moscow reposed in 1951 and the Servant of God Father Archimandrite & Exarch Fabian Abrantovic, MIC, in 1946, while in custody of the Communist government.

It was long speculated that Moscow�s exarchial line had continued in peccatore (literally, �in the heart� of the Pope). Such appointments are used to protect individuals named to hierarchal positions and the faithful generally, in lands where the Church is under persecution or otherwise repressed. Those so designated are not publicly identified unless and until the circumstances which necessitated secrecy change; if that does not happen, the secret of the appointment dies, unrevealed, with the Pope involved.

Documents recently reviewed by Father Archimandrite Sergii reveal that the Russian Greek-Catholic Church�s last known hierarch, Bishop Andrei Katkov, of blessed memory, was designated Apostolic Exarch of Moscow, in camera (i.e., in secret), a subtle distinction based on the appointment having been revealed, albeit not publicly. Previously, Bishop Andrei was only known as an episcopus ordinans (i.e., ordaining bishop) without jurisdiction,

In response to action by the presbyterate of the Apostolic Exarchate of Moscow for Byzantine Russian Catholics to appoint an Administrator, Rome designated an Ordinary for Faithful of the Eastern Rites.

[Continued]

Communities with Jurisdictions but without sui iuris status

With one exception, the following ethnic or national communities are named in the titling of canonical jurisdictions within the Churches sui iuris indicated, but they do not themselves presently have a distinct sui iuris identity or status.

Czech Greek-Catholics
Apostolic Exarchate of the Czech Republic for Faithful of the Eastern Rites - Ruthenian Catholic Church

Eritreans
Eparchy of Asmara - Ethiopian Catholic Church
Eparchy of Barentu - Ethiopian Catholic Church
Eparchy of Keren - Ethiopian Catholic Church

Macedonian Greek-Catholics (non-Greek ethnicity)
Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia for Faithful of the Eastern Rites - Croatian Catholic Church

Montenegron Greek-Catholics
Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia & Montenegro - Croatian Catholic Church

Serbian Greek-Catholics
Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia & Montenegro - Croatian Catholic Church

Note: The significance of these canonical jurisdictions lies in the fact that they serve identifiable ethnic or national communities with Eastern or Oriental Catholic populations distinct from that of the Church sui iuris within which the jurisdiction is situated. Although one can find lists of Churches sui iuris which will include reference to one or more of these (most especially that of the Czechs) as being a Church sui iuris; none of them are presently so designated.

Whether any of them will be denoted as such in the future is an arguable question. Many would suggest that Rome is not inclined to create additional Churches within the sphere of Eastern & Oriental Catholicism, particularly as doing so might further antagonize ecumenical dialogue and relations with the Orthodox Churches. On the other hand, there are several examples in which cultural, ethnic, geo-political, and historical conflicts and differences exist between the peoples served by the parent and constituent jurisdictions. Such circumstances persuasively argue for the wisdom of separating the two into distinct ecclesial entities - notwithstanding concerns with regard to Churches being perceived as national or ethnic in orientation.

Relations between the Ethiopians and Eritreans are a case in point, exemplified by the organizational structure of their counterpart Orthodox brethren. The Eritrean Orthodox are closely allied with and were granted their Patriarchate by the Coptic Orthodox Church, rather than the Ethiopian Tewahado Orthodox Church. The other prime example involves �Greek-Catholics of the Former Republic of Yugoslavia� (a terminology that appears to have taken on an identity of its own) - these disparate peoples, especially the Croats and Serbs, have a history replete with antagonism and hostility at levels that argue persuasively against forging common identity, even one based on shared religious belief as its underlayment.

Ordinariates

All except one Ordinariate are headed by a ranking Latin hierarch of the nation in which each is situated.

Ordinariate of Argentina, Faithful of the Oriental Rites
Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, SJ, Ordinary

Note: The Ordinariate affords canonical oversight to 2,000 faithful. Its authority does not include Armenian or Maronite Catholics or Ukrainian Greek-Catholics, as those Churches each have an Eparchy in Argentina, nor does it encompass Melkite Greek-Catholics, whose Church has an Apostolic Exarchate in Argentina.

Ordinariate of Austria, Faithful of the Eastern Rites (Byzantine)
Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, OP, Ordinary

Note: The authority of the Austrian Ordinariate encompasses 8,000 faithful of Byzantine Rite Churches. It does not extend to Armenian Catholics, as that Church has an Ordinariate for its faithful in European nations who are not served by any of its other canonical jurisdictions.

Ordinariate of Brazil, Faithful of the Oriental Rites
Eusebio Oscar Cardinal Scheid, SCI, Ordinary

Note: The Ordinariate has canonical responsibility for 10,000 faithful of Churches other than those of the Maronite Catholics and the Melkite and Ukrainian Greek-Catholics, each of which has an Eparch in Brazil.

Ordinariate of France, Faithful of the Eastern Rites
Andre Armand Vingt-Trois, Ordinary

Note: The authority of the French Ordinariate is for 45,000 faithful of Churches other than the Armenian Catholic Church, which has an Eparchy in France, and the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, which has an Apostolic Exarchate.

Ordinariate of Poland, Faithful of the Eastern Rites
Jozef Cardinal Glemp, Ordinary

Note: The authority of the Polish Ordinariate does not include Ukrainian Greek-Catholics, as their Church has both an Arch-Eparchy and an Eparchy in Poland. As no Eastern or Oriental Catholic Church other than that of the Ukrainians has any substantial presence in Poland and the Ordinariate has failed to report data relative to numbers of faithful in 10 years, it appears that the jurisdiction may be suppressed de facto.

Ordinariate of Russia, Faithful of the Eastern Rites (unofficial)
Joseph Werth, SJ, Bishop of the (Latin) Diocese of Trasfigurazione a Novosibirsk

Note: To date, despite an announcement made to the effect, Rome has failed canonically erect the Ordinariate and formally publish the appointment of Bishop Werth according to the usual protocol for doing so.

[Continued]

Liturgies

The following links are to Eastern and Oriental Liturgies used by Catholics and Orthodox of the Church indicated. (As a general rule, distinctions in text between counterpart Churches will be limited to the diptychs or hierarchical commemorations.) The links vary in content: some are text only, others are photo sequences or videos, some include both text and audio-visual content. In a few select instances, links are to narrative descriptions, discussions, or explanations of particular excellence. (This list can and should be further expanded.)

Be patient, some of the sites are slow to load. In the case of linked pages to Donald Wyckoff's Spasi Hospodi site (several of those below), �next page� links are situated at the very bottom center of each page - not especially prominent - mixed in among links to the guestbook, etc. These links were all active when last checked, if any don�t work, please let me know.

Alexandrian Rite

The Spirituality of the Rites of th...c Orthodox Church - narrative discussion [saint-mary.net]

Understanding the Divine Liturgy - Coptic Orthodox Church - narrative discussion [stmarycoptorthodox.org]

Saint Basil Liturgy: Reference Book - Coptic Orthodox Church - narrative discussion with text [copticchurch.net]

Coptic Liturgy of Saint Basil - Coptic Orthodox Church - text [coptic.net]

The Divine Liturgy According to the...n Catholic Church - narrative discussion [kidane-mehret.org]

Liturgy Book of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church - text [ethiopianorthodoxchurch.org]

Antiochene Rite

Divine Liturgy - Syrian Orthodox Church - video [syrianorthodoxchurch.com]

Holy Qurbana - Syro-Malankarese Catholic Church - text [homestead.com]

Holy Qurbana - Syro-Malankarese Catholic Church - photo [homestead.com]

Armenian Rite

Soorp Badarak - Armenian Orthodox Church - narrative description [armenianchurch.net]

Soorp Badarak - Armenian Orthodox Church - text [cilicia.com]

Soorp Badarak - Armenian Catholic Church - photos [homestead.com]

Byzantine Rite

Byzantine Divine Liturgy - Melkite Greek-Catholic Church - text [rongolini.com]

Byzantine Divine Liturgy - Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church - text [homestead.com]

Byzantine Divine Liturgy - Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church - photo [homestead.com]

Chaldean Rite

Holy Liturgy - Assyrian Church - video [cired.org]

Holy Mass - Chaldean Catholic Church - text [ecah.homestead.com]

Holy Mass - Syro-Malabarese Catholic Church - text [homestead.com]

Maronite Rite

Service of the Divine Mysteries - Maronite Catholic Church - text [ecah.homestead.com]

[Continued]