www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Greaty Unity Among Byzantine Catholics in the "Diaspora"?

As you know, in the diaspora, Eastern Catholics (similar to Eastern Orthodox) are split into different sui juris churches with different hierarchies, often overseas. In many cases, connections with these foreign hierarchies are psychologically and culturally important. But, even allowing for that, shouldn't there be greater unity among Eastern Catholics here in the United States?

For example, there are several areas (I live in one) where there are Eastern Catholic Churches from different sui juris churches in the same area -- Ukranians, Melkites, Ruthenians. There are hardly any activities, joint outreach, cooperation or anything of the sort between these various parishes. Why? Shouldn't there be greater unity? Couldn't we present a stronger witness, both Eastern and generally Christian, together? Shouldn't we try to be an example to the Orthodox that these types of issues can be overcome, rather than replicating their jurisdictionalism in our own Catholic sui juris world?

I'm not saying canonical unity at this time is a good idea, but rather other forms of inter-church cooperation between Byzantine Catholics of different sui juris churches.

What do you think?

Melkite1

It's happening in some places.

In Phoenix the various Eastern Catholic Churches celebrate Theophany together taking turns each year hosting the celebration. This year they invited and were joined by the local Assyrian parish (in addition to the Chaldean Catholic, Ukrainian & Ruthenian and Melkite Catholic parishes.)I haven't confirmed if the Assyrian priest concelebrated or not with the Eastern Catholic priests (it was held at the Ukrainian Catholic parish this year).

They also just had a joint Saturday picnic for all the various Eastern Catholic parishes. The pastors of these parishes get together once a month and have lunch and discuss concerns. They are also working out ways to help each other out when they are short a priest for a particular Sunday.

Dave Ignatius DTBrown@aol.com
Medford, Oregon

In some areas where Eastern Catholics are few, there is sharing of building facilities. In Los Gatos, CA, for instance, the Ruthenians and Melkites share a church; in San Diego the Ruthenian parish hosted the Melkites for a time, and I believe still do share their space w/ the Maronites.

CHRIST IS RISEN! Dear Melkite1, I find your idea very interesting and potentially fruitful. I think it's similar to my views expressed in topic entitled "One autonomous ("sui iuris") Church for all Byzantine ("Greek") Catholic Slavs"; our shared central point is - if I understand you well - that Eastern Catholics should gather and develop close cooperation among them. Of course, I am not an United States resident, so my views on church problems there are not of much worth. In Poland situation is quite different. An Ukrainian metropolitanate exists (two eparchies only!), other Eastern Churches have no hierarchy here. The Latin Metropolitan of Warsaw is also "ordinary for Eastern Catholics, who reside in Poland and have not ordinary of proper Rite(!-P.S.; despite new Code's prescriptions, Apostolic Nuncio and Latin hierarchy continues to use the term "Rite" instead of "Church")". There are two small gropus under jurisdiction of this "Latin ordinary for Eastern Catholics". The first are Armenians, having one-two priests and three pastoral centers: 1)Holy Trinity Parish in Gliwice (Upper Silesia) with proper church; local pastor Fr. Jozef (Joseph) Kowalczyk is vicar general for Armenians, if I recall well; this parish has a small webpage (http://www.kuria.gliwice.pl/podzial/gliwice/ormianie.html); 2) Gdansk - a chapel at Sts. Peter&Paul Latin Church (Gdansk is a big city and port in northern Poland, craddle of "Solidarity"); 3)Cracow - St.Isaac Latin Church (built in XII century). Armenian Church in Poland has about three thousand of faithful, I suppose. They were expelled from Galicia region (western Ukraine) after WW2, as a result of mass force migrations of people: Ukrainians had to leave post-war Communist Poland, Poles (Armenians were ethnically Polonised) had to leave former eastern territories of pre-war Polish State included by Stalin into the Soviet Union. The second group are about 300 faithful of Podlachia region (eastern Poland), who belong to St.Nicetas Parish in Kostomloty, headed by titular Archimandrite Roman (Ryszard Pietka) priest from Marian Fathers' Order. They are ethnic Ukrainians, but without clear national consciousnes. Russian "Synodal" Rite is observed in Kostomloty. The parish was founded in 1927 during so called "neo-union" action, when Polish Latin Bishops from territories which before 1914 had been a part of Russian Empire tried to revive the Union (liquidated by Tsarist regime in XIX century) by creating Eastern parishs with Russian (not Ukrainian/Bielorussian, like in former Uniate Church of those lands) rite. That action has very small effect upon Orthodox - only about 20-30 thousand from about 3,5 million of them became "neo-Uniates". After WW2 only one parish has remained - this in Kostomloty. There is no cooperation between us from Ukrainian Metropolitanate and those from "multiritual ordinariate". It seems to me rather sad... Peter PS. Dear Melkite1, could you answer my topic in "Byzantine Town Hall"?


[This message has been edited by Piotr Siwicki (edited 05-14-99).]

GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST!

Hi Everyone!

Must admit I like the unity idea. However, our own churches can't agree on things, so how can different branches of the different Eastern churches.

In the Ruthenian church, Passaic made changes in the Divine liturgy, the same as the changes made in Parma. Pittsburgh didn't make the changes and I think the new bishop in Parma let parishes go back to the "old" liturgy if they wanted.

This is unity????

I have hosted ikon writing workshops here where I live and get more co-operation from Latin Catholics and Orthodox than from the local Eastern Rite parishes.

Blessings to all!

Dear Medved:

I can see you point, but I'm not sure that ensuring liturgical uniformity is the hallmark of the unity of the Church. (I believe that some of the changes made in Passiac are ill-advised; I am VERY fond of lots of psalm verses in the antiphons, and any other opportunities for the people to sing their hearts outl). But, nonetheless, I don't see lock-step uniformity as a sign of ecclesiastical unity.

I'm not sure why there is not a better respose to the icon writing sessions that you offer. Perhaps you have the 'wrong' name (you know what I mean), or perhaps the idea of teaching folks to write icons seems too 'orthodox' for some of the parishes. Just a thought.

Best wishes!

i thought after WW-II that there were signs of moving towards "one world" but it seems there has rather been a fragmenting in the interest of each group having an independence from any larger group. how many countries emerge, have emerged since 1945? and the church has been on that path for some time. i was reading st vladimir's qtly and an article was on the split between moscow annd constantinople, and mentions the creation of patriarchates or autocephalouos churches in the slav region. we have spent 2000 years splitting to give almost everyone one theier own church, sui juris; although i believe in one church, the Body of Christ, i doubt that any move towards re-integrating hs much future. the reason for the split was the fact of perception that one group had power over another group and used that powere in ways which were not acceptable to the minor group. look at the byzantine catholics? the ruthenians and the ukrainians. look at the ukrainian orthodox, ukr catholic, ukr autocephalous orthodox, as well as ruthenian and all the russian churches. in northeast mpls a church emerged on every corner, often literally, so that each group could have their own church. after fr toth was rejeted by the latin bishop (at that time a bishopo not yet an archbishop), he formed the greek catholic russian orthodox church; then a byzantine catholic church was founded; but one group split off, the galicians; then much later some of them split off for an ukr orthodox. so, it is nice to play with lovely ideal ideas for organization and unity. but any cooperation comes from work, charity, work, charity, time... look what has come from some of the ecumencial movements of our time.