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Does anyone know whether there are any Eastern Catholic churches, missions, etc in Asia?

I know that there are quite a few Orthodox missions.

Gordo

Glory to Jesus Christ!

By Asia I suppose you mean East Asia, and the Pacific rim countries, not the Levant or Southwest Asia (middle east).

I don't know but I speculate that there might be some expatriate populations somewhere.

Perhaps Maronites or Melkites in some Asian cities. But these are far more likely to be in Australia than in greater Asia I suppose. Possibly some communities of Ukrainian Catholics in Central Asia and Siberia.

There once was a small community of refugee Russian Catholics in China, no longer though. There were communities of Armenian Christians in India for many centuries, but I don't know if any of them were affiliated with the Catholic Armenian hierarchy.

So to me that leaves the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara communities in Kerala, India. These populations derive from where they are, they are native. I believe that they are both establishing themselves in northern India as well, due to migration.

But I am led to believe that the Eastern Catholic churches are not permitted to proselytise in areas that are not considered their own. In other words one would not see the Syro-Malankara church or the Ruthenian church establish missions in Manilla, Singapore or Hong Kong to convert the locals because they are not actually allowed to, and if their people were to move into those areas the local Ordinary must deal with it or not, as they see fit.

Rome has recognized Latin bishops as the Local Ordinaries almost everywhere and different Traditions will not be introduced by missionaries sent from Pittsburgh, Mucachevo or Ernakulam. I may have mis-read church policy but the only way that I know is permitted to these churches to expand is if their own populations migrate into new areas, and then these populations become the responsibility of the local Ordinary first, as a sort of caretaker for the community, not as a sponsor of evangelization for that Tradition. Only later will Rome erect an administration for the group if it grows significantly, the Eastern Catholic hierachy in the original homeland has little to no control in this process.

If the Ruthenians (for example) began to work among the population of Manilla, they might be considered "poaching" because the Philipines is considered Roman turf, even if some areas are poorly served.

In this respect the Orthodox churches have a lot more freedom to act upon an opportunity (within certain conventions, I cannot elaborate on them because I am largely unfamiliar). They will work in areas where they see a need and where they can be effective.

+T+
Michael

Michael,

Thank you for your post! It was both informative and helpful.

If what you say is true, it is a pathetic example of Latin bias against other churches contributing to the saving mission of Christ and the Church. I recognize the need for good order in ecclesial life, but the rules should not be stacked against legitimate churches fulfilling the missionary mandate of Christ.

Having just visited Tokyo, there is no doubt that it IS mission territory - since the overwhelming majority of people there are Buddhist, not Roman Catholic. Why could one not be a missionary to China or Japan and just evangelize the unconverted, without poaching existing jurisdictions?

In spite of any RC claims to the contrary, I secretly hope some day to do mission work there. (I have desired to be a missionary to China and East Asia - even short-term - since I was a boy. I have a friend who is a missionary in China right now, teaching ESL.) At times I believe that there is something enviable in the freedom of the Orthodox regarding their ability to do mission work without interference. At the same time, there is also the sickness of jurisdictionalism as well... Perhaps we Eastern Catholic Churches could push for reform?

Of course, North America is also critical mission territory!

Peace,

Gordo

There does not exist any blanket prohibition which would prevent any and all Eastern Catholic Churches from evangelizing everywhere in the world.

And, in addition, if enough of the faithful of one or another Eastern Catholic Church move to a specific locality, there is provision for that Eastern Catholic Church to organize pastoral care for her own faithful.

So it is doubly possible to have an Eastern Catholic Church in Tokyo, or Manila, or wherever. If it's simply a matter of the presence of a sufficient number of Eastern Catholics of a specific Church in such a place, they have only to get in touch with their own authority and request a priest. If the local Latin bishop objects (and on what possible basis?) the authority of the Eastern Church in question refers the matter to the Holy See, which will not attempt to forbid the Eastern Catholic group from having the necessary pastoral service.

If it's a question of evangelizing those who are not at present Christians, well, in order to start a Church some self-sacrificing person or persons with a missionary vocation must go and do it. Results will largely depend, of course, on the success of the missionary endeavor.

Incognitus

Thanks, incognitus. Having read your post, it certainly sounds like there are some checks and balances in the system.

Gordo

I think the only limitations to the successful missionary efforts of the Eastern Catholic Churches in Asia are people and funding.

The vanguard of the Latin Church in her evangelization efforts throughout Asia (and throughout the world, for that mattter) has always been religious priests and sisters, who are more committed than laymen. Funding the missions has been on automatic mode since time immemorial. On Mission Sunday every year, a separate collection is reserved for these religious missionaries in every parish Church worldwide.

The "new" frontier for missions in Asia are East Asia (China, Japan, Mongolia, and the Koreas), Southwest Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, and Afghanistan), and Southeast Asia (Mayanmar, Indo-China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia). The Philippines has been used or has acted as launching pad for such forays. These areas are home to 2/3, or about 4 billion, of all humanity!

Everybody is welcome to stake his claim!

Amado

Ok then, here is a question for anyone. Let's make it more specific.

If bishop John Kudrick of Parma wanted to establish a mission in Veracruz , Mexico, under his supervision could he just do it without seeking approvals from anyone? I am making the obvious assumption that he would be able to raise the funds and find a suitable priest.

Everyone weigh in here, priests and deacons included. I don't know the answer but I think quite a few here can enlighten me.

+T+
Michael

BUMP

It's been about 24 hours since I posted this last question, I really would like to get some ideas here.

Is it possible for a Byzantine Ruthenian bishop to send a missionary overseas without getting approvals from some other authority?

If we wanted to go to Hyderabad or Bangkok and build a Byzantine mission from scratch by conversion and extend the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh there, what complications could I expect from Rome or the local Ordinaries? Does the fact that the Byzantine Ruthenian church is Sui Iuris mean that it can establish itself anywhere it can put up an onion dome?

Thanks,
Michael, that sinner

Im not quite sure on this one Michael, but I believe that he could certainly establish a mission, not only in Veracruz but in other regions as well. The Melkite Eparchy, as far as I know, did not request any permission for example, but only notified the Archdiocese of Mexico City (of course back then we didn't have Norberto Cardinal Carrera). We are looking forward to open a mission probably in the State of Mexico and so far no bishop has argued anything against the plan.

God Bless

I think - and this is only my opinion - that the biggest barriers to mission activities are that we are too self-absorbed and inward looking. In the past, I think we have also been too ethnic which has prevented us from even trying to reach out to others.

Dear Coalescu:

It will be of interest to you that the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church now has a mission working in Xalapa (Veracruz State Capital), and a Bishop.

The Bishop came from some obscure vagant sect (I do not know if the orders are valid), switched briefly to the UOC-KP (Filaret), and now belongs to the UAOC (Moysey).

They've attracted a few Romanians, Greeks, Russians who have scarce contact with Orthodox parishes. I'm quite sure they would prefer to attend a Byzantine-Catholic parish.

If you're in Veracruz you should take a look at what they do.

Now, if you wish to open a Byzantine mission there I would rather call the Melkite Eparchy, who is suposed to serve Byzantine Rite not only to Arabs. It would be good to strenghten their eparchy with new faithful, than a separate mission.

(Eastern Christians in Mexico are divided in very small jurisdictions)

Hmmm. Why not, the Orthodox here in Manila already started "poaching" the RC's here.

I think the best way to extend the Byantine Ruthenian Catholic Metropolia here in Asia (hopefully here in the Philippines) is by establishing monasteries here. Why not ask the Byzantine Carmelite Nuns (OCD) of Sugarloaf, Pensylvania to found a monatsery here?

I have often had a dream of reviving the old Harbin Lyceum, albeit in a city with gentler weather... Shanghai or Hongkong perhaps?

We could make it a headquarters for Byzantine evangelism of East Asia. Of course the curriculum will have Greek, Latin, Church Slavonic, English, French and Russian/Ukrainian as compulsory elements, with an East Asian language option - Chinese, Japanese or Korean. Perhaps even other Asian languages?

I'd be quite willing to work towards this end, but I have no idea of the feasibility of the idea, or if anyone else out there might be interested.

Perhaps I'm rambling...

If Rome will bring the Exarchate back, I'll be there in a few seconds - if they let me bring the goats.