Resources/Links

[deogratias]

Zenit.org has a section that addresses various liturgical questions - some of them that I have not seen discussed here are:

Preparation of the Gifts

Eucharist for Non-Catholics

Formators as Witnesses to and Collaborators with God's Grace [

Ad-libbing the Prayers of the Faithful

Substituting the "Lamb of God"

Why Water With Wine "

Should Lectors Sit in the Pews?

"And Also With You"

How Brides Should Dress

Crucifixes, Bows and Celebrants' Palms

Decorating the Sanctuary

Let the Little Children Run?

Penitential Rite in the Mass

Anonymity in the Confessional

Confirmation and the Laity's Role

Washing of Women's Feet on Holy Thursday?

Cruise Line Rent-a-Priest

Preparing the Corporal on the Altar

Communion Service Instead of Mass?

Hosts From the Tabernacle

"Through Him, With Him ..."

Where the Tabernacle Should Be

Sounds of Silence

What About 1967's "Musicam Sacram"?

Exposition of the Eucharist by a Layperson?

Gregorian Chant in the Parish

Non-Catholics Distributing the Precious Blood

Is the Consecration Gradual?

Communion for Late Arrivals at Mass?

Can Priest Go Down Aisle at the Kiss of Peace?

Words After the Gospel

Do Stoles Suffice If Chasubles Are Available?

What About Inappropriately Dressed Lectors?

Liturgy: Are Glass Chalices OK for Mass?

[Therese Martin]

Notice:

For the benefit of participants, this thread has been made a sticky.

[corrgc]

My fellow Christians,

Does the Church (Vatican, Individual Diocese) keep documents that show the succession of bishops ? Is there a way to trace my bishop back to an individual apostle ? Are all bishops from the USA in direct lineage to a specific apostle ?

My curiosity abounds....

Thanks for your help!

Sincerely in Christ,

Corrgc

[Irish Melkite]

Originally Posted by corrgc

Does the Church (Vatican, Individual Diocese) keep documents that show the succession of bishops ? Is there a way to trace my bishop back to an individual apostle ? Are all bishops from the USA in direct lineage to a specific apostle ?

Coorgc,

You need to consider two terms Apostolic Succession and Episcopal Lineage which, though related, are not interchangeable.

Apostolic Succession, as it applies to the Papal claim (from the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 ed.):

…"To succeed" is to be the successor of, especially to be the heir of, or to occupy an official position just after, … Now the Roman Pontiffs come immediately after, occupy the position, and perform the functions of St. Peter; they are, therefore, his successors. (This is proven by the fact) that St. Peter came to Rome, and ended there his pontificate; (and) that the Bishops of Rome who came after him held his (identical) official position in the Church.

The same points of proof apply to apostolic succession in any subordinate See.

Episcopal Lineage effectively means that every valid, Catholic bishop living today was consecrated by the "laying on of hands" by another bishop who was consecrated by a previous bishop, and so on, back to the Apostles, without interruption of continuity.

The existence of a list of Popes, from Peter through Benedict XVI, establishes Apostolic Succession in the Papacy. The list establishes that the Chair of Peter has been successively occupied since Peter's repose. That fact supports an arguable presumption for Episcopal Lineage, i.e., that each Pope was, during his tenure, in possession of valid episcopal orders, conferred on him by another bishop, who was himself in possession of valid episcopal orders, and so on, back to Saint Linus, Peter's immediate successor. If Popes personally consecrated their successors, Apostolic Succession and Episcopal Lineage would be coincident but, as we know, that’s not what is done.

That said, it is virtually impossible to document the names of all bishops in an Episcopal Lineage back to one of the Twelve Apostles because record-keeping at that level of detail is either not extant or does not consistently exist, historically. It is highly likely, however, that your bishop's episcopal lineage can be traced to Scipione Cardinal Rebiba, Bishop of Sabina, of blessed memory, who was born in 1504, elected bishop 16 March 1541, and reposed on 23 July 1577.

That isn't all that remarkable; in 1998, the episcopal lineage of more than 90% of the 4,300+ Latin bishops then living could ultimately be traced directly to Scipione Rebiba. It isn’t that Cardinal Rebiba was so prolific as a consecrator, but that among the episcopal descendents of his consecration was Pope Benedict XIII (to whom Rebiba would have been the 6-times "great grand-bishop", to further the analogy of episcopal descent). During his episcopacy and pontificate, Pope Benedict XIII was the principal consecrator of 139 bishops, many of whom were Ordinaries of important dioceses and who, in turn, ordained many bishops themselves.

Since the early 20th century, investigation into and cataloguing of episcopal lineages has been ongoing, conducted by a small number of researchers, primarily laypersons, most of them doing it on their own time and without compensation. They have documented the lineages of thousands of bishops, stretching back through several centuries; related endeavors have focused on the history of canonical jurisdictions.

The results of much of this research are viewable on the web.

(continued)

[Irish Melkite]

A good friend, Charles Bransom, is the principal quasi-official recorder of episcopal lineages. He has been involved in this task for 4 decades, continuing efforts begun in the '30s by Father Albert Perbal, OMI, and Abbot Gabriel Tissot, OSB, and continued in the '50s and '60s by Fathers Andre Chapeau, OSB, Isidore Perraud, CSSp, and Fernand Combaluzier, CM, Msgr. Lamberto de Echeverria, and Mons.Jean Montier.

Charles’ work documenting American episcopal lineages from 1790-1989 was published by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1990 (a follow-up, to bring it up-to-date, is in process). Annually, he issues Revue des Ordinations Episcopales, a monograph that, for the past 15 years, has documented the details of every Catholic episcopal ordination throughout the world, including date, place, names of consecrator and principal co-consecrators, biographical data related to each new hierarch, and an abbreviated episcopal lineage for each. Those in the Boston area may have seen the lineage of Archbishop Sean O’Malley, OFM, prepared by Charles, that was printed in the Pilot, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, at the time of Archbishop O'Malley's assignment. See Charles' documentation of the late Pope John Paul's episcopal lineage at: Episcopal Lineage of HH John Paul II

For a discussion by Charles about The Rebiban Succession, see Episcopal Lineages & Apostolic Succession.

David Cheney (who posts here as davidc2), an American Catholic layman, maintains an on-line database that documents current and historical information about hierarchs and canonical jurisdictions. His is one of the most thoroughly documented sites on the web and one of a half-dozen that, together, constitute an enormously valuable compendium of data on Catholic hierarchs and jurisdictions. It's an ongoing work, with historical material continually updated to incorporate newly available data, and information added whenever new hierarchs are named or changes made in any jurisdiction. David offers a free e-mail notification service to keep subscribers immediately abreast of changes. The site is at: Catholic Hierarchy

von Martin Wolters, a German Catholic layman, documents ecclesiastical jurisdictions and their ordinaries worldwide, as well as the Vatican diplomatic corps, the Vatican dicasteries, and other Curial entities. Both jurisdictional and personnel changes are recorded for all events occurring in or after 1917. The site is available in German and English at: Die Apostolische Nachfolge (The Apostolic Sucession)

Professor Salvador Miranda, a Cuban-American Catholic layman, has devoted 50 years to collecting data on the cardinalate, The result is a comprehensive, and ever-growing, on-line database that offers extraordinary detail about those on whom the red hat has been conferred: Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Three Norwegian Catholics, Father Claes Tande, Mr. Chris Nyborg, Notary of the Oslo Diocesan Tribunal, and Father Claes’ brother (whose name escapes me at the moment) maintain a web-database that seeks to document the chronological history of all Catholic canonical jurisdictions. Their site, offered in 6 languages, including English, is under continuous expansion. It is at: Chronology of Erections of Catholic Dioceses Worldwide

Bob Hilkens, a Belgian Catholic layman, created and maintains a large on-line database in English on the history and administrative structures of the nations of the world. Originally limited to secular states, he expanded it some years ago to include the canonical structure of the Catholic Church. His site is at: States and Regents of the World

Bruce Gordon has expanded a site that initially focused solely on royal houses to include a significant amount of data on ecclesiastical lineages, particularly as they relate to the patriarchates. His site is at: Regnal Chronologies

Additionally, there is a site maintained by Terry Boyle, an American Catholic layman, which explains the apostolic succession and episcopal lineage of bishops who claim validity through consecration by renegade Catholic and Orthodox hierarchs. Albeit seen through a distorted lensfinder, it offers another aspect of the entire picture. It's at: Outline of Episcopi Vagante

(continued)

[Irish Melkite]

The coordinated efforts of these people, who regularly exchange info among themselves, has resulted in extraordinary detail being available as to the canonical structure of the Church and its hierarchs.

Although there is overlap in some instances, each site offers particulars in its data or the way in which it is presented, that makes it an important piece of the whole historical understanding.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, a couple of years ago, was quoted in A Vision of Christian Unity for the Next Generation as saying:

Even if someone states that episcopal lineage of any one, or even any of the Bishops, cannot be historically traced back to a certain Apostle, that is not necessarily a denial of Apostolic Succession. Rather, it may be a simple acknowledgment of what, up to now, is the case, until further historical documents are found.

The Cardinal was acknowledging the human aspects involved in documentating Apostolic Succession.

Multiple factors play negatively into maintaining sustained and ongoing documentation at this level of record-keeping over a span of two millenia: illiteracy; fires; environmental factors; persecutions; war, with its accompanying pillage and destruction; the ephemeral nature of scribed documents; geographic dispersal; isolation. Each of these considerations alone accounts for the absence or destruction of untold thousands of records. Frankly, that the apostolic succession of the most prominent hierarchical lines - those of the papacy and the patriarchates - has survived is remarkable in itself.

Some argue that in a time when the Church was spread across significantly less of the globe, the numbers of bishops would have been correspondingly less than, for instance, the 4300+ that I referenced as alive in 1998, and, therefore, it should have been easier to keep track of individual episcopal genealogies. In fact, though, it must be remembered that in earliest times, the difficulty of travel being what it was, it was not uncommon that the senior presbyter in each individual church was a bishop; that developed over time into "town" and "country" (rural) bishops and only later to bishops being situated only in the principal civil locales and larger population centers.

As an example of the sizeable numbers of hierarchs that existed in some places during the early centuries, consider that there were more than 100 bishops in the See of Alexandria alone by 320 AD. As late as the 13th century, the Assyrian Church of the East, geographically and theologically isolated from Catholicism and Orthodoxy for centuries at that point in time, had more than 30 metropolitan sees and over 200 dioceses spread across Persia and into China.

In reading His Eminence's words, he also seems to have been making a point about tracing Apostolic Succession back to the body of Apostles, what he refers to as the apostolic collegium. I am a bit uncertain as to whether his point was to refute an argument (which I have to admit never having heard) that the validity of apostolic succession rests on initiation of the chain by one Apostle (probably Peter, if that were to indeed be someone's basis for argumentation), who would have been the one to confer the right of succession on each of his confreres.

As I see the problem and its possible solution, it is not a question of apostolic succession in the sense of an historical chain of laying on of hands running back through the centuries to one of the apostles; this would be a very mechanical and individualistic vision, which by the way historically could hardly be proved and ascertained. The Catholic view is different from such an individualistic and mechanical approach. Its starting point is the collegium of the apostles as a whole; together they received the promise that Jesus Christ will be with them till the end of the world (Matt 28, 20). So after the death of the historical apostles they had to co–opt others who took over some of their apostolic functions. In this sense the whole of the episcopate stands in succession to the whole of the collegium of the apostles.

To stand in the apostolic succession is not a matter of an individual historical chain but of collegial membership in a collegium, which as a whole goes back to the apostles by sharing the same apostolic faith and the same apostolic mission. The laying on of hands is under this aspect a sign of co-optation in a collegium.

It seems to me that Cardinal Kaspar was acknowledging that, at some point, one may have to substitute belief for tangible evidence, in the form of an episcopal genealogy. As someone who can trace my own ancestors, with certitude, through only about 5 generations, I'm fairly impressed with anyone whose episcopal credentials can be documented back to Scipione Cardinal Rebiba.

Many years,

Neil

[Irish Melkite]

To return to the issue of the original poster's question:

Originally Posted by Dimmers

Exactly how many Catholic Churches are there?

There are a variety of answers - how correct any one answer is depends on the definition one uses. I'll try to get to the issues that a few other folks have tried to make the raison d'etre for this thread but, first, let me answer the question that I think you were actually asking - which was "how many Catholic Churches are there that are in communion with Rome?"

Some of the answers afforded to you focused on Rites, rather than Churches - a common misconception - and the links provided don't contain a fully accurate list. So, let's try again.


There are 23 Churches sui iuris that, together, constitute the Catholic Church - 1 Western and 22 Eastern and Oriental Churches. (The term sui iuris means, literally, "of their own law", or self-governing.) Of these, the Latin Church is the most populous and well-known. In fact, many Catholics and non-Catholics alike are unaware of the Catholic Church in any manifestation other than that of its Latin or Western constituent.

The 23 Churches, despite significant diversity in their liturgical praxis, spirituality, and other respects, as explained below, are in communion with one another and with the Pope. Although the manner in which their beliefs are expressed and understood differ in some instances, they also have a shared adherence to the teachings enunciated by the Magesterium.

Eastern & Oriental Catholic Rites & Churches

Eastern & Oriental Catholic Churches sui iuris

The Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches generally represent bodies of persons whose ancestors entered into communion with Rome from the Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Churches. As a consequence, there is a counterpart Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Church to every Eastern or Oriental Catholic Church except two - the Maronite Catholic Church and the Italo-Grieco-Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church. The usual reason advanced as to why these two Churches have no counterpart among the Orthodox Churches is that neither was ever separated from Rome.

Churches that utilize the Byzantine Rite, technically, are properly styled 'Eastern Catholic Churches', with most of the remainder appropriately termed 'Oriental Catholic'; the Maronite and Chaldean Catholic Churches properly fall into neither classification but, for convenience, are usually discussed in common with the Oriental Catholic Churches.

These distinctions mirror those made among the counterpart Orthodox Churches (i.e., the Churches known as Eastern Orthodox also serve their Divine Liturgy according to the Byzantine Rite; the Oriental Orthodox do not). In point of fact, however, both 'Eastern Catholic' and 'Oriental Catholic' are often employed as umbrella terms to encompass all Catholic Churches sui iuris other than the Latin or Western Church.

[Oriental Catholic is popularly used as an umbrella term by the Vatican; to confuse the issue, many others are inclined to use Eastern Catholic in that same context]

Rite versus Church
For a long time, each body of Eastern and Oriental Catholics was referred to by a name reflective of its historical 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 at 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 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'.

(continued)

[Irish Melkite]

Eastern & Oriental Catholic Rites

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 difficult to maintain over time, as the number of clergy increased, local cultures and customs began to be woven into the rituals used, and both travel and communication were hampered by geography and the limited means available to make and maintain contact between churches and clerics.

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

Of late, Chaldean has been added to the list of Rites, being formally cited as such in the CCEO or Eastern Code of Canon Law. Historically, Chaldean praxis had, until recently, always been classed as being of the East Syrian Tradition within the Antiochene Rite. There are two possible reasons to account for the recent recognition accorded to it as a Rite unto itself:

• the change may relate to a 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 the Assyrians most commonly use (as was also true of the Anaphora used by the Chaldeans, prior to their reception into communion with Rome); or,
  
• it may reflect a desire on Rome's part to have a distinct Rite associated with each of the Eastern and Oriental Patriarchates.

The Latin, Armenian, Chaldean, and Maronite Rites are each 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.

The Eastern and Oriental Rites are:

• Alexandrian
• Antiochian
• Armenian
• Byzantine
• Chaldean
• Maronite

Traditions, Rescensions, Usages

Traditions are breakdowns within a Rite that principally reflect variations of culture or ecclesial language. Within some Traditions, there are also what are styled Rescensions.

Rescensions occur where there has been further defining of the form of worship by characteristics unique to one or more of the Churches in a Tradition.

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

The breakout then is:

• Rite
  • Tradition
    • Rescension
      • Church
        • Usage
          • Jurisdiction
            • Dependent Jurisdiction

Note that Jurisdictions and Dependent Jurisdictions have only been included where there is some meaningful distinction that made it important to do so.

Within the Italo-Grieco-Albanian, Russian, and Ruthenian Catholic Churches, there separate canonical jurisdictions that, technically, each constitute a separate Church sui iuris since there is no formal canonical relationship between or among the jurisdictions and none of the hierarchs are singularly designated as the Church's principal hierarch.

(continued)

[Irish Melkite]

This tree illustrates the structural relationships among the Churches:

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

• Antiochene Rite
  • West Syrian Tradition
    • • Syriac Catholic Church
  • • • Syro-Malankarese Catholic Church
  • • • • Knanya Usage

• Armenian Rite
  • • Armenian Catholic Church

• Byzantine Rite
  • Byzantine-Greek Tradition
    • Greek Rescension
      • Albanian Greek-Catholic Church
      • Byzantine Greek Catholic Church
    • Grieco-Arabic Rescension
      • Melkite Greek-Catholic Church
    • Grieco-Georgian Rescension
      • Georgian Greek-Catholic Church
    • Grieco-Italian Rescension
      • Byzantine Italo-Grieco-Albanian Catholic Church
    • • • • Italo-Albanian Catholic Church - Eparchy of Lungro degli Italo-Albanesi in Calabria
          • Italo-Albanian Catholic Church - Eparchy of Piana in Sicily degli Albenisi
          • Italo-Greek Catholic Church - Exarchic Abbey & Territorial Monastery of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata degli Italo-Grieco

• • Byzantine-Slav Tradition
    • Great Russian Rescension
      • Belarusan Greek-Catholic Church
      • Bulgarian Greek-Catholic Church
      • Russian Greek-Catholic Church
    • • • • Apostolic Exarchate of Harbin
          • Apostolic Exarchate of Moscow
        • Old Ritualist Usage
    • Ruthenian (Little Russian) Rescension
      • Croatian Greek-Catholic Church
    • • • • Eparchy of Krizveci of the Croat Greek-Catholics
            • Apostolic Exarchate of the Macedonian Greek-Catholics
            • Apostolic Exarchate of the Serbian & Montenegron Greek-Catholics
      • Hungarian Greek-Catholic Church
      • Romanian Greek-Catholic Church
        • • only Eparchy of Maramoras of the Romanians
      • Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church
        • • Ruthenian Metropolitan Catholic Church - Metropolitinate of Pittsburgh
          • Ruthenian Eparchial Catholic Church - Eparchy of Mukachevo
            • Apostolic Exarchate of the Czech Greek-Catholics
      • Slovakian Greek-Catholic Church
      • Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church

• Chaldean Rite
  • East Syrian Tradition
    • Assyrian Rescension
      • Chaldean Catholic Church
        • Arabic Usage
    • Malabarese Rescension
      • Syro-Malabarese Catholic Church
        • Kananya Usage
        • Syriac Usage

• Maronite Rite
  • • • Maronite Catholic Church

note: The inclusion of 'Byzantine' in styling the Greek and Italo-Grieco-Albanian Catholic Churches reflects the fact that 'Greek' is already an integral part of the cultural and ethnic heritage reflected in their names. The US Metropolitinate of the Ruthenian 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 their origins.

(continued)

[Irish Melkite]

Other Classifications of Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches and Jurisdictions

Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches are also categorized by the type of canonical jurisdiction or rank of a Church's primatial hierarch. Thus, there are:

• Patriarchal Churches sui iuris
• Major Arch-Episcopal Churches sui iuris
• Metropolitan Churches sui iuris
• Episcopal (or Eparchial) Churches sui iuris

There are three additional classifications applicable to bodies of Eastern and Oriental Catholic faithful, two of which are not sui iuris entities:

• Churches sui iuris which are presently deprived of hierarchy
• Communities with Jurisdictions but without sui iuris status
• Ordinariates for Faithful of the Oriental and Eastern Rites

Patriarchal Churches sui iuris

There are 6 Eastern & Oriental Catholic Patriarchal Churches. The incumbents of the patriarchal offices are:

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

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

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

Coptic Catholic Church
His Holiness Stephanos II (Andraos) Cardinal Ghattas, CM, 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

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 Arch-Episcopal Churches sui iuris

There are 4 Eastern & Oriental Catholic Major Arch-Episcopal Churches. These and the incumbents of the Major Arch-Episcopal offices are:

Romanian Greek-Catholic Church
His Eminence Lucian Muresan, Archepiscopus Majore of the Romanian Greek-Catholics United With Rome and Metropolitan Arch-Eparch of Alba Iulia and Fagares of the Byzantine Romanians

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

Syro-Malankarese Catholic Church
His Eminence The Most Reverend Cyril Mar Baselios Malancharuvil, OIC, MADD, JCL, Archepiscopus Majore and Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholics and Metropolitan Arch-Eparch of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankara

Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church
His Eminence Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, Archepiscopus Majore of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholics & Metropolitan Arch-Eparch of Lviv of the Byzantine Ukrainians

Metropolitan Churches sui iuris

There are 2 Eastern and Oriental Catholic Metropolitan Churches sui iuris. They and the incumbents of their primatial offices are:

Ethiopian (& Eritrean) Catholic Church
His Excellency Metropolitan Berhane-Yesus Demerew Souraphiel, CM, Arch-Eparch of Addis Ababa of the Ethiopian Catholics

Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church
His Eminence Metropolitan Basil Myron Schott, O.F.M., Arch-Eparch of Pittsburgh for the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholics in the United States

(continued)

[Irish Melkite]

Episcopal (or Eparchial) Churches sui iuris

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

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

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

These Churches and presiding hierarchs are:

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

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

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

(Byzantine) Greek Catholic Church
His Excellency, Bishop Anárghyros Printesis, Apostolic Exarch of Athens for the Faithful of the Eastern Rites & the Byzantine Greek Catholics

Hungarian Greek-Catholic Church
His Excellency Szilárd Keresztes, Bishop of the Eparchy of Hajdúdorog of the Byzantine Hungarian Catholics

Slovak Greek-Catholic Church
His Excellency Ján Babjak, SJ, Bishop of the Eparchy of Presov of the Byzantine Slovakian Catholics

Two Episcopal Churches sui iuris require explanation as to certain factors unique to them.

Byzantine Italo-Grieco-Albanian Catholic Church

This Church has 3 separate and independent jurisdictions, which have no formal canonical relationship between or among them. None of the three presiding hierarchs is singularly designated as the presiding hierarch of the Church. Thus, although they are counted as a single Church sui iuris, they are, technically, three distinct Churches.

The hierarchs and jurisdictions are:

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

His Excellency Sotìr Ferrara, Bishop of the Eparchy of Piana degli Albenisi [for the Albanians] in Sicily

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

Ruthenian Greek-Catholic Church

This Church, and its suffragn jurisdiction, situated in the East Europe homeland of its faithful, has no formal canonical relationship with the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Metropolitan Church sui iuris in the United States. As a result, it is technically a Church sui iuris unto itself, although the two are considered a single entity in counting Churches sui iuris.

It is presided by His Excellency Milan Sasek, CM, Apostolic Administrator of the Eparchy of Mukaèevo of the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholics.

(continued)

[Irish Melkite]

Churches sui iuris Deprived of Hierarchy

Eastern Catholic Churches sui iuris “entrusted to hierarchs (not of the Rite) who preside over (the Church) as per the norms of common and particular laws” (hierarchs locum tenens) are those which were never formally organized with a hierarchy or have only vacant Sees.

Belarusan Greek-Catholic Church

The hierarchical jurisdiction, the Apostolic Exarchate for the Byzantine Belarusan Catholics, is sede vacante and has been since after WWII, when the Church was suppressed and the repose in exile of Bishops Cheslav Sipovich, MIC, and Vladimir Tarasevitch, OSB, both of blessed memory, the last Byzantine Belarusan hierarchs. The Church's rights were restored in 1989, but the See has not been reconstituted.

Right Reverend Father Archimandrite Sergius Gajek, MIC, is presently Apostolic Visitator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis for Greek-Catholics in Belarus and Right Reverend Father Archimandrite Alexander Nadson, MIC, is Apostolic Visitator for Belarusan Greek-Catholics Outside Belarus.

Georgian Greek-Catholic Church

The Apostolic Exarchate of Istanbul for the Byzantine Georgian Catholics has been sede vacante since the martyrdom in odium fidei of the Servant of God Father Archimandrite and Exarch Shio Batmanishviii, of thrice-blessed memory, by the Communists in 1937.

His Excellency Bishop Louis Pelâtre, AA, [Latin] Vicar Apostolic of Istanbul is locum tenens. The viability of the Church is in question. There is a single parish and less than 500 faithful, but at last report there are no clergy of the Church and the pastoral care of the faithful is in the hands of other Byzantine clergy in the city.

Russian Greek-Catholic Church

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

The jurisdictions are:

The Apostolic Exarchate of Moscow for Byzantine Russian Catholics in Russia and the Apostolic Exarchate of Harbin for Russian Byzantines and All Oriental Rite Catholics in China. Both are sede vacante since the martyrdom in odium fidei of their incumbents, Blessed Father Archimandrite & Exarch Kliment Sheptitsky and the Servant of God Father Archimandrite & Exarch Fabian Abrantovic, MIC, both of thrice-blessed memory, under the Communists. The Church's last hierarch, Bishop Andrei Katkov, of blessed memory, an episcopus ordinans without jurisdiction, reposed in 1996.

(Technically, the Albanian Greek-Catholic Church is also of this category, as an Apostolic Administrator, is not a presiding hierarch in the strictest definition of that phrase.)

Communities with Jurisdictions but without sui iuris Status

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

(continued)

[Irish Melkite]

Ordinariates for Faithful of the Oriental & Eastern Rites

There are also jurisdictions termed 'Ordinariates'. Historically, these have been jurisdictions within a predominately Latin Rite nation for Faithful of the Eastern & Oriental Rites within that nation who are not under the pastoral care of a hierarch of their own Church.

Ordinariates are generally erected in places where there are a substantial number of Eastern or Oriental Catholics but no canonical jurisdiction of their own Church has yet been erected. The Ordinary is usually the principal Latin hierarch in that country.

Presently, the following Ordinariates exist:

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

The authority of the Argentinian Ordinariate does not extend to Armenian Catholics, Maronite Catholics, or Ukrainian Greek-Catholics, as those Churches each have an Eparchy in Argentina, nor does it encompass Melkite Greek-Catholics, as that Church has an Apostolic Exarchate in Argentina.

Ordinariate of Austria for Faithful of the Eastern (Byzantine) Rites
His Eminence Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP, Ordinary

The authority of the Austrian Ordinariate is limited to Byzantine or Eastern Catholics, as the only substantial Oriental Catholic presence is Armenian and that Church has its own Ordinariate for areas of Europe not within any of its other canonical jurisdictions.

Ordinariate of Brazil for Faithful of the Oriental Rites
His Eminence Eusébio Oscar Cardinal Scheid, SCI, Ordinary

The authority of the Brazilian Ordinariate does not extend to Maronite Catholics or Melkite Greek-Catholics, as those Churches each have an Eparchy in Brazil.

Ordinariate of France for Faithful of the Eastern (Byzantine) Rites
His Excellency André Armand Vingt-Trois, Bishop Ordinary

The authority of the French Ordinariate is limited to Byzantine or Eastern Catholics, as the only substantial Oriental Catholic presence is Armenian and that Church has an Eparchy in France; it also does not include Byzantine Ukrainian Catholics, as that Church has an Apostolic Exarchate in France.

Ordinariate of Poland for Faithful of the Eastern Rites
Józef Cardinal Glemp, Ordinary

The authority of the Polish Ordinariate does not extend to Ukrainian Greek-Catholics, as that Church has both an Arch-Eparchy and an Eparchy in Poland. (The Polish Ordinariate has reported no numbers for several years now, likely as a consequence of the fact that virtually all Byzantine Catholics in Poland are of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.)

Ordinariate of Russia for Faithful of the Eastern Rites
His Excellency Joseph Werth, SJ, Bishop Ordinary

The formal canonical erection of a Russian Ordinariate has not been announced, although Bishop Werth has been designated as Ordinary for Faithful of the Eastern Rite in Russia.

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Western Church and Rites

The Latin Rite and Church are (as mentioned above) the largest of the Rites and Churches of the Catholic Church.

The Latin Rite presently includes a single formal 'Usage', termed the Anglican Usage, which is ordinarily permitted to be served in only certain desgnated parishes in the United States.

An indult exists for the celebration of the Mass in Latin according to the Tridentine ritual, a form that predates the Novus Ordo, presently the normative manner of its service. There is also a very limited indult in existence for the so-called 'Glagolitic Mass', which is said in an ancient Slavonic language that is not a vernacular tongue (the term is a misnomer, as 'Glagolitic' is the alphabet in which the liturgical service books are written, rather than the tongue in which the Mass is said). Neither indult is properly termed a usage.

Within the Latin Church, there are also three Rites that are ordinarily limited in their celebration to certain geographic locales and to only specific churches within those. These are:

• Ambrosian Rite
• Bragan Rite
• Mozarabic Rite

Additionally, there are eight Religious Order Rites within the Latin Church. The service of these is restricted to those clergy of the respective religious orders and, in some cases, to certain feast-days or houses of the order to which they are applicable. The Rites are:

• Benedictine Rite
• Carmelite Rite (or Rite of the Holy Sepulchre)
• Carthusian Rite
• Cistercian Rite
• Dominican Rite
• Franciscan Rite
• Norbertine Rite (or Premonstratensian Rite)
• Servite Rite

Many years,

Neil

[Irish Melkite]

Additionally, there are a number of Churches that term themselves "Catholic" under a variety of rationales, but are not in communion with Rome. These Churches make varying claims of Apostolic Succession, some of which are unquestionably valid, others being of uncertain validity.

The Churches are:

• the Eastern Orthodox Churches
• the Oriental Orthodox Churches
• the Assyrian Church
• the Ancient Church of the East
• the Old Catholic Churches of the Utrecht Confession
• the Polish National Catholic Church
• the self-described "Old Catholic Churches" that are not in communion with that of Utrecht
• the Churches of the so-called "independent and/or autonomous Catholic/Orthodox movements"

Add to that the several Churches that don't easily fit into any of the above categories, such as the non-Roman Catholic Churches of Brazil and the Phillippines, the Anglo-Catholics, the Evangelical Catholic Church (with origins in Catholicism and Lutheranism), and others.

Many years,

Neil