The
Eastern Catholic Church
Many
people are surprised to learn that there are twenty-two distinct
Churches which form the Catholic Church: the Western or "Latin" Church,
which nearly all Americans are familiar with, and the Eastern Churches,
of which there are twenty-one.
While the Western Church makes up the
vast majority of the Catholic
Church, there are around 17 million Catholics who are members of an
Eastern Church. Some of more well-known of the Eastern Churches include
the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the Maronite Catholic Church, the
Melkite Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Coptic
Catholic Church. Holy Family parish is part of the Ukrainian Catholic
Church.
With the exception of the Maronite
Church, the Eastern Catholic
Churches were formed when Christians who had been members of Eastern
churches which had cut ties with the Holy See, once again sought
reunion with Rome.
The largest Eastern Christian Church
which is not in union with the
Bishop of Rome is commonly called the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since
most Eastern Catholic Churches came out of Eastern Orthodox Churches,
there are many direct counterparts between the two. For example, there
is a Ukrainian Orthodox Church and a Ukrainian Catholic Church; the
former is not in union with Rome while the latter is. Sharing the same
heritage, one group is Orthodox, the other is Catholic. Understandably,
this situation often causes great confusion, not only among
non-Catholics, but Catholics as well.

This chart shows the various Catholic liturgical families
(rites) and their ancestry. Jerusalem, the place of the founding of the
Catholic Church, came first in time. Then three major branches
eventually formed within the Church: Roman, Antiochian and Alexandrian.
The Ukrainian Catholic Church is part of the Antiochian branch,
specifically coming under the Byzantine rite. The Catechism,
quoting from Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican
Council's Constitution on Divine Liturgy, states:
"The
liturgical traditions or rites presently in use in the Church are the
Latin . . . and the Byzantine, Alexandrian or Coptic, Syriac, Armenian,
Maronite and Chaldean rites. In 'faithful obedience to tradition, the
sacred Council declares that Holy Mother Church holds all lawfully
recognized rites to be of equal right and dignity, and that she wishes
to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way.'" (CCC
1203).
When the Church of Rome and the Church of
Constantinople severed ties
with one another in the 11th century, the Church in Ukraine gradually
followed suit and finally gave up the bonds of unity with Rome. When
Ukrainian Orthodox bishops met at a council in Brest-Litovsk in 1595,
seven bishops decided to re-establish communion with Rome. Guaranteed
that their Byzantine tradition and Liturgy would be respected and
recognized by Rome, they and many priests and lay faithful were
re-united with the See of Rome, while others continued to remain
Orthodox.
In the 19th century many Ukrainian
Catholics began to emigrate to North
America, bringing their pastors, traditions and liturgy to Canada and
the United States. Under Communist rule, Catholics in Ukraine were
persecuted, with many being imprisoned and murdered; in 1945 all the
Ukrainian Catholic bishops were arrested or killed.
Today the Ukrainian Catholic Church
is the largest Eastern Catholic
Church, with about 7 million faithful in 40 countries, 70% in Ukraine
and 250,000 in the United States. It is led by His Beatitude Lubomyr
Cardinal Husar, Archbishop-Major of Kyiv (Kiev)-Halych and all Rus. He
was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II on
February 21, 2001.
According to Vatican II, “All members of the Eastern Churches should be firmly convinced that they can and ought to always preserve their own legitimate liturgical rites and ways of life, and that changes are to be introduced only to forward they own organic development. They themselves are to carry out all these prescriptions with the greatest fidelity. They are to aim always at a more perfect knowledge and practice of their rites, and if they have fallen away due to circumstances of time or person, they are to strive to return to their ancestral tradition.” It is clear from the words of the council that the vision for the Eastern Churches is very different from that proposed for the West, and therefore the success or lack of success should be judged accordingly. As long as Christians have been able to build their own churches, the areas of the altar had been marked out as a special place; sometimes rails have been used, and sometimes steps. In Byzantine churches, a screen of icons marks off the altar. This screen developed over many hundreds of years from a simple open screen to a real wall of icons, with doors (also covered with icons) that permit the celebrants to process to and from the altar. To the Latin Catholic, it may seem that the Church is trying to hide the altar from the laity, but the idea that something sacred can be “hidden” behind an icon seems strange to Eastern Catholics. Icons are always the sign of presence. The icons on the icon-screen are the household of Heaven made up of Christ, the Mother of God, the Angels, and the Saints. Heaven is with us when we celebrate the liturgy and, in a mystical way, actually celebrates the liturgy with us. For Byzantine Catholics, with their long history of theology and devotion, the icon-screen represents a real celebration of the presence of God among us.
Law: The cannon
law of the Eastern Churches, which was revised after the Second Vatican
Council, is contained in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches,
which was promulgated by Pope John Paul II on October 18, 1990, and
took effect
on October 1, 1991. In accordance with this universal legislation, each
of the
Eastern Catholic Churches can develop its own particular law. There are
some
aspects of the discipline of the Eastern Churches that are well known
to Latin
Catholics, for example, the different discipline in regard to clerical
celibacy. More recently, the Existence of married clergy in the East
has been
used as an argument for making priestly celibacy optional in the West.
Questions posed by the Latin Church about it’s own life and discipline
can only
be answered by that Church from within its own tradition. The fact that
some
priests are married and some not has ever been a question of debate in
the
East. As Pope Paul VI noted, “If the legislation of the Eastern Church
is
different in the matter of discipline with regard to clerical
celibacy…this is
due to the different historical background of that most noble part of
the
Church, a situation which the Holy Spirit has providentially and
supernaturally
influenced.” Vatican II, in this matter,
stated, “While recommending ecclesiastical celibacy this sacred Council
does
not by any means aim at changing that contrary discipline which is
lawfully
practiced in the Eastern Churches. Rather the Council affectionately
exhorts
all those who have received the priesthood in the married state to
preserve in
their holy vocation and continue to devote their lives fully and
generously to
the flock entrusted to them.” The Eastern Churches have a deep
reverence for
the celibate state as lived by monks and nuns. The episcopate, the
fullness of
the priesthood, is only bestowed on celibate priests. The Second
Vatican
Council sought the restoration of the permanent diaconate. The deacon
has always
had a central role in the liturgical life of many Eastern Churches, but
unfortunately under the influence of the Latin Church, the diaconate
came to be
seen as a step towards ordination to the priesthood. The permanent
deacon, both
in the West and the East, is ordained “not unto the priesthood, but
unto the
ministry.” Nevertheless, the deacon is seen as a member of the
hierarchy and
not a layman. In the Liturgy, the deacon is at the service of the
bishop and
through him the entire Church. The deacon also has a role in preaching.
As the Code
of Canons of the Eastern Churches states, “Bishops, priests and
deacons,
each according to the grade of his sacred order, have as their foremost
duty
the ministry of the Word of God”. Deacons, like priests of the Eastern
Churches, may be either celibate or married men.
Один товариш
запитав мене, що означає для мене cім’я і, бажаючи з’ясувати для мене
і для нього я вирішив
шукати у літературі, новітніх інформаційних джерелах, переглянув
соціологію,
політологію і, навіть, Конституцію України та й дішов до висновку, що
шукаю не
там. Я продовжував шукати у творах світової літератури: Оноре де
Бальзак, Т.
Шевченко з його “Катериною” та “Наймичкою”. Я знайшов там жаль, розпач,
любов,
надію......Минав час а я продовжував шукати відповіді... І шукаю
досі... Ми
завжди кудись поспішаємо, день розбитий на години, хвилини. Наше життя
– це
рух, бізнес, дорога... Ми з головою поринули у світ, “тягнемо” з нього
інформацію, знання. Однак, забуваємо, що дещо набагато ближче і
дорожче є
поруч з нами. Сподіваюсь, що написане стане комусь у пригоді і
спонукатиме
до роздумів:”Що означає сім’я для мене?” І я впевнений, що тоді після
важкого
дня ви не впадете на диван у пошуках потрібного телеканалу, але
усміхнетеся
батькові, допоможете матері, знайдете про що поговорити з рідними – і у
свій
неповторний спосіб відкриєте свою сім’ю. З часом відповідь на запитання
“Що
таке сім’я?” зродиться просто та природньо.
християнський часопис “Пізнай правду” березень-квітень 2005)
Щастя
дістається тому, хто багато працює…..Щастя – мов здоров’я, коли його не
помічаєш, то означає, що воно є….Ніколи не плюй у криницю, з якої п’єш
воду
Не
закривай рота тому, хто тобі відкриває очі…Мудрість – це знати, як
робити,
чеснота – це робити.
Наша
любов є тільки тоді справжньою любов’ю, коли вона вибирає Боже перед
людським,
а вічне – перед дочасними речами світу цього.
(християнський
часопис “Пізнай правду” січень-лютий 2005)