1. Is Catholic Church a communion of Churches?
“The holy Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, is made up of the faithful who are organically united in the Holy Spirit by the same faith, the same sacraments and the same government. They combine into different groups, which are held together by their hierarchy, and so form particular churches or rites. Between those churches there is such a wonderful bond of union that this variety in the universal church, so far from diminishing its unity, rather serves to emphasizes it” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum no. 2).
2. What is a Church sui iuris?
A Church sui iuris is explained in Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches as follows: “A community of Christian faithful, which is joined together by a hierarchy according to the norm of law which is expressly or tacitly recognized as sui iuris by the supreme authority of the Church is called in this code a Church sui iuris” (CCEO can. 27).
“The holy Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, is made up of the faithful who are organically united in the Holy Spirit by the same faith, the same sacraments and the same government. They combine into different groups, which are held together by their hierarchy, and so form particular churches or rites” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum no. 2).
3. How many Churches sui iuris are there in the Catholic Church?
There are 23 Churches in Catholic Church. Out of these 23 Churches, 22 Churches are Eastern Catholic Churches and only one is Western (Latin) Church. Eastern Catholics are only about 20 million whereas Latin Catholics are about 980 million. Eastern Churches are also known as Oriental Churches.
Ukrainian Church with more than five million Catholics is the largest Eastern Catholic Church. The Syro-Malabar Church with nearly four million Catholics is the second largest. The other Eastern Catholic Churches with more than a million people are the Maronite, Romanian and Melkite Churches. Some Churches have just a few thousand Catholics.
There are also Eastern Churches that do not accept the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. The Marthoma Church, Jacobite Church and many other Churches in Eastern Europe and west Asia do not accept Pope as the successor of St Peter and his primacy. Therefore, they are not in communion with Rome and therefore they are not Catholics. There are 150 million people in Eastern Churches that are not in communion with Rome.
4. Do all these 23 Churches have equal rights and Dignity?
“These individual churches both Eastern and Western, while they differ some what among themselves in what is called “rite”, namely in liturgy, in ecclesiastical discipline and in spiritual tradition, are none the less all equally entrusted to the pastoral guidance of the Roman Pontiff, who by God’s appointment is successor to Blessed Peter in primacy over the Universal Church. Therefore these churches are of equal rank, so that none of them is superior to the others because of its rite. They have the same rights and obligations, even regard to the preaching of the Gospel in the whole world (cf. Mk. 16: 15), under the direction of the Roman Pontiff” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum no. 3).
“Finally, 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; that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way” (Sacrosanctum concilium no. 4).
Therefore, the Catholic Church teaches that all these 23 Churches are equal and have equal rights and dignity.
5. What is a Rite?
“A rite is a liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary heritage, differentiated by the culture and the circumstances of the history of peoples, which is expressed by each Church sui iuris in its own manner of living the faith” (CCEO can. 28 § 1).
A rite is not merely the manner of celebrating the Eucharist. Faithful of a particular Church have a liturgy, theology, spirituality and discipline of their own, and these are manifested in the manner of living their faith. We can say that Church is a moral person and rite is the moral quality of that person. Therefore we do not say that we belong to a rite, but we say that we belong to a Church sui iuris.
6. Do people have a right and obligation to worship in their own Rites?
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches says: “The Christian faithful have the right to worship God according to the prescription of their own Church sui iuris and to follow their own form of spiritual life in accord with the teaching of the Church” (CCEO can. 17).
The Code of Canon Law (for Latin Church) says: “Christ’s faithful have the right to worship God according to the provisions of their own rite approved by the lawful Pastors of the Church; they also have the right to follow their own form of spiritual life, provided it is in accord with Church teaching” (CIC can. 214).
“If he (diocesan bishop) has faithful of a different rite in his diocese, he is to provide for their spiritual needs either by means of priests or parishes of the same rite, or by an episcopal vicar” (CIC can. 383 § 2).
7. Is there any duty to preserve and protect one’s Church (Rite)?
“Provision must be made therefore everywhere in the world to protect and advance all these individual churches. For this purpose, each should organize its own parishes and hierarchy, where the spiritual good of the faithful requires it” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum no. 4).
“For the Catholic Church wishes the traditions of each particular church or rite to remain whole and entire, and it likewise wishes to adapt its own way of life to the needs of different times and places” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum, no 2).
“All members of the Eastern Churches should be firmly convinced that they can and ought always preserve their own legitimate liturgical rite and ways of life, and that changes are to be introduced only to forward their 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 times or persons, they are to strive to return to their ancestral traditions. Those who by reason of their office or apostolic ministry have frequent dealings with the Eastern Churches or their faithful should be instructed as their office demands in theoretical and practical knowledge of the rites, discipline, doctrine, history and character of the members of the Eastern Churches” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum no. 6).
“The rites of the Eastern Churches, as the patrimony of the whole church of Christ in which shines forth the tradition coming down from the Apostles through the Fathers, and which, in its variety, affirms the divine unity of the Catholic faith, are to be observed and promoted consciously” (CCEO can. 39).
“Hierarchs who preside over Churches sui iuris and all other hierarchs are to take earnest care to guard faithfully and observe exactly their own rite, nor are they to allow changes to be made in it except by reason of its organic progress; they are nonetheless to keep in mind mutual goodwill and the unity of Christians” (CCEO 40 § 1).
“Also, the other Christian faithful are to foster the knowledge and appreciation of their own rite and are bound to observe it everywhere unless an exception is provided by the law” (CCEO can. 40 § 3).
8. What is the duty of the Local Ordinaries towards the faithful of other rites?
“…where there are believers of different rites, the bishop of that diocese should make provision for their spiritual needs either by providing priests of those rites, or special parishes, or by appointing episcopal vicars, with the necessary faculties. If necessary, such a vicar may be ordained bishop” (Christus Dominus 23).
“If he (diocesan bishop) has faithful of a different rite in his diocese, he is to provide for their spiritual needs either by means of priests or parishes of the same rite, or by an episcopal Vicar” (CIC can. 383 § 2).
“As often as the good governance of the diocese requires it, the diocesan Bishop can also appoint one or more episcopal Vicars. These have the same ordinary power as the universal law gives to a Vicar general, in accordance with the following canons. The competence of an episcopal Vicar, however, is limited to a determined part of the diocese, or to a specific type of activity, or to the faithful of a particular rite, or to a certain group of people” (CIC can. 476).
“An eparchial bishop of any Church sui iuris, even of the Latin Church, is to inform the Apostolic See on the occasion of the quinquennial report, about the state and needs of the Christian faithful who, even if they are ascribed in another Church sui iuris, are committed to his care” (CCEO can. 207).
“Regarding the pastoral care of the faithful of the Eastern Rites who are living in Latin-Rite Dioceses, in accordance with the spirit and letter of the Conciliar Decrees Christus Dominus, n. 23,3 and Orientalium Ecclesiarum, n. 4, the Latin Rite Ordinaries of such Dioceses are to provide as soon as possible for an adequate pastoral care of the faithful of these Eastern Rites, through the ministry of priests, or through parishes of the rite, where this would be indicated, or through an Episcopal Vicar endowed with the necessary faculties, where circumstances would so indi cate (cf. Christus Dominus, 23,3; Code of Canon Law, canons 383 § 2; 476; 518). This latter may have even Episcopal rank should this be determined as fitting (Christus Dominus 23, 3). Where circumstances would so indicate, the Apostolic See will establish a proper hierarchy for such faithful” (Letter of Pope John Paul II to the Bishops of India, dated 28th May, 1987, nn. 3-4).
“Where there are numerous migrants of the same language, whether settled down or continually in arrival there may be erected a personal parish which can be conveniently defined by the local ordinary” (Pastoralis migratorum cura, Motu proprio of Pope Paul VI, 15 august 1969, no. 33 § 1).
9. Can people change their Church sui iuris (rite)?
“No one can validly transfer to another Church sui iuris without the consent of the Apostolic See” (CCEO can. 32 § 1).
“No one is to presume to induce in any way the Christian faithful to transfer to another Church sui iuris” (CCEO can. 31).
“A person who, ascribed to any Church sui iuris, including the Latin Church, and exercising an office, a ministry or another function in the Church, has presumed to induce any member of the Christian faithful whatsoever to transfer to another Church sui iuris, contrary to can. 31 is to be punished with an appropriate penalty” (CCEO can 1465).
“Finally, each and every Catholic, as also the baptized members of any non-Catholic church or community who come to the fullness of Catholic communion, must retain each his own rite wherever he is, and follow it to the best of his ability, without prejudice to the right of appealing to the Apostolic See in special cases affecting persons, communities or districts” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum, no. 4).
10. How do people usually get membership in a Church sui iuris?
“A son or daughter who has not yet completed fourteen years of age is ascribed by virtue of baptism to the Church sui iuris to which his or her catholic father is ascribed; or if only the mother is Catholic; or if both parents are of the same mind in requesting it, to the Church sui iuris of the mother, without prejudice to particular law enacted by the Apostolic See” (CCEO can. 29 § 1).
For example, if both parents belong to Syro-Malabar Church, then the child must belong to Syro-Malabar Church and if both parents belong to Latin Church, then the child must belong to Latin Church. If both parents are of different Churches then child must belong to the Church of the father, unless both parents give consent for the other way.
11. Can a person change his Church (rite) at the time of his/her marriage?
“A wife is free to transfer to the Church of the husband in the celebration of or during the marriage; when the marriage has ended, she can freely return to the original Church sui iuris” (CCEO can. 33). Therefore, it is clear that a man cannot change his Church whereas according to Latin Law a man also can change his/her Church at the time of his marriage (CIC can. 112 § 1,2°).
For example, if a Latin man wants to marry a Eastern woman, he can transfer to Eastern Churches and if a Eastern man wants to marry a Latin woman he cannot change his Church (he can marry a Latin woman and will have to remain in the Eastern Church). Eastern as well as Latin woman can change her Church and join the Church of her husband.
12. Does a Catholic get membership in another Church sui iuris automatically?
“The practice, however long, of receiving the sacraments according to the rite of an autonomous ritual Church, does not bring with it membership of that Church” (CIC can. 112 § 2).
“Christian faithful of Eastern Churches, even if committed to the care of a hierarch or pastor of another Church sui iuris, nevertheless remain ascribed in their own Church sui iuris” (CCEO can 38).
No one can get membership in another Church sui iuris automatically. By the fact a person was baptized in another Church sui iuris and is an active member of that Church, he or she does not get membership in that Church. Even if a person practices his faith in that Church sui iuris for his whole life, he does not become a member in that Church. For example, a child of a Syro-Malabar couple was baptized according to the Latin rite and educated in Latin Church. Still the child (person) is a member of Syro-Malabar Church for ever.
“The holy Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, is made up of the faithful who are organically united in the Holy Spirit by the same faith, the same sacraments and the same government. They combine into different groups, which are held together by their hierarchy, and so form particular churches or rites. Between those churches there is such a wonderful bond of union that this variety in the universal church, so far from diminishing its unity, rather serves to emphasizes it” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum no. 2).
2. What is a Church sui iuris?
A Church sui iuris is explained in Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches as follows: “A community of Christian faithful, which is joined together by a hierarchy according to the norm of law which is expressly or tacitly recognized as sui iuris by the supreme authority of the Church is called in this code a Church sui iuris” (CCEO can. 27).
“The holy Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, is made up of the faithful who are organically united in the Holy Spirit by the same faith, the same sacraments and the same government. They combine into different groups, which are held together by their hierarchy, and so form particular churches or rites” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum no. 2).
3. How many Churches sui iuris are there in the Catholic Church?
There are 23 Churches in Catholic Church. Out of these 23 Churches, 22 Churches are Eastern Catholic Churches and only one is Western (Latin) Church. Eastern Catholics are only about 20 million whereas Latin Catholics are about 980 million. Eastern Churches are also known as Oriental Churches.
Ukrainian Church with more than five million Catholics is the largest Eastern Catholic Church. The Syro-Malabar Church with nearly four million Catholics is the second largest. The other Eastern Catholic Churches with more than a million people are the Maronite, Romanian and Melkite Churches. Some Churches have just a few thousand Catholics.
There are also Eastern Churches that do not accept the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. The Marthoma Church, Jacobite Church and many other Churches in Eastern Europe and west Asia do not accept Pope as the successor of St Peter and his primacy. Therefore, they are not in communion with Rome and therefore they are not Catholics. There are 150 million people in Eastern Churches that are not in communion with Rome.
4. Do all these 23 Churches have equal rights and Dignity?
“These individual churches both Eastern and Western, while they differ some what among themselves in what is called “rite”, namely in liturgy, in ecclesiastical discipline and in spiritual tradition, are none the less all equally entrusted to the pastoral guidance of the Roman Pontiff, who by God’s appointment is successor to Blessed Peter in primacy over the Universal Church. Therefore these churches are of equal rank, so that none of them is superior to the others because of its rite. They have the same rights and obligations, even regard to the preaching of the Gospel in the whole world (cf. Mk. 16: 15), under the direction of the Roman Pontiff” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum no. 3).
“Finally, 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; that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way” (Sacrosanctum concilium no. 4).
Therefore, the Catholic Church teaches that all these 23 Churches are equal and have equal rights and dignity.
5. What is a Rite?
“A rite is a liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary heritage, differentiated by the culture and the circumstances of the history of peoples, which is expressed by each Church sui iuris in its own manner of living the faith” (CCEO can. 28 § 1).
A rite is not merely the manner of celebrating the Eucharist. Faithful of a particular Church have a liturgy, theology, spirituality and discipline of their own, and these are manifested in the manner of living their faith. We can say that Church is a moral person and rite is the moral quality of that person. Therefore we do not say that we belong to a rite, but we say that we belong to a Church sui iuris.
6. Do people have a right and obligation to worship in their own Rites?
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches says: “The Christian faithful have the right to worship God according to the prescription of their own Church sui iuris and to follow their own form of spiritual life in accord with the teaching of the Church” (CCEO can. 17).
The Code of Canon Law (for Latin Church) says: “Christ’s faithful have the right to worship God according to the provisions of their own rite approved by the lawful Pastors of the Church; they also have the right to follow their own form of spiritual life, provided it is in accord with Church teaching” (CIC can. 214).
“If he (diocesan bishop) has faithful of a different rite in his diocese, he is to provide for their spiritual needs either by means of priests or parishes of the same rite, or by an episcopal vicar” (CIC can. 383 § 2).
7. Is there any duty to preserve and protect one’s Church (Rite)?
“Provision must be made therefore everywhere in the world to protect and advance all these individual churches. For this purpose, each should organize its own parishes and hierarchy, where the spiritual good of the faithful requires it” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum no. 4).
“For the Catholic Church wishes the traditions of each particular church or rite to remain whole and entire, and it likewise wishes to adapt its own way of life to the needs of different times and places” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum, no 2).
“All members of the Eastern Churches should be firmly convinced that they can and ought always preserve their own legitimate liturgical rite and ways of life, and that changes are to be introduced only to forward their 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 times or persons, they are to strive to return to their ancestral traditions. Those who by reason of their office or apostolic ministry have frequent dealings with the Eastern Churches or their faithful should be instructed as their office demands in theoretical and practical knowledge of the rites, discipline, doctrine, history and character of the members of the Eastern Churches” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum no. 6).
“The rites of the Eastern Churches, as the patrimony of the whole church of Christ in which shines forth the tradition coming down from the Apostles through the Fathers, and which, in its variety, affirms the divine unity of the Catholic faith, are to be observed and promoted consciously” (CCEO can. 39).
“Hierarchs who preside over Churches sui iuris and all other hierarchs are to take earnest care to guard faithfully and observe exactly their own rite, nor are they to allow changes to be made in it except by reason of its organic progress; they are nonetheless to keep in mind mutual goodwill and the unity of Christians” (CCEO 40 § 1).
“Also, the other Christian faithful are to foster the knowledge and appreciation of their own rite and are bound to observe it everywhere unless an exception is provided by the law” (CCEO can. 40 § 3).
8. What is the duty of the Local Ordinaries towards the faithful of other rites?
“…where there are believers of different rites, the bishop of that diocese should make provision for their spiritual needs either by providing priests of those rites, or special parishes, or by appointing episcopal vicars, with the necessary faculties. If necessary, such a vicar may be ordained bishop” (Christus Dominus 23).
“If he (diocesan bishop) has faithful of a different rite in his diocese, he is to provide for their spiritual needs either by means of priests or parishes of the same rite, or by an episcopal Vicar” (CIC can. 383 § 2).
“As often as the good governance of the diocese requires it, the diocesan Bishop can also appoint one or more episcopal Vicars. These have the same ordinary power as the universal law gives to a Vicar general, in accordance with the following canons. The competence of an episcopal Vicar, however, is limited to a determined part of the diocese, or to a specific type of activity, or to the faithful of a particular rite, or to a certain group of people” (CIC can. 476).
“An eparchial bishop of any Church sui iuris, even of the Latin Church, is to inform the Apostolic See on the occasion of the quinquennial report, about the state and needs of the Christian faithful who, even if they are ascribed in another Church sui iuris, are committed to his care” (CCEO can. 207).
“Regarding the pastoral care of the faithful of the Eastern Rites who are living in Latin-Rite Dioceses, in accordance with the spirit and letter of the Conciliar Decrees Christus Dominus, n. 23,3 and Orientalium Ecclesiarum, n. 4, the Latin Rite Ordinaries of such Dioceses are to provide as soon as possible for an adequate pastoral care of the faithful of these Eastern Rites, through the ministry of priests, or through parishes of the rite, where this would be indicated, or through an Episcopal Vicar endowed with the necessary faculties, where circumstances would so indi cate (cf. Christus Dominus, 23,3; Code of Canon Law, canons 383 § 2; 476; 518). This latter may have even Episcopal rank should this be determined as fitting (Christus Dominus 23, 3). Where circumstances would so indicate, the Apostolic See will establish a proper hierarchy for such faithful” (Letter of Pope John Paul II to the Bishops of India, dated 28th May, 1987, nn. 3-4).
“Where there are numerous migrants of the same language, whether settled down or continually in arrival there may be erected a personal parish which can be conveniently defined by the local ordinary” (Pastoralis migratorum cura, Motu proprio of Pope Paul VI, 15 august 1969, no. 33 § 1).
9. Can people change their Church sui iuris (rite)?
“No one can validly transfer to another Church sui iuris without the consent of the Apostolic See” (CCEO can. 32 § 1).
“No one is to presume to induce in any way the Christian faithful to transfer to another Church sui iuris” (CCEO can. 31).
“A person who, ascribed to any Church sui iuris, including the Latin Church, and exercising an office, a ministry or another function in the Church, has presumed to induce any member of the Christian faithful whatsoever to transfer to another Church sui iuris, contrary to can. 31 is to be punished with an appropriate penalty” (CCEO can 1465).
“Finally, each and every Catholic, as also the baptized members of any non-Catholic church or community who come to the fullness of Catholic communion, must retain each his own rite wherever he is, and follow it to the best of his ability, without prejudice to the right of appealing to the Apostolic See in special cases affecting persons, communities or districts” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum, no. 4).
10. How do people usually get membership in a Church sui iuris?
“A son or daughter who has not yet completed fourteen years of age is ascribed by virtue of baptism to the Church sui iuris to which his or her catholic father is ascribed; or if only the mother is Catholic; or if both parents are of the same mind in requesting it, to the Church sui iuris of the mother, without prejudice to particular law enacted by the Apostolic See” (CCEO can. 29 § 1).
For example, if both parents belong to Syro-Malabar Church, then the child must belong to Syro-Malabar Church and if both parents belong to Latin Church, then the child must belong to Latin Church. If both parents are of different Churches then child must belong to the Church of the father, unless both parents give consent for the other way.
11. Can a person change his Church (rite) at the time of his/her marriage?
“A wife is free to transfer to the Church of the husband in the celebration of or during the marriage; when the marriage has ended, she can freely return to the original Church sui iuris” (CCEO can. 33). Therefore, it is clear that a man cannot change his Church whereas according to Latin Law a man also can change his/her Church at the time of his marriage (CIC can. 112 § 1,2°).
For example, if a Latin man wants to marry a Eastern woman, he can transfer to Eastern Churches and if a Eastern man wants to marry a Latin woman he cannot change his Church (he can marry a Latin woman and will have to remain in the Eastern Church). Eastern as well as Latin woman can change her Church and join the Church of her husband.
12. Does a Catholic get membership in another Church sui iuris automatically?
“The practice, however long, of receiving the sacraments according to the rite of an autonomous ritual Church, does not bring with it membership of that Church” (CIC can. 112 § 2).
“Christian faithful of Eastern Churches, even if committed to the care of a hierarch or pastor of another Church sui iuris, nevertheless remain ascribed in their own Church sui iuris” (CCEO can 38).
No one can get membership in another Church sui iuris automatically. By the fact a person was baptized in another Church sui iuris and is an active member of that Church, he or she does not get membership in that Church. Even if a person practices his faith in that Church sui iuris for his whole life, he does not become a member in that Church. For example, a child of a Syro-Malabar couple was baptized according to the Latin rite and educated in Latin Church. Still the child (person) is a member of Syro-Malabar Church for ever.
