The
Ruthenian Catholic Church is a
sui iurisSui iuris, commonly also spelled sui juris, is a Latin phrase that literally means “of one’s own laws”.-Secular law:In civil law the phrase sui juris indicates legal competence, the capacity to manage one’s own affairs...
(i.e., self-governing) Eastern Catholic Church (see
particular ChurchIn Catholic theology and canon law, a particular Church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognised as the equivalent of a bishop.There are two kinds of particular Churches:#Local particular Churches...
), which uses the
Divine LiturgyThe Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the...
of the Constantinopolitan
Byzantine Eastern RiteThe Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite, is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches and by the Greek-Catholic Churches...
. Its roots are among the
RusynsRusyns are an Eastern Slavic ethnic group related to Ukrainians who speak a Western Ukrainian language or dialect known as Rusyn. The group unites a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the ethnonym Ukrainian to describe their ethnic identity in the early twentieth century...
who lived in the region called
Carpathian RutheniaCarpathian Ruthenia, aka Transcarpathian Ruthenia, Transcarpathian Ukraine, Zakarpattia, Rusinko, Subcarpathian Rus, Subcarpathia is a small region in Central Europe, now...
, in and around the
Carpathian MountainsThe Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the largest mountain range in Europe...
. This is the area where the borders of present-day
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
,
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
and
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
meet. The Ruthenian Catholic Church is in full communion with the Bishop of Rome who is spiritual leader of the 23 sui iuris particular churches which compose the Catholic Church.
Ruthenian Catholics are descended from those to whom
SaintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
s
CyrilSaints Cyril and Methodius were Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century, who became missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples of Great Moravia and Pannonia. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they received the title...
and Methodius brought Christianity and the Byzantine Rite in their missionary outreach to the
Slavic peoplesThe Slavic Peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern and central Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans...
in the ninth century.
The inhabitants of the region were forced to take refuge in the mountains by the invasion of the
MagyarsHungarians are an ethnic group primarily associated with Hungary. There are around 10 million Hungarians in Hungary . Hungarians were the main inhabitants of the Kingdom of Hungary that existed through most of the second millennium...
in the 10th century.
The
Ruthenian Catholic Church is a
sui iurisSui iuris, commonly also spelled sui juris, is a Latin phrase that literally means “of one’s own laws”.-Secular law:In civil law the phrase sui juris indicates legal competence, the capacity to manage one’s own affairs...
(i.e., self-governing) Eastern Catholic Church (see
particular ChurchIn Catholic theology and canon law, a particular Church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognised as the equivalent of a bishop.There are two kinds of particular Churches:#Local particular Churches...
), which uses the
Divine LiturgyThe Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the...
of the Constantinopolitan
Byzantine Eastern RiteThe Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite, is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches and by the Greek-Catholic Churches...
. Its roots are among the
RusynsRusyns are an Eastern Slavic ethnic group related to Ukrainians who speak a Western Ukrainian language or dialect known as Rusyn. The group unites a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the ethnonym Ukrainian to describe their ethnic identity in the early twentieth century...
who lived in the region called
Carpathian RutheniaCarpathian Ruthenia, aka Transcarpathian Ruthenia, Transcarpathian Ukraine, Zakarpattia, Rusinko, Subcarpathian Rus, Subcarpathia is a small region in Central Europe, now...
, in and around the
Carpathian MountainsThe Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the largest mountain range in Europe...
. This is the area where the borders of present-day
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
,
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
and
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
meet. The Ruthenian Catholic Church is in full communion with the Bishop of Rome who is spiritual leader of the 23 sui iuris particular churches which compose the Catholic Church.
History
Ruthenian Catholics are descended from those to whom
SaintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
s
CyrilSaints Cyril and Methodius were Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century, who became missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples of Great Moravia and Pannonia. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they received the title...
and Methodius brought Christianity and the Byzantine Rite in their missionary outreach to the
Slavic peoplesThe Slavic Peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern and central Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans...
in the ninth century.
The inhabitants of the region were forced to take refuge in the mountains by the invasion of the
MagyarsHungarians are an ethnic group primarily associated with Hungary. There are around 10 million Hungarians in Hungary . Hungarians were the main inhabitants of the Kingdom of Hungary that existed through most of the second millennium...
in the 10th century. With the 1646 A.D. Union of Ungvár, the Ruthenian Church reunited with the rest of the Catholic Church but was to retain its Byzantine rite and liturgical traditions, its bishops would be elected by a council composed of
Basilian monkBasilian monks are monks who follow the "Rule" of Saint Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea. The chief importance of the monastic rules and institutes of St. Basil lies in the fact that to this day his reconstruction of the monastic life is the basis of most of the monasticism practiced in the...
s and
eparchial clergyIn the Catholic Church, secular clergy are religious ministers, such as deacons and priests, who do not belong to a religious order. While regular clergy take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience and place themselves under a monastic rule , secular clergy do not take vows, and they live in the...
.
The region became, in part, incorporated in
CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
after
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
. Annexation to the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
led to persecution of the Ruthenian Catholic Church. However, since the collapse of
CommunismCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
the Ruthenian Catholic Church in Eastern Europe has seen a resurgence in numbers of faithful and
priestA priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.Priests and priestesses...
s.
Relations with Latin-Rite Catholics in the United States
In the 19th and 20th centuries, various Byzantine-Rite Catholics arrived in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, particularly in
coalCoal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mining towns. The predominant Latin-Rite Catholic hierarchy did not always receive them well, being disturbed in particular at what they saw as the innovation, for the United States, of a married Catholic clergy. At their request, the
Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the FaithThe Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is perhaps better known by its former title, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith...
applied on 1 May 1897 to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rules already set out in a letter of 2 May 1890 to
François-Marie-Benjamin RichardFrançois-Marie-Benjamin Richard , archbishop of Paris, French prelate, was born at Nantes, Loire-Atlantique.Educated at the seminary of St Sulpice he became successively vicar-general of Nantes, bishop of Belley, and in 1875 coadjutor of Paris. In 1886 the death of Archbishop Guibert was followed...
, the
Archbishop of ParisThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on...
. These rules stated that only celibates or widowed priests coming without their children should be permitted in the United States. This rule was restated with special reference to Catholics of the Ruthenian Church by the 1 March 1929 decree
Cum data fuerit, which was renewed for a further ten years in 1939. Dissatisfaction by many Ruthenian Catholics in the United States gave rise to the
Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in AmericaThe Orthodox Church in America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. Its primate is Metropolitan Jonah , who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008...
and
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox DioceseThe American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese or American Carpatho-Ruthenian Orthodox Diocese is a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with about 75 parishes in the United States and Canada, led by Metropolitan Nicholas of Amissos...
. (See also
Archbishop John IrelandJohn Ireland was the third bishop and first archbishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota . He became both a religious as well as civic leader in Saint Paul during the turn of the century...
, Saint
Alexis TothSaint Alexis Toth/Tovt was a Russian Orthodox church leader in the American Mid-West. At first he was a Ruthenian Greek-Catholic missionary priest, sent to the United States from Eperjes in Hungary . The Catholic Archbishop Saint Alexis Toth/Tovt (or Alexis of Wilkes-Barre) (18 March 1853,...
).
Relations with Latin-Rite Catholics have improved, especially since the
Second Vatican CouncilThe Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October, 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on 8 December, 1965...
, at which the Ruthenian Church influenced decisions regarding language in the
liturgyA liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions. The word may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Catholic Mass, or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat and Jewish services...
. (Unlike the former custom in the
LatinThe Latin Church or Rite is the majority Rite or particular church within the Catholic Church, comprising roughly 80% of its membership. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 sui iuris particular Churches within the Catholic Church...
Church, the Ruthenian Church always celebrated the
Divine LiturgyThe Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the...
in the Church Slavonic language, an ancient Slavic language.) In its decree
Orientalium EcclesiarumOrientalium Ecclesiarum is the Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches from the Second Vatican Council. One of the shorter such documents, it was passed by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,110 to 39 and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964...
the Second Vatican Council reiterated: "The Catholic Church holds in high esteem the institutions, liturgical rites, ecclesiastical traditions and the established standards of the Christian life of the Eastern Churches, for in them, distinguished as they are for their venerable antiquity, there remains conspicuous the tradition that has been handed down from the Apostles through the Fathers and that forms part of the divinely revealed and undivided heritage of the universal Church."
The Ruthenian Catholic Church today
The Ruthenian Church now consists of the
Metropolia of PittsburghThe Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh is an autonomous Byzantine Rite particular church of the Catholic Church, originally serving members of the Ruthenian Catholic Church and their descendants in the United States...
— comprising the
Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of PittsburghThe Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is the Catholic archeparchy governing all Byzantine Catholic eparchys and Byzantine Catholics in the United States. Its headquarters are at 66 Riverview Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.The current Metropolitan is the Most Reverend Basil Schott...
(originally established in 1924) with its three suffragan eparchies of
ParmaThe Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma is the Catholic eparchy governing most Byzantine Catholics in the midwestern United States. Its headquarters are at 1900 Carlton Road, Parma, Ohio. The current bishop is the Most Reverend John Kudrick....
, (1969)
PassaicThe Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic is the Catholic eparchy governing most Byzantine Catholics in the eastern United States. Its headquarters are at 445 Lackawanna Avenue, Woodland Park . The current bishop is the Most Reverend William C. Skurla.The Eparchy was erected July 6, 1963 and its...
, (1963) and
Van NuysThe Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys is the Catholic eparchy governing most Byzantine Catholics in the western United States. Its headquarters are at 8131 North 16th Street, Phoenix, Arizona...
(1981) — the Eparchy of Munkács in Ukraine (dating from 1771 and immediately subject to the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
), and the Apostolic Exarchate of the
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
(founded in 1996).
One problem preventing organization of the Ruthenian Catholic Church under a single synod is the desire of some of the priests and faithful of the Eparchy of Mukachevo that it should be part of the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic ChurchThe Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , also known as the Ukrainian Catholic Church, is one of the successor Churches to the acceptance of Christianity by Grand Prince Vladimir the Great of Kyiv, in 988. UGCC is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with...
.
Ruthenian
parishA parish is a territorial unit that was usually historically served by a local church. This administrative unit is typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches...
es stress unity with the
PopeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
and the whole Catholic Church albeit with an Eastern expression.
http://hometown.aol.com/evnizer/myhomepage/index.html The
Second Vatican CouncilThe Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October, 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on 8 December, 1965...
directed this Church to remove much of the "Latinization" in an attempt to return to its Eastern Christian identity. This directive has been met with some success. In June 1999 the Council of Hierarchs of the Byzantine Metropolitan Church Sui Iuris of Pittsburgh U.S.A. promulgated the norms of particular law to govern itself. In January 2007 the Council of Hierarchs promulgated revised versions of the Divine Liturgies of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great.
Members of the Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic Church of the United States of America are not limited to immigrants from Eastern Europe or their descendants.
See also
- Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , also known as the Ukrainian Catholic Church, is one of the successor Churches to the acceptance of Christianity by Grand Prince Vladimir the Great of Kyiv, in 988. UGCC is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with...
- History of Christianity in Ukraine
The History of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the apostolic church. It has remained the dominant religion in the country since its acceptance in 988 by Vladimir the Great , who instated it as the state religion of Kievan Rus', a medieval East Slavic state.Although...
- Union of Brest
Union of Brest or Union of Brześć refers to the 1595-1596 decision of the Church of Rus', the "Metropolia of Kiev-Halych and all Rus'", to break relations with the Patriarch of Constantinople and place themselves under the Pope of Rome, in order to avoid the domination of the newly established...
- Union of Uzhhorod
The Union of Ungvár was the 1646 decision of 63 Ruthenian Orthodox priests from the south slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, then within the Kingdom of Hungary, to join the Catholic Church on terms similar to the Union of Brest from 1596 in the lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.- History...
External links