ABOUT THE CHURCH AND THE VATICAN

Recently, one of the documents issued by the Vatican in preparation for the current Synodal Assembly on the Middle East was a fact sheet on the Oriental Catholic Churches. There are 23 in all, grouped under five main traditions: Alexandrian, Antiochian, Armenian, Chaldean, and Byzantine.

Although it is very schematic, it is also very informative. I do not recall coming across a similar summary before, and it gives a whole new perspective on Anglicanorum coetibus. The framework of an Ordinariate has been the starting point for incorporating the eastern Churches - coming from established traditions in their respective areas of origin - into the Church of Rome. (I did not realize there were so many that had crossed over from the Eastern European Orthodox Churches.)

All of these churches continue to follow their old rites and traditions, which is what Anglicanorum coetibus proposes to converting Anglicans. Only this time, the formula is being extended to a Western Church for the first time.


INFORMATION ON THE EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES

Currently there are 23 in the Catholic Church Churches "sui iuris" [in law, 'under their own management'] belonging to the five Eastern traditions.

CHURCHES OF THE ALEXANDRIAN TRADITION

Patriarchal Coptic Church
In 1824 the Holy See created a patriarchate for the Catholic Copts, but it existed only on paper. Pope Leo XIII, through the apostolic letter "Christi Domini" of November 26, 1895, re-established the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria. 
 The current Patriarch is His Beatitude Antonios Naguib who began his ministry March 30, 2006. The patriarchal seat is located in Cairo. Coptic Catholics are only found in Egypt and the Sudan, and currently number around 210,000.

Ethiopian Metropolitan Church sui iuris
In 1930, an ordinariate was established in Eritrea for the faithful following the Ethiopian rite. in 1951, an Exarchate of the Ethiopian Rite was established uin, and the ordinariate in Eritrea was raised to the rank of an Exarchate. Ten years later, on April 9, 1961, an Ethiopian metropolitan was created, with its seat in. to which the earlier ecarchates, Asmara for Eritrea and Adigrat for Ethiopia became suffragan eparchies. In 1995, two new eparchies, Barentu and Keren, were established in Eritrea. 
 The current Ethiopian Metropolitan is Mons. Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel. The liturgical language of this Church is Ge'ez, a Semitic language that has otherwise been disused for centuries. TheChurch has about 208,000 members today.


CHURCHES OF THE ANTIOCHEAN TRADITION

Syrian Patriarchal Church
It is the Syriac Orthodox Church which hass been in Rome since 1783. The Church has its own hierarchy, under the authority of a patriarch with the title Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians. 
 ince January 20, 2009 the Patriarch is His Beatitude Ignage Youssif III Younan. Now based in Beirut (Lebanon), most of the faithful live in Iraq (42,000) and Syria (26,000), while 55,000 live in the USA and Venezuela.

Maronite Patriarchal Church
The Maronite Church is named after its founder, Saint Maron († 410), who established it in the fourth century. It is headed by the Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, His Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir. The seat is in Bkerke, Lebanon, and counts with 3 million faithful living in Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, USA, Canada, and Australia.

Major Archiepiscopal Syro-Malankar Church
In 1930 a small group of religious and faithful of the Malankara Orthodox Church of India , led by Bishop Geevarghese Mar Ivanios. asked and obtained communion with the Catholic Church from Pope Pius XI. In 1932, he gave new life to the now Catholic Syro-Malankar Church with the erection of two dioceses and the imposition of the pallium in Mar Ivanios. On February 10, 2005 Pope John Paul II elevated the church to the rank of major archbishopric.
 The Major Archbishop is His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, with headquarters in Trivandrum. The church has more than 410,000 members.

TRADITIONAL ARMENIAN CHURCH

Armenian Patriarchal Church
The Armenian Catholic Church arose in 1742 from the Armenian national church and was recognized by Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758). Now based in Bzoummar, Lebanon, it has communities in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Israel, Palestine and other places of the Armenian diaspora around the world. In 1008, membership was estimated at 540,000. It is headed by the Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians, currently His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni.

CHURCHES OF THE CHALDEAN TRADITION

Patriarchal Chaldean Catholic Church
In 1551, some Chaldean Orthodox bishops and faithful gathered at the ancient monastery of Rabban Yochanan Hormisda in what is now Mosul, present-day Iraq. They elected Abbot John Sulaqa as Patriarch, and sent him to see Pope Julius III in Rome, where he converted to Catholicism. In 1553, the Pope created a Catholic Patriarchate of the Chaldean Rite, but full communion with Rome was not definitively established till 1830, when Pope Pius VIII conferred its head with the title Patriarch of Babylon of teh Chaldeans. Until the end of teh 20th century, its seat remained in Mosul, but since 2000, it has been in Baghdad. The current Patriarch is His Beatitude Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly. Memership is about one million, of whom 250,000 live in Iraq and reprsent majority of the Christian population there. The church also has communities in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Australia, the USA, and Jerusalem.


Major Archiepiscopal Syro-Malabar Church
1662-1663 is considered the founding date of the India-based Syro-Malabar Church (mostly in the state of Kerala). In 1896, three apostolic vicariates were created led by Syro-Malabar bishops, In 1923, Pope Pius XI gave the Church its own hierarcy. This was followed in 1934, by de-Latinization of the Syro-Malabar rite, whose own liturgy was approved by Pius XII in 1957. In 1992 Pope John Paul II elevated the Church to the status of Major Archbishopric , naming Cardinal Anthony Padiyara as the first Major Archbishop (he remained as head until he died in 2000). The present Major Archbishop is Cardinal. Varkey Vithayathil, with his seat in Ernakulam-Angamaly. Its membership is estimated at around 3,600,000.


BYZANTINE CHURCHES OF TRADITION

Patriarchal Melkite Church
In 1724, the Melkite Orthodox Church split into into two branches - the Antioochian Orthodox Church which remained under the influence of Constantinople the other the Melkite Catholic Church, which formally declared communion with Rome. Today, Melkite Catholics can be found not only in the Middle East, but also in countries like Canada, the United States of America, Brazil, Australia. The Patriarch of Antioch of the Greek Melkites is His Beatitude Gregory III Laham, with headquarters in Damascus. The church has about 1.2 million members.

Ukrainian Major Archiepiscopal Church
In 1595, an agreement was signed in Rome then ratified in Brest-Litovsk in 1586, under which unincorporated Ukrainian territories were united into the Eparchy of Volinia and joined to the existing Metropolitan Archieparchy of Keiv and other eparcheis of the so-called White Ruthenia. The so-caleld Union of Brest was consolidated in 1620, with its seat in Kiev. The Church was elebated to a Major Archbishopric in 1963, headed by the Major Archbishop of Kiev, but the seat was officialy transferred to the historic See of Leopoli in Kiev on Dec. 6, 2004. The current head is His Beatitude Cardinal Ljubomyr Huzar. His flock numebrs about 4.3 million dispersed throughout the world.

Romanian Major Archiepiscopal Church
Another Orthodox Church offshoot, this arose from the decisions made by three Bishops' Synods in 1697, 1698 and 1700 to seek full communion with the Church of Rome. In 1721, Pope Innocent XIII established a bishopric for the 'units in Transylvania', with the seat in Fagaras, transferred in 1737 to Blacj. In 1853, with another papal bull, Pius IX established the Greek Catholic Romanian Eparchy of Fagaras as a metropolitan seat, with three suffragan dioceses. The Church was elevated to Major Archbishopric status in December 2005. It is currently headed by His Beatitutde Lucian Muresan, who has six eparchies, five in Romania and one in teh USA which reports to the Holy See. Total membership: 740,000.

Ruthenian Metropolitan Church sui iuris
Ruthenia is a term used since the 13th century to designate lands in eastern Europe occupied mostly by Ukrainians (now spread over many national boundaries). In 1646, the Ruthenian Orthodox Church voted to join Rome, through the so-called Union of Uzhorod agreement, while retaining the Byzantine rite. In the 19th and 20th centuries, many Ruthenian Catholics emigrated to teh United States, especially to its mining ctiies. Today teh Ruthenian Church consists of the Eparchy of Mucacevo int eh Ukraien which is directly under the Holy See, the Archieparchy of Pittsburgh with its three suffragan eparchies in teh USA, and an Apostolic Exarchate in the Czech Republic. Its seat is in Pittsburgh, and has been vacant since the death in June of Mons. Basil Myron Schott. Number of faithful: 594,000.

Slovak Metropolitan Church sui iuris
In 1846, the Union of Uzhorod was unanimously accepted in the territory that includes present-day eastern Slovakia. Erected in 1818, the Eparchy of Presov was transferred in 1937 from the jurisdiction of the Primate of Hungary to the direct supervision of the Holy See. In 1997, Pope John Paul II erected the Apostolic Exarchate of Kosice. On January 30, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI reorganized the Church into a metropolitan church sui iuris, elevating the Eparchy of Presov to a metropolitan seat, and the Apostolic Exarchate of Kosice to an eparchy; and created the Eparchate of Brattislava. The seat of the Church is in Presov, and the current Metropolitan Archbishop is Mons. Jan Bajak, who has a flock numbering about 350,000.

Albanian Church sui iuris
The first union was sought
In 1660, an Orthodox archbishop joined the Catholic Church and sought to bring his church into full communion with Rome, but this effort was abandoned in 1765 due to obstacles posed by the Ottoman rulers, whose rule made Albania predominantly Muslim. In 1895 a group of Orthodox villages south-east of Elbasan, central Albania, converted to Catholicism. Much later, in 1939, the Catholics of Albania were united into an ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the Apostolic Administration of Southern Albania. The present administrator is Croatian-born Frnaciscan of teh Byzantine rite, Mons. Hill Kabashi, who was named in 1996. His flock numbers 1bout 3,600.

Belarus (Byelorussian) Church sui iuris
Many Orthodox Byelorussians (White Russians) became Catholic under the Brest-Litovsk agreement. But in 1939, an exarch was named for Byelorussian faithful following the Byzantine rite (the Greek-Catholic Byelorussian Church). In 1960, the Holy See named an Apostolic Visitator for Byelorussians abroad. At the start of 2005, teh Greek-Catholic Byelorussian church had 20 parishes,. 12 of whom are recognized by the state. [As in Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church in Belarus is zealous about keeping the Catholic Church from operating among the Orthodox. In Moscow, for instance, it refuses to have the Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction call itself a diocese, on the grounds that only the Russian Orthodox Church is entitled to have a diocese in the Russian capital.] The Catholic Rhurch in Belaru has 3,000 parish-based members, with anotheer 4,000 living outside the jurisdiction of these parishes. In 2003, the church had only 10 priests and 14 seminarians.

Bulgarian Church sui iuris
In 1859-1861, some Bulgarian orthodox Chrisians asked for union with Rome. Pope Pius IX accepted their request and personally ordained Archimandrite Joseph Sokolsky as Archbishop on April 8, 1861. In 1926, an Apostolic Exarchate for Bulgarian Catholics of the Byzantine Rite was established. At the end of 2004, the Apostolic Exarchate of Sofia had about 10,000 faithful in 21 parishes; five priests and 16 religious eparchs, with another 17 males and 41 females belonging to religious orders. Heading the Exarchate today is Bishop Christo Proykov.

Croatian Church sui iuris
In 1611, a bishop was named for the Coatian Orthodox who had converted to Catholicism. In 1853, this Eparchy became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Zagreb. In 2001 [with the redefinition of national territories and sovereignties in the former Yugoslavia], an Apostolic Exarchate for Macedonians (6000 members) was detached from the eparchy, and a separate Apostlic Exarchate for Serbia and Montenegro was created in 2003, With 25,000 members. The seat of the Eparchy was transferred from Zagreb to Krizevci, and now has jurisdiction over all Croatians of the Byzantine rite (15,311 in Croatia). Their primate is Mons. Nikola Kekic,

Greek Church sui iuris
The first mutilple conversions to Catholicism from the Orthodox Church of Greece took place in the late nineteenth century with the creation of a Greek Catholic Church sui iuris. The Apostolic Exarchate of Greece for Catholics of the Byzantine rite was erected on June 11, 1932. In 2004, this small church had 2,300 members. It is currently under Bishop Dimitrios Salachas. The Apostolic Exarchate of Constantinople for Catholics of the Byzantine Rite was established for Turkey in 1911. The seat has beem vacant since 1957 and is currently under an Apostolic Administrator, Mons. Louis Pelatre.

Italo-Albanian Church sui iuris
Based in Italy, it consists of two eparchies and the Abbey of Grottaferrata. The Eparchy of Lungro (in Tuscany) was erected February 13, 1919, by Pope Benedict XV in a city where 32,800 out of 33,182 residents were Albanian Catholics of the Byzantine rite. The Eparchy as 22 parishes. In 1937, Pope Pius XI erected a second Eparchy, Piana dei Greci, where in 2004, 28,500 out of 30,000 residents were Albanian Catholics of the Byzantine rite. The current Eparch is Mons. Sotir Ferrara. The Abbey of Grottaferrata, founded in 1004 by St. Nilus of Rossano and located in the Alban Hills 20 kms southeast of Rome, has 98 members currently under Archimandrite Emiliano Maker, OSBI.

Macedonian Church sui iuris
Established first in 1918 as the Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia, it was abolshed in 1924. In 2001, after Yugoslavia broke up into a number of smaller nation-states, the Holy See re-established the Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia comprising all Mecedonian Catholics following the Byzantine rite, currently numerbing 11,500. Since 2001, the Holy See has named the Latin bishop of Skopje as ex-officio Exarch, currently Mons. Kiro Stojanov.

Russian Church sui iuris
This Church originates from Russian Orthodox who entered into communion with Rome in 1905. An Apostolic Exarchate was first formed for these Russian Catholics in 1917. In 1928, second Exarchate was established in Harbin for Russian Catholics who had emigrated to China. Both exarchates still exist, but no bishops have been named.

Hungarian Church sui iuris
In the eighteenth century, many Hungarian Protestants converted to Byzantine-rite Catholicism. On June 8, 1912, Pope Pius X created the Eparchy of Hajdúdorog for 168 such parishes. On June 4, 1924, the Apostolic Exarchate of Miskolc was created. This church now has about 300,000 members, and its current primate is Mons. Peter Fulop Kociss of the Eparchy of Hajdúdorogis, based in Nyiregyhaza.



WHO'S WHO IN THE SYNOD



Equally important to know is the full list of Synodal participants as published in the first bulletin of the Synodal Assembly, in which 'Benedict XVI, Supreme Pontiff' ranks #1, as President of the Assembly. Among other things, it contains a 'who's who' with full names and titles of the leaders of the Oriental Churches:http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/sinodo/documents/bollettino_24_speciale-medio-oriente-2010/02_inglese/b01_02.html