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Dear Catholic Exchange:
Recently I have seen references to the Eastern Catholics; most of which center around the Eastern Catholics priest's being allowed to marry. Is this true? Are they the Orthodox Church? Do they recognize the authority of the Pope?
Thanks for your help,
Tasha
Dear Ms. Bergfalk,
First of all, there are a number of Eastern Rites fully united to the universal Church. These are the Rites of the Eastern Catholic Churches, which are distinct from the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Although Eastern Catholics follow the tradition and liturgies of the East, they are in full communion with Rome, and thus they are no less Catholic than Latin Rite Catholics. In the decree of Vatican II, Orientalium Ecclesiarum, a “rite” is defined as what is particular to a Church “in liturgy, in ecclesiastical discipline and in spiritual tradition.” There are a number of distinct rites within the universal Church. Our Faith Fact on the Eastern Catholic Churches speaks of the various rites which are in full communion with Rome, providing a categorical list of the rites of the Catholic Eastern Churches.
Some Eastern Churches accept the authority of the papacy and are in full union with the Roman Pontiff (the Pope) and accept him as their head, while some other Eastern Churches do not. Such is the case with the Catholic Eastern Churches, which are therefore properly called, “Catholic.” “Fully Catholic” means that not only do they use rites that are approved by the authority of the Catholic Church in Rome (the Vatican), but they also are in union with Rome on all matters of Catholic doctrine — that is, what the Catholic Church teaches about faith (what we believe) and morals (what is right and what is wrong).
However, those not in full union (for instance, the Orthodox Churches) do follow the same rites as their counterparts; that is, they use the same liturgical forms for worship and have similar disciplines (though not in all things, such as the very serious issue of divorce and remarriage) and spiritual traditions. For example, most of the Catholic Eastern Churches have counterparts in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and the Assyrian Churches of the East who go by the same names for their rites; but, these counterparts are not in full communion with the Pope, even though they use the same rites. They are not in complete agreement with the doctrinal and moral teachings of the Catholic Church.
There are twenty-one Catholic Eastern Churches in existence. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 1203, lists the Eastern rites as the “Byzantine, Alexandrian or Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Maronite, and Chaldean.” The Maronites you will see listed below under the Syriac (or Antiochian) tradition. They are often listed separately, as here in the Catechism, because they have never formally adhered to any heresy or have been in schism from Rome at any time. Thus they have no counterpart elsewhere in the East.
Finally, you raised the issue of whether the priests of these Eastern Catholic Churches are permitted to marry. This matter is addressed in our Faith Fact entitled, God's Gift to His Bride: Priestly Celibacy.
It is important to note that priestly celibacy is a matter of changeable discipline. The Eastern tradition differs slightly from the Latin tradition in that they do allow married men to be ordained as priests. This is a long established practice. From the earliest times, the Eastern tradition permitted married men to be ordained. This was formally adopted at the Council of Trullo in A.D. 692.
However, the particular laws of the various Eastern Churches forbade a man, once ordained, to take a wife. Married priests and deacons, if their wife died, were not permitted to remarry. Further, the Eastern Church allows only unmarried priests to be chosen as bishops, and many men do enter into the priesthood in the Eastern tradition choosing to remain single for the kingdom of God.
The East has never changed its discipline regarding married clergy. The current state of the disciplines in the Eastern Catholic Churches is fundamentally the same as it was from the earliest days the laws were codified.
United in the Faith,
