Eastern Catholic Churches

The self-governing Eastern Christian churches in full communion with the pope, preserving distinct liturgical, theological, spiritual, and canonical traditions.

Catholic Church: The Christian church headed by the bishop of Rome and comprising Latin and Eastern Catholic churches. Eastern Catholic Churches belong to this communion while retaining their own traditions.
Maronite Church: An Eastern Catholic church of West Syriac tradition, historically rooted in Lebanon and in communion with Rome. It is a distinctive Eastern Catholic church that has remained in communion with Rome.
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches: The 1990 codification of canon law for the Eastern Catholic churches. It sets rules for their governance without making them branches of the Latin Church.
Council of Florence: A fifteenth-century ecumenical council that pursued reunion between the Catholic Church and several Eastern churches. Its reunion decrees shaped some later accounts of Eastern churches entering Catholic communion.
Eastern Orthodox Church: A communion of autocephalous Orthodox churches that share Byzantine theological and liturgical traditions and are not in communion with Rome. Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox communities may share rites and histories but differ in communion with the pope.
Eastern Christianity: The Christian traditions that developed in the eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, Eastern Europe, and parts of Asia. Eastern Catholic Churches preserve traditions that arose within this broad Christian world.
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church: The largest Eastern Catholic church, following the Byzantine rite and rooted in Ukrainian Christianity. Its history illustrates how a Byzantine church entered communion with Rome while retaining its rite.
Patriarch: A senior bishop who heads certain Eastern churches and presides over their synods. Several Eastern Catholic churches are led by patriarchs who exercise authority with their synods.
Union of Brest: The 1596 agreement by which part of the Ruthenian Orthodox hierarchy entered communion with Rome. It is a formative episode in the history of the Ukrainian and Belarusian Greek Catholic traditions.
Oriental Orthodox Churches: A family of churches that did not accept the Council of Chalcedon's definition of Christ's two natures. Some Eastern Catholic churches share heritage with Oriental Orthodox churches, which remain outside Catholic communion.

Linked from 16 pages