Icons on every wall, a married priest, leavened bread, babies receiving Communion. Is a Byzantine or Maronite parish really Catholic, or Orthodox under another name?
Short answer: Yes. The Eastern Catholic Churches are 23 self-governing Churches in full communion with the pope, alongside the Latin (Roman) Church. They share the same faith, the same sacraments, and the same communion with St. Peter's successor, while keeping their own liturgies, laws, and customs. The Church teaches that they are "of equal dignity" with the Latin Church.
Key verses on unity in diversity
- "one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call" (Ephesians 4:4)
- "As a body is one though it has many parts... so also Christ." (1 Corinthians 12:12)
- "there will be one flock, one shepherd" (John 10:16)
- "we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God" (Acts 2:11)
- "we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God" (Acts 15:19)
- "Feed my sheep" (John 21:17)
Scripture quotations are from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
What Catholics Actually Teach
The Catholic Church is a communion of 24 self-governing (sui iuris) Churches: the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Melkite, Maronite, Chaldean, and Syro-Malabar Churches. In 1990 they received their own Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Their liturgies come from "the Byzantine, Alexandrian or Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Maronite and Chaldean rites," and the Church "holds all lawfully recognized rites to be of equal right and dignity" (CCC 1203).
What makes a Church Catholic is communion, not Latin customs: "Particular Churches are fully catholic through their communion with one of them, the Church of Rome 'which presides in charity'" (CCC 834). Vatican II taught that the Churches of East and West, though they differ "in liturgy, ecclesiastical discipline, and spiritual heritage," are "each as much as the others, entrusted to the pastoral government of the Roman Pontiff," and so "They are consequently of equal dignity" (Orientalium Ecclesiarum 3). Indeed, "the variety within the Church in no way harms its unity; rather it manifests it" (OE 2). The Eastern Churches "have a full right and are in duty bound to rule themselves, each in accordance with its own established disciplines" (OE 5).
What Catholics do not teach:
- That "Catholic" means "Latin." A Melkite or Maronite Catholic is as fully Catholic as a Roman Catholic (OE 3).
- That Eastern Catholics must adopt Latin ways. Where they had drifted, Vatican II told them to "take steps to return to their ancestral traditions" (OE 6).
- That married priests or Communion for infants are abuses Rome merely tolerates. Both are legitimate Eastern traditions (CCC 1580, 1244).
- That Eastern Catholic Churches are a strategy for absorbing the Orthodox (see objection b).
The Biblical Case
1. One body, many members
St. Paul confesses "one body and one Spirit... one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephesians 4:4–5). Yet the body "has many parts," and "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I do not need you'" (1 Corinthians 12:12, 21). Unity is not uniformity. The Latin Church cannot say to the Eastern Churches, "I do not need you."
2. The apostles let one faith live in many cultures
At the Council of Jerusalem, St. Peter rose to speak, and St. James concluded: "we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God" (Acts 15:7, 19). The council wrote: "It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities" (Acts 15:28). St. Paul worked "in partnership" with St. Peter, St. James, and St. John, though his mission was to the Gentiles and theirs to the circumcised (Galatians 2:7–9). One faith did not require one culture.
3. Pentecost spoke many languages
At Pentecost the crowd said, "we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God" (Acts 2:11). Heaven's worship gathers people "from every nation, race, people, and tongue" (Revelation 7:9). Byzantine, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, and Latin liturgies are a foretaste of that multitude.
4. One flock, one shepherd
Jesus promised "one flock, one shepherd" (John 10:16) and entrusted His whole flock to St. Peter: "Feed my lambs," "Tend my sheep," "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15–17). He told him alone, "you must strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:32). So Eastern and Latin Catholics alike are united under "the divinely appointed successor of St. Peter in primacy over the universal Church" (OE 3). Note the pattern: the power to bind and loose is given to the apostles together (Matthew 18:18), but the keys are given to St. Peter alone: "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16:18–19). A Church is not less Eastern for being in communion with the one who holds them. Full case: Is the Papacy in the Bible?
Objections Answered
(a) "Married priests and leavened bread? That isn't Catholic."
At its strongest: Many Latin Catholics know only the Roman Mass, celibate priests, and unleavened hosts. Differences this visible look like differences of faith, and Latin customs were once pressed on Eastern Catholics as if theirs were second-rate.
Answer: Distinguish doctrine from discipline. The doctrine is the same: one Creed, the same sacraments, and communion with St. Peter's successor. The disciplines differ legitimately. On married clergy: "In the Eastern Churches a different discipline has been in force for many centuries... married men can be ordained as deacons and priests. This practice has long been considered legitimate" (CCC 1580). On bread, the Council of Florence (1439), with the Byzantine emperor and the Greek delegation present, taught that "the body of Christ is truly confected in both unleavened and leavened wheat bread," each priest "according to the custom of his western or eastern church." On infant Communion, the Eastern Churches give it "to all the newly baptized and confirmed, even little children" (CCC 1244). As for past Latinizing, the Church itself corrected it (OE 6). This is the apostolic pattern: the Council of Jerusalem refused to "place on you any burden beyond these necessities" (Acts 15:28).
(b) Orthodox: "Eastern Catholics are 'uniates,' a Roman strategy that wounded unity."
At its strongest: Many Eastern Catholic Churches came from unions in the last four centuries, such as the Union of Brest (1595–1596). These unions split communities from their Orthodox mother Churches, sometimes amid political pressure.
Answer: Catholics should hear this honestly. In 1993 the Catholic–Orthodox Joint International Commission, meeting at Balamand, Lebanon, acknowledged that these unions brought "the breaking of communion with their Mother Churches of the East," and "This took place not without the interference of extraecclesial interests." It concluded that "uniatism" "can no longer be accepted either as a method to be followed nor as a model of the unity our Churches are seeking."
The same document affirmed that the Eastern Catholic Churches, "as part of the Catholic Communion, have the right to exist and to act in answer to the spiritual needs of their faithful." They have also suffered: in 1946, under Soviet rule, a synod in Lviv revoked the Union of Brest, and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was suppressed until 1989. And not every Eastern Catholic Church came from a split; the Maronite Church has no Orthodox counterpart. Vatican II gave them "a special duty of promoting the unity of all Christians, especially Eastern Christians" (OE 24). Concede the history; do not concede the principle. Balamand rejected a method, not the faith of these Churches, and their millions of faithful have kept both their Eastern liturgy and communion with St. Peter's successor, often through prison and martyrdom.
(c) Orthodox: "Catholicity lives in each local Church around its bishop. Rome had a primacy of honor, not authority over the East."
At its strongest: St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote, "wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church," and tied the one Eucharist to the one bishop (Smyrnaeans 8). Every bishop received the power to bind and loose (Matthew 18:18). On this view, a local Church that keeps the apostolic faith around its bishop is fully catholic already, and making communion with Rome the test turns a first among equals into a monarch.
Answer: Start with Scripture. The binding power is shared (Matthew 18:18), but the keys are not: Christ gives them to St. Peter alone (Matthew 16:18–19). He prays for St. Peter's faith in particular, so that he will "strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:32), and gives him alone the threefold charge over the whole flock (John 21:15–17). The apostles were one college with a head, and the Church He built on St. Peter is the one He promised "the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against" (Matthew 16:18).
The Fathers the Orthodox venerate read it the same way. The same St. Ignatius greets the Church of Rome as the one "which presides over love" (Romans, prologue). St. Irenaeus (c. AD 180) wrote: "For it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church, on account of its preeminent authority" (Against Heresies 3.3.2). At the Council of Ephesus (431), which the Orthodox receive as the Third Ecumenical Council, the papal legate Philip told the assembled bishops that St. Peter "received the keys of the kingdom" and "both lives and judges in his successors." At Florence (1439), "With the agreement of our most dear son John Palaeologus, illustrious emperor of the Romans" and of the deputies of the Eastern patriarchs, the council called the Roman Pontiff "the head of the whole church and the father and teacher of all Christians." Yes, St. Mark of Ephesus refused to sign, and the union was later rejected in the East. But the Greeks who accepted it were not Latins; they found the primacy in their own Fathers. Eastern Catholics did not invent a Latin novelty. They kept the communion that Ephesus took for granted.
The Early Church Agrees
- St. Ignatius of Antioch (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8, c. AD 110), the earliest known use of the phrase "the Catholic Church": "wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."
- St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 190, in Eusebius, Church History 5.24.13), to Pope St. Victor I, about differing customs for the fast before Easter: "the disagreement in regard to the fast confirms the agreement in the faith."
- St. Polycarp and Pope St. Anicetus (same passage, 5.24.17): though they disagreed on the Easter date, "they communed together, and Anicetus conceded the administration of the eucharist in the church to Polycarp, manifestly as a mark of respect."
- St. Ignatius (Letter to the Romans, prologue, c. AD 110), an Eastern bishop, greeting the Church of Rome as the one "which presides over love".
- St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lecture 18.23, c. AD 350), on why the Church is called Catholic: "because it extends over all the world, from one end of the earth to the other."
Different customs, one faith, one communion with Rome: that is exactly what the Eastern Catholic Churches are.
Conclusion
Eastern Catholics are not half-Catholic or Orthodox in disguise. They pray as the ancient Churches of the East have prayed for centuries, in full communion with St. Peter's successor, and show what "catholic" means: whole, universal, at home in every culture.
If you are a Latin Catholic, visit a Divine Liturgy or Holy Qurbana near you; it is your Church too. If you are Orthodox, we know these Churches carry painful memories for you. We pray for the day East and West share one altar in full communion. Learn more in What Is the Difference Between Catholic and Orthodox?
Come home. The Eastern Catholic Churches prove that an Eastern Christian can keep his liturgy, his Fathers, and his whole heritage and still belong fully to the Catholic Church. You already possess true sacraments and much of the apostolic faith, in "a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church" (CCC 838). Those gifts draw their power "from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church" and "are in themselves calls to 'Catholic unity'" (CCC 819). The Eucharist is the sacrament of the Church's unity, yet your true Eucharist is celebrated apart from the successor of St. Peter, on whom Christ built His Church (Matthew 16:18). We invite you into full communion with St. Peter's successor, the bishop of Rome, in the Catholic Church.
Your next step: Come to Mass or Divine Liturgy at your local Catholic church. You can find one near you at MassTimes.org. When you're ready, call the parish office and ask to speak with the priest about entering full communion with the Catholic Church. Read our guide: How Do I Become Catholic? Not ready yet? Get our free pocket guide below and keep learning.
FAQ
How many Eastern Catholic Churches are there? Twenty-three. With the Latin Church, that makes 24 self-governing Churches in one Catholic communion.
Can a Latin Catholic receive Communion at an Eastern Catholic liturgy? Yes. The faithful "can participate in the eucharistic sacrifice and receive holy communion in any Catholic rite" (canon 923), and attending fulfills the Sunday obligation (canon 1248 §1). The usual conditions apply: be in a state of grace, since "Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion" (CCC 1385), and keep the one-hour Eucharistic fast (canon 919 §1).
Is an Eastern Catholic church the same as an Orthodox church? No. They may share a liturgy, but Eastern Catholics are in full communion with the pope; the Orthodox are not. Catholics normally receive Communion only from Catholic ministers. Church law allows an exception only when all its conditions hold: it is "physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister," "necessity requires it or true spiritual advantage suggests it," and "danger of error or of indifferentism is avoided" (canon 844 §2). The Orthodox generally admit only their own members, so never approach without the Orthodox priest's consent. Ask your pastor; your bishop may have local norms (canon 844 §5).
Sources
Scripture (NABRE, bible.usccb.org): Matthew 16:18–19; Matthew 18:18; John 10:16; John 21:15–17; Luke 22:32; Acts 2:11; Acts 15:7, 19, 28; 1 Corinthians 12:12, 21; Galatians 2:7–9; Ephesians 4:4–5; Revelation 7:9.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (vatican.va): 819, 834, 835, 838; 1203; 1244; 1385; 1580.
Church documents: Second Vatican Council, Orientalium Ecclesiarum 2, 3, 5, 6, 24; Code of Canon Law, canons 919, 923, canon 844, canon 1248; Council of Florence (1439), Session 6, decree of union with the Greeks (Tanner translation, EWTN Library); Council of Ephesus (431), Acts, Session III, speech of the legate Philip (newadvent.org); Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, Uniatism, Method of Union of the Past, and the Present Search for Full Communion (Balamand, 1993), Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.
Church Fathers (newadvent.org): Eusebius, Church History 5.24 (ccel.org); Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans; Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8; Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.3; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 18.
History: Wikipedia, "Eastern Catholic Churches" (23 Churches, 1990 Code, Maronite Church); Wikipedia, "Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church" (Union of Brest, 1946 Lviv synod, 1989 legalization).