UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH STUDY MATERIAL FOR THE VISIT OF PATRIARCH SVIATOSLAV HEAD OF THE UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH SEPTEMBER 2014 EPARCHIAL PASTORAL COUNCIL OF THE UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND & OCEANIA. EPARCHIAL PASTORAL COUNCIL OF THE UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND & OCEANIA. TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1 – EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES 3 - 11 SECTION 2 – THE SHEPHERDS AND TEACHERS OF OUR CHURCH 12 -16 POPE FRANCIS 17 - 20 PATRIARCH SVIATOSLAV SHEVCHUK 21 - 23 BISHOP PETER STASIUK, C.SS.R. 24 - 26 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS: EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES 27 - 28 1 2 SECTION 1 – EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES INTRODUCTION Jerusalem is the cradle of Christianity. From there the apostles and their successors received the command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the ages” (Mt. 28:19). By the command of Christ, the Gospel was to be proclaimed to the entire world, embracing all nations. Rising above national, cultural, political, economic, social and all other man-made barriers and restrictions, “the Church of Jesus Christ is neither Latin, Greek, nor Slav, but Catholic; there is not and cannot be any difference between her children, no matter what they be otherwise, whether Latins, Greeks or Slavs, or any other nationality: all of them are equal around the table of the Holy See” (Pope Benedict XIV; see Vatican II, Eastern Catholic Churches, no. 2). The dawn of the Christian era was met with rejection by the Jewish leaders and with complete disfavour by the Roman Empire. As a result, Christian worship was restricted to secrecy and to the catacombs. The first 300 years of the Christian Church record many outrageous persecutions and death penalties upon those who chose to be witnesses to Jesus Christ. The number of martyrs in this period is conservatively estimated at 13 million. In spite of the mass persecutions, the number of Christians continued to grow; as Tertullian wrote in the year 197 “the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.” By the edict of Milan in 313, Emperor Constantine the Great granted freedom of worship to Christians, and to the pagan religions in the Roman Empire. No longer did a follower of Christ have to dread the question, “Are you a Christian?” Christianity was now free to grow, organize and develop. POLITICAL CHANGES IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE In 330, Constantine transferred the Capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium. This city overlooked the Bosphorus, and was a perfect link between Europe and Asia Minor. The rebuilt city was renamed Constantinople, and was nicknamed New Rome or Second Rome. (At present, it is called Istanbul, in Turkey.) During the rise of power in the East, the West was being devastated by barbarians, and the transformation of the Roman Empire was in the making. Notwithstanding these political changes, the Pope of Rome was recognized as the successor of St Peter and as such the adjudicator of disputes throughout the Church. This was the beginning of the understanding of the role of the Bishop of Rome as Pope and head of the Church. 3 ORIGIN OF RITES IN THE CHURCH With the emergence of the Christian Church in 313 from the period of persecution, a new era prevailed. In areas where Christianity flourished, patterns of expressing the Christian faith were systematically organized. The development and gradual growth of various liturgical centres—the traditional patriarchates of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and, at least in honour, Jerusalem—which consolidated local practices and led to the creation of what we still call “rites,” those distinct ecclesial ways of being Christian, of living out one’s ecclesial identity through distinct forms of liturgy, canon law and spirituality in particular cultural contexts. Local customs and traditions gave each local Church a distinct form. In the western part of the Empire, there were a variety of rites such as the Celtic Rite in Ireland, the Sarum Rite in England, the Mozarabic Rite in Spain and the Ambrosian Rite in Milan . The Latin rite of the Roman See eventually prevailed, although there are Franco-German influences present in it. The rite of the Church of Constantinople eventually became the dominant rite in the East, though the rites of the Churches of Antioch and Alexandria also exerted a notable influence on other rites including the Byzantine rite. ANTIOCH had been the centre of influence upon all Christendom. It was there that St. Peter began his apostolate before going to Rome. The term Christian was first used in Antioch (see Acts 11:26). ALEXANDRIA, the home of monasticism, was the glory of Egypt. At one time the Patriarchate of Alexandria comprised 11 archbishoprics and more than 100 bishoprics. Patriarch Alexander and his successor St. Athanasius were among the leading Fathers of the first ecumenical council held in Nicea in 325. The Coptic Church of Egypt was a strong missionary Church which in turn founded Churches in Ethiopia and Numidia. However, it was in disagreement with other Christian Churches over the formula designed to express the nature of Christ’s divinity at Chalcedon JERUSALEM, the city where Jesus was crucified and the followers of Jesus had gathered was eventually destroyed by the Romans. In the Constantinian era the city and many of the churches we know today were built. Many monasteries were built there and a Jerusalem rite, which is now extant travelled with monks and influenced other rites 4 SCHISM A crippling blow to the Christian Church was experienced in 1054 as the Great Schism Political motivations dominated this historical date of unanswered questions. At the time of Michael Caerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople, the Church of Jesus Christ suffered a schism (division) that has lasted to the present. Although the separated Eastern Churches (now called Orthodox Churches) retain all the sacraments, they do not acknowledge the Pope of Rome as the infallible head of the whole Christian Church. They also take exception to Latin Creed which says that the spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son. However, many of the points of disagreement are slowly being resolved by bishops and theologians from both sides meeting in the International Theological Dialogues between Catholic and Orthodox. Today millions of Eastern Christians are estranged from the Roman See. The Vatican Council urged all to work and pray to restore full union between the separated Eastern Churches and the Catholic Church (Decree of Ecumenism, no. 14). That work has been supported by recent Popes and Ecumenical Patriarchs. The recent meeting between Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Constantinople) commemorated the beginnings of the so called Dialogue of love begun by their predecessors 50 years ago. REUNION WITH THE ROMAN SEE There have been many attempts at reunion with the Roman See. The major ones were at the Ecumenical Council of Lyon in 1274 and the Council of Florence in 1439. Important though these meetings were, they were perceived as one sided by many of the Eastern Orthodox participants. They had short term limited success and for various historical reasons they were doomed to failure. DOWNFALL OF EASTERN CHRISTENDOM Constantinople, the final stronghold and fortress of Eastern Christendom fell to the Turks in 1453. Meanwhile, Islam swept across Northern Africa, the Holy Land and Spain. THE CHURCH - A COMMUNION OF CHURCHES (the following paragraphs come from “Eastern Catholics in Australia” The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, 1997) We have been accustomed to speaking of the Latin (Roman or Western) Rite or the Eastern Rites to designate the different Christian Churches. However the Church’s contemporary legislation as contained in the Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches makes it clear that we ought to speak not of the Latin or Maronite or Melkite or Ukrainian Rites, but of the Latin Church, the Maronite 5 Church, the Melkite Church and the Ukrainian Church. Canon 112 uses the phrase “autonomous ritual Churches” to designate the various Churches. According to Vatican II the development of these Churches was part of God’s plan. “It has come about through divine providence that, in the course of time, different Churches set up in various places by the apostles and their successors joined together in a multiplicity of organically united groups, which while safeguarding the unity of faith and the unique divine structure of the universal Church, have their own discipline, enjoy their own liturgical usage and inherit a theological and spiritual heritage.” (Lumen Gentium #3) Concerning the Eastern Churches Vatican II said that “attention should everywhere be given to the preservation and growth of each individual Church.” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum #4) Hence it is not merely a question of the preservation of the Eastern Churches just for their sake. The traditions and spiritual riches are not the exclusive possession of the Eastern Churches for they form part of the patrimony of the entire Church of Christ. The sharing of the riches of the faith and traditions of the East nurtures and strengthens the unity in diversity of the Church The four original traditions are: ANTIOCHIAN ALEXANDRIAN BYZANTINE ARMENIAN THE 7 RITUAL LITURGICAL FAMILIES ARMENIAN BYZANTINE SYNTHESIS: Antioch, Jerusalem with Constantinople Parochial Cathedral Liturgy COPTIC ETHIOPIC SYNTHESIS: Coptic & Syrian monastic EAST SYRIAN (Assyrian) WEST SYRIAN (Antiochene) MARONITE 6 SOME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN CHURCHES Though the Eastern and Western Churches believe in “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all,” the manner of expressing this faith varies.