Frequently Asked Questions What is a Byzantine Catholic? A Byzantine Catholic is a person who is canonically enrolled in the Byzantine Metropolitan Church sui iuris of Pittsburgh through conversion to the Church, baptism into the Church, or transferring from another Catholic particular Church. What is the Byzantine Metropolitan Church sui iuris of Pittsburgh? Sui iuris means "of their own law," or self-governing. Our Church has its own canon law, particular law, geographic boundaries, and hierarchy. It uses a rite which has its own liturgical, theological, spiritual, and disciplinary heritage. Our Church's patrimony is in the East. Our Metropolitan, and through him our entire Church, is in communion with the Pope of Rome. Governing documents for our Church are the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, the Particular Law for the Byzantine Metropolitan Church sui iuris of Pittsburgh, and our Typicon. Our Church is headed by a Metropolitan. A Metropolitan ranks just below a patriarch and above an archbishop. The authority of Metropolitans to rule within their jurisdictions dates back at least as far as the Council of Nicaea I, which designated churchmen to this rank in 325 AD. Our Metropolitan resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Byzantine Metropolitan Church sui iuris of Pittsburgh is one of the 23 churches which comprise the Catholic Communion of Churches. What is the Catholic Communion of Churches? The Catholic Communion of Churches are those 23 different autonomous groups of Christian people, each with their own hierarchy, who have agreed through unions and treaties that they share the same essential faith and therefore allow intercommunion between their Churches. Six of those Churches are patriarchal and have full and immediate jurisdiction within their Churches, including governance, theology, discipline, and more. The other Churches have varying degrees of independence depending on the circumstances at the time of their entrance into the Catholic Communion. How does a person become Byzantine Catholic? There are a number of ways a person can join the the Byzantine Church including through baptism, conversion, or canonical transfer. All Catholics are 'ascribed' to one of the 23 sui iuris Churches, meaning they are written in the registers of that particular Church. Here are the ways a person can be canonically enrolled in the Byzantine Church. All non-Catholics who convert to the Catholic faith may choose to enter any of the 23 Churches, including the Byzantine Church. All Eastern and Oriental Orthodox who enter the Catholic Communion of Churches are automatically ascribed to the corresponding Eastern or Oriental Catholic church, no matter which Catholic Church they are received or communed in. All baptized children under the age of 14 whose parents enter the Byzantine Church are also ascribed to the Byzantine Church with them. In the case of only one parent transferring enrollment between Catholic churches, while the other Catholic parent does not canonically change Churches, the parents may choose which of the two Catholic Churches the children will be ascribed to. All children who are born or adopted into a Catholic marriage where the father is a Byzantine Catholic and the parents do not decide otherwise previous to the baptism of the children are baptized into the Byzantine Church, no matter which physical Church the children are baptized in or which church the family regularly worships in. In the case of a marriage of two Catholics of different Church affiliations, the parents may choose to baptize the child into the Catholic Church of either parent. Without an explicit agreement to the contrary, or in the case of a disagreement, the children are baptized into the Church of the father. Upon their baptisms, the children follow the canonical enrollment of the Catholic parent if only one parent is Catholic. All baptized children under the age of 14 who are adopted into a Catholic marriage where the father is a Byzantine Catholic and the parents do not decide otherwise previous to the adoption of the children are ascribed to the Byzantine Church upon their adoption. In the case of a marriage of two Catholics of different Church affiliations, the parents may choose to ascribe the children to the Catholic Church of either parent. Without an explicit agreement to the contrary, or in the case of a disagreement, the children are ascribed to the Catholic Church of the father. When only one parent is Catholic, the children are ascribed to the church of the Catholic parent. All children under the age of 14 who are born or adopted to an unmarried mother who is a Byzantine Catholic are baptized into or ascribed to the Byzantine Church, no matter which physical Church they were baptized in or which Church the mother regularly worships in. All Catholic women who marry Byzantine Catholics may choose at the time of their wedding or at any point during the marriage to transfer to the Church of their husbands. Any man ascribed to the Latin Church who marries a Byzantine woman may chose to transfer to the Church of his wife upon his wedding. Without an explicit decision to do so, and the priest's notation upon the marriage, he would remain enrolled in his original Church sui iuris. All women who are Byzantine Catholics who decide to transfer to the Catholic Church of their husbands' affiliation may decide to return to the Byzantine Church at the time of the dissolution of the marriage through death or civil divorce. All Byzantine Catholic children whose church of canonical enrollment was automatically changed by their parents' change of canonical enrollment to another particular church may choose to return to the Byzantine Church upon or after their 14th birthday. Any Catholic who feels his or her spiritual well-being is best served by the Byzantine Church may petition his or her current Catholic bishop and the Byzantine bishop for a change of canonical enrollment. This information is offered only as an overview of the canon laws. Several of the circumstances depend on the particular situation of the family and the timing of the decision. Please consult with your priest or a canon lawyer through the eparchy's chancery office before a baptism, adoption, chrismation, conversion, marriage, divorce, or change of canonical enrollment if you have any questions or intend to be ascribed to the Byzantine Church. What is the Byzantine Rite? The Byzantine Rite is used by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches and by 14 of the Eastern Catholic Churches. It originated in the Patriarchal See of Constantinople (now Istanbul), which had earlier been called Byzantium. It encompasses an entire way of understanding and living out the faith, including a liturgical, theological, spiritual, and disciplinary heritage. The Byzantine Rite uses four different liturgies: the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (most frequently), the Liturgy of St. Basil (mainly during the Great Fast or Lent), the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts (weekdays of the Great Fast), and the Liturgy of St. James (very rarely). The Byzantine Rite has different recensions within it that reflect the Russian and Greek influences of various areas. The theology, spirituality, chant, architecture, devotions, prayers, practices, worldview, history, and disciplines of the Byzantine Rite are too extensive to cover in this short space; but many of them are addressed throughout this FAQ. What's the difference between a rite and a Church? The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches says in Canons 27 and 28 that a Church is a “community of Christian faithful, joined together by a hierarchy, that is recognized as a sui iuris Church,” while a rite is a “liturgical, theological, spiritual, and disciplinary heritage differentiated by the culture and the circumstances of the history of peoples which is expressed by each Church sui iuris in its manner of living the faith.” In other words, a rite is a way of understanding and living out the faith while a Church is a group of people who use a rite under the guidance of an autonomous hierarchy who have a recognized method of governance. The rite is the way we do it and the Church is who we do it with. Do people belong to a rite or a Church? In the Eastern and Oriental Churches, the members belong to the Church. The Church uses a rite. The correct terminology to reflect this fact fell into disuse in the United States in the 1900s due to a number of socio-political issues. While you might still hear remnants of this, the following examples will help you to understand and express the proper relationship between rites and Churches. It is correct to say, "I attend the Byzantine Catholic Church." not "I attend the Byzantine Rite Church." Why: 14 Churches use the Byzantine Rite. A person attends one of those particular Churches. It is correct to say, "Did you canonically change Churches?" or "Did you seek a change of canonical enrollment?" not "Did you change rites?" Why: A person is canonically ascribed to a particular Church and may ask to change that canonical enrollment to another Church. Those Churches might or might not use the same rite. It is correct to say, "My cousin attends an Anglican Use parish." not "My cousin attends an Anglican Rite Church." Why: The Anglican usage is neither a rite nor a Church; it is a way of using the Latin rite within the Latin Church. It is correct to say, "I was raised with the Tridentine liturgy," not "I was raised in the Tridentine Church." Why: The Tridentine liturgy is a usage of the Latin rite and is not a particular Church. It is correct to say, "I belong to the Ambrosian Rite," not "I belong to the Latin Church." Why: In the Latin Church only, members belong to a rite and the different rites belong to the same Church.