Ea Semper

Last updated

Ea Semper was an apostolic letter written by Pope Pius X in September 1907 that dealt with the governance of the Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholics in the United States. [1] It dealt with the appointment of Soter Ortynski as the first bishop of the Ruthenian Catholics in the United States, together with papal instructions concerning his powers and duties.

Contents

Contents

The letter created considerable dissatisfaction among the American Greek Rite clergy and laity since it did not provide for any diocesan authority for their new bishop. Rather, it made him an auxiliary to Latin Church bishops, some of whom (such as Bishop John Ireland, for instance) were hostile to the Byzantine Rite. Furthermore, it also modified several aspects of Eastern Catholic liturgy that differed from the Latin liturgical rites. Confirmation was no longer to be conferred at baptism. and could now be given only by a bishop (not a priest, as in the Eastern churches). No new married priests were to be ordained in America or to be sent to America. The pope's missive also mandated changes to the regulations governing marriages between persons in the Latin and Byzantine Rite.[ citation needed ]

Reaction

Dissatisfaction with the letter resulted in many conversions to Russian Orthodoxy, particularly in America; it continued a movement that began in 1892 under Alexis Toth, who was later canonized by the Orthodox Church in America. Although critics would insist that Pan-Slavic nationalism was more to blame than genuine religious feeling, about 80,000 parishioners left Rome for Orthodoxy after publication of the letter.[ citation needed ]

The Orthodox Church in America claims that by 1916, the Roman Catholic Church had lost 163 Uniate parishes, with over 100,000 faithful, to the Russian missionary diocese. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Catholic Churches</span> 23 Eastern Christian churches in the Catholic Church

The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous particular churches of the Catholic Church, in full communion with the Pope in Rome. Although they are distinct theologically, liturgically, and historically from the Latin Church, they are all in full communion with it and with each other. Eastern Catholics are a distinct minority within the Catholic Church; of the 1.3 billion Catholics in communion with the Pope, approximately 18 million are members of the eastern churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church</span> Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Church

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a major archiepiscopal sui iuris ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. It is the second-largest particular church in the Catholic Church after the Latin Church. The major archbishop presides over the entire Church but is not distinguished with the patriarchal title. The incumbent Major Archbishop is Sviatoslav Shevchuk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East–West Schism</span> Split of Eastern and Western churches

The East–West Schism, also known as the Great Schism or the Schism of 1054, is the break of communion between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches since 1054. A series of ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes between the Greek East and Latin West preceded the formal split that occurred in 1054. Prominent among these were the procession of the Holy Spirit (Filioque), whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist, iconoclasm, the coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of the Romans in 800, the Pope's claim to universal jurisdiction, and the place of the See of Constantinople in relation to the pentarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romanian Greek Catholic Church</span> Eastern Catholic Church in Romania

The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome is a sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church, in full union with the Catholic Church. It has the rank of a Major Archiepiscopal Church and it uses the Byzantine liturgical rite in the Romanian language. It is part of the Major Archiepiscopal Churches of the Catholic Church that are not distinguished with a patriarchal title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josaphat Kuntsevych</span> Ukrainian Greek Catholic archbishop and martyr

Josaphat Kuntsevych, OSBM was a Basilian hieromonk and archeparch of the Ruthenian Uniate Church who on 12 November 1623 was beaten to death with an axe during an anti-Catholic riot by Eastern Orthodox Belarusians in Vitebsk, in the eastern peripheries of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church</span> Eastern Catholic church of the Byzantine Rite

The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, also known in the United States as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is a sui iuris (autonomous) Eastern Catholic church based in Eastern Europe and North America. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. It uses the Byzantine Rite for its liturgies, laws, and cultural identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albanian Greek Catholic Church</span> Greek Catholic Church in Albania

The Albanian Greek Catholic Church, or the Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church, is an autonomous Byzantine Rite particular church in full communion with the Catholic Church and the Pope of Rome, whose members live in Albania and which comprises the Apostolic Administration of Southern Albania. The Albanian Greek Catholic Church, with its Byzantine Rite, is closely linked to the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church sharing a significant commonality of history, identity and traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melkite Greek Catholic Church</span> Eastern Catholic church

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church, or Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Its chief pastor is Patriarch Youssef Absi, headquartered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition in Damascus, Syria. The Melkites, who are Byzantine Rite Catholics, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, formerly part of Syria and now in Turkey, of the 1st century AD, where Christianity was introduced by Saint Peter.

The Russian Greek Catholic Church or Russian Byzantine Catholic Church is a sui iuris Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Church of the worldwide Catholic Church. Historically, it represents a both a movement away from the control of the Church by the State and towards the reunion of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Catholic Church. It is in full communion with and subject to the authority of the Pope of Rome as defined by Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of North America (ACROD) is a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with 78 parishes in the United States and Canada. Though the diocese is directly responsible to the Patriarchate, it is under the spiritual supervision of the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The diocese was led by Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko of Amissos (1936–2011). The current leader is the Metropolitan of Nyssa, Gregory Tatsis, who was consecrated on November 27, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexis Toth</span> Austrian-born American Russian Orthodox church leader

Alexis Georgievich Toth was a Russian Orthodox church leader in the Midwestern United States who, having resigned his position as a Byzantine Catholic priest in the Ruthenian Catholic Church, became responsible for the conversions of approximately 20,000 Eastern Rite Catholics to the Russian Orthodox Church, which contributed to the growth of Eastern Orthodoxy in the United States and the eventual establishment of the Orthodox Church in America. He was glorified by the Orthodox Church in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Russia</span> Overview of the role of the Catholic Church in Russia

The Catholic Church in Russia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat</span> Ukrainian Traditionalist Catholic society

The Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych (SSJK) is a society of traditionalist priests and seminarians originating from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church which is led by the excommunicated priest Basil Kovpak. It is based in Riasne, Lviv, Western Ukraine. In Lviv, the society maintains a seminary, at which currently thirty students reside, and takes care of a small convent of Basilian sisters. The SSJK is affiliated with the Society of St. Pius X and Holy Orders are conferred by the latter society's bishops in the Roman Rite. The SSJK clergymen, however, exclusively follow a version of Slavonic Byzantine Rite in the Ruthenian recension.

The history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the formation, events, and transformation of the Eastern Orthodox Church through time. According to the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is traced back to Jesus Christ and the Apostles. The Apostles appointed successors, known as bishops, and they in turn appointed other bishops in a process known as Apostolic succession. Over time, five Patriarchates were established to organize the Christian world, and four of these ancient patriarchates remain Orthodox today. Orthodox Christianity reached its present form in late antiquity, when the ecumenical councils were held, doctrinal disputes were resolved, the Fathers of the Church lived and wrote, and Orthodox worship practices settled into their permanent form.

Western Rite Orthodoxy, also called Western Orthodoxy or the Orthodox Western Rite, are congregations within the Eastern Orthodox tradition which perform their liturgy in Western forms.

Basil Takach was the first bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the American branch of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church.

Stephen Varzaly was a leading priest, journalist, and cultural activist for Rusyns in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greek Catholic Eparchy of Križevci</span> Greek Catholic eparchy in the Balkans

The Eparchy of Križevci is a Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia eparchy of the Catholic Church in Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its current eparch is Milan Stipić. The cathedra is in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, in the episcopal see of Križevci, Croatia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conversion of Chełm Eparchy</span> 1875 forced conversion of the Eparchy of Chełm–Belz

The Conversion of Chełm Eparchy was the forced conversion of the Eparchy of Chełm–Belz that took place between January and May 1875. It was the last eparchy of the Ruthenian Uniate Church that remained on the territory of the Russian Empire following the partitions of Poland. The episcopal seat of the eparchy was in the city of Chełm (Kholm) in Congress Poland. Adherents and clergy were forced to join the Russian Orthodox Church.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Catholic Church:

References

  1. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Greek Catholics in America"  . Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. Mark Stokoe and Leonid Kishkovsky, Orthodox Christians In North America: 1794-1994, Chapter 2: "Immigration and Conversion". From the [www.oca.org website] of the Orthodox Church in America.