The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-rite Catholic Churches, or simply the Eastern Churches and in some historical cases referred to pejoratively as Uniates, are twenty-three Eastern Christian sui iuris (autonomous) particular churches of the Catholic Church, in full communion with the pope in Rome. They are united with one another and with the Latin or Roman Church. In particular, they recognize the central role of the Bishop of Rome within the College of Bishops and his infallibility when speaking ex cathedra. The majority of the Eastern Catholic Churches are groups that, at different points in the past, used to belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox churches, and the historic Church of the East but that have returned to communion with the Bishop of Rome due to extenuating political and cultural circumstances influencing the churches' relations. As such the five liturgical traditions of the twenty-three Eastern Catholic Churches, including the Alexandrian Rite, the Armenian Rite, the Byzantine Rite, the East Syriac Rite, and the West Syriac Rite, are shared with other Eastern Christian churches. Consequently, the Catholic Church consists of six liturgical rites; including the aforementioned five liturgical traditions of the Eastern Catholic Churches along with the Latin liturgical rites of the Latin Church.
The term exarch comes from the Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος, exarchos, and designates holders of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical.
The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, also known in the United States as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church that uses the Byzantine Rite for its liturgies, laws, and cultural identity. It is one of the 23 Eastern Catholic churches that are in full communion with the Holy See. There are two main communities within the church: American and European. In the United States, the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh is self-governing. In Europe, Ruthenian Catholics are immediately subject to the Holy See. The European branch has an eparchy in Ukraine and another in the Czech Republic.
The Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia is a particular Eastern Catholic Church of the Byzantine Rite which is in full union with the Catholic Church. It consists of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Križevci, covering Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Ruski Krstur, covering Serbia. The Eparchy of Križevci was headed by Bishop Nikola Kekić until his retirement in March 2019, and since then the eparchy is governed by apostolic administrator Milan Stipić. The Eparchy of Ruski Krstur is headed by Bishop Đura Džudžar since his appointment in 2003.
The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church is a sui iuris Eastern Catholic particular church of the Catholic Church that uses the Byzantine liturgical rite in Koine Greek and Modern Greek. Its membership includes inhabitants of Greece and Turkey.
The Catholic Church in North Macedonia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome and is one of the major religious communities that exist on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia. Catholic believers from North Macedonia mostly include Albanians, ethnic Macedonians and Croats and are most concentrated in the Skopje Statistical Region and the Southeastern Statistical Region of North Macedonia. There are around 20,000 Catholics in the country — around 1% of the total population.
The Ethiopian Catholic Church is a Metropolitan sui iuris Eastern particular church within the Catholic Church, established in 1930 in Ethiopia.
The Hungarian Greek Catholic Church or Hungarian Byzantine Catholic Church is a Metropolitan sui iuris ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic particular Church in full communion with the Catholic Church. It is headquartered in Debrecen. Its liturgical rite is the Byzantine Rite in Hungarian.
The Slovak Greek Catholic Church, or Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church, is a Metropolitan sui iuris Eastern particular Church in full union with the Catholic Church. Its liturgical rite is the Byzantine Rite. L'Osservatore Romano of January 31, 2008 reported that, in Slovakia alone, it had some 350,000 faithful, 374 priests and 254 parishes. In addition, the 2012 Annuario Pontificio gave its Canadian Eparchy of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto as having 2,000 faithful, 4 priests and 5 parishes. The Slovak Greek Catholic Church is in full communion with the Holy See.
The Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic archeparchy for the Catholics who practice the Byzantine Rite in the Ukrainian language in Manitoba, a province of Canada. Currently, its Archeparch is Archbishop Lawrence Huculak.
The Greek Catholic Eparchy of Ruski Krstur is an eparchy (diocese) of the Catholic Church for Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in Serbia. It was founded in 2003 as the "Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia and Montenegro" and reduced to the territory of Serbia in 2013. In 2018, it was elevated to an eparchy. Since 2003, it is headed by bishop Đura Džudžar.
Monsignor Dr Kiro Stojanov is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Skopje and the Eparchial Bishop of the Macedonian Catholic Eparchy of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed in Strumica-Skopje of the Macedonian Greek Catholic Church. He is the first Catholic bishop of Macedonian ethnicity in 104 years. He was ordained as a priest in 1986, and from 1999 to 2005 he was the auxiliary and titular bishop of the Skopje Diocese which was then led by Monsignor Joakim Herbut. In 2003 he joined the Maltese Order.
Greek Catholics in Montenegro are Eastern Catholic Christians who are practicing liturgy in the Byzantine Rite. Since 2013, there is no longer any Eastern Catholic jurisdiction covering Montenegro, and all Greek Catholics in the country are under jurisdiction of local bishops of the Latin Rite.
The Catholic Eparchy of Lungro is in Calabria, Italy of Italo-Albanian Catholic Church.
The Greek Catholic Eparchy of Križevci is an eparchy (diocese) of the Catholic Church for Eastern Catholics of Byzantine Rite in part of the former Yugoslavia, with its seat in Križevci, Croatia. It is part of the Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia, an Eastern Catholic Church sui iuris of the Byzantine Rite which is in full union with the Roman Catholic Church. The Eparchy is currently vacant since the retirement of Bishop Nikola Kekić in March 2019, and is administered by Fr. Milan Stipić.
A particular church is an ecclesiastical community of faithful headed by a bishop, as defined by Catholic canon law and ecclesiology. A liturgical rite depends on the particular church the bishop belongs to. Thus "particular church" refers to an institution, and "liturgical rite" to its practices.
Monsignor Dr. Joakim Herbut was a Macedonian Catholic prelate. He was bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Skopje-Prizren from 1969 to 2005 and exarch of the Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarch of Macedonia from 2001 to 2005.
Đura Džudžar is eparchial bishop of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Ruski Krstur since 2018. He was previously titular bishop of Acrassus (2001-2018), auxiliary bishop of the Ruthenian Eparchy of Mukachevo (2001-2003), apostolic exarch of Serbia and Montenegro (2003-2013) and Serbia (2013-2018).
The International Bishops' Conference of Saints Cyril and Methodius is the Catholic episcopal conference that includes Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia together in a cross-border conference.
The Macedonian Catholic Eparchy of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed in Strumica-Skopje is the only eparchy of the Macedonian Greek Catholic Church. It is situated in North Macedonia. The eparchy is an Immediately subject to the Holy See.
