The Catholic Church is a communion of churches.
It is made up of churches from the Eastern tradition and the Western tradition.
The Western tradition, also known as the Roman Catholic or the Roman Rite, is numerically the largest in North America.
The Eastern churches, often called the Eastern Rites, help to complete the fullness of the Catholic Church,
not only historically, in their customs and development over the centuries, but theologically and practically, as the Church is lived today.
Every Catholic has a responsibility for understanding the fullness of the Catholic Church.
Pope John Paul II has said,
The Church must learn to breathe again with its two lungs, its Eastern one and its Western one.
In assessing the current situation, Cardinal William Baum has stated,
It is clear that despite progress in this area, there is still need among Catholics of the Latin tradition for a great deal of knowledge of the peoples, traditions and churches of the Christian East.
Eastern Catholics are in union with Rome. They share the same basic faith and the same sacraments.
However, the way of expressing them differs.
In reality, there are many Eastern churches, each with its own heritage of theology, liturgy and discipline.
The main traditions are the Byzantine, the Syrian or Antiochian, the Maronite, the Eastern Syrian or Assyrian, Armenian and Coptic.
Each of these churches has communities in America.
In addition, the Malabar Church, which derives from the Eastern Syrian tradition, the Malankar Church from the Syrian-Antiochian Church, both in India,
and the Ethiopian Church from the Coptic tradition also have a great number of adherents.
Each of these traditions is equal in dignity to the Byzantine, the largest Eastern Church, and to the Roman traditions.
Though this video speaks only for the Byzantine Church, we must take care and not simplify the complex and rich reality of the many Eastern churches,
each of which has contributed substantially to the heritage of the whole Church throughout its history and enculturation.
Jesus sent his disciples to the four corners of the world to spread the Gospel.
Eventually, four great centers of Christianity emerged with distinctive Christian customs, but the same faith.
These centers were Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, and Alexandria.
A few centuries later, when the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to the eastern city of Byzantium, later renamed Constantinople,
an adaptation of the Antioch celebration of the liturgy was made.
It was from this powerful cultural center that the Byzantine Church emerged.
This form of worship subsequently spread throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
It was established in North America in the late 19th century and now is found in a variety of countries on all six continents.
By 1870, Eastern Christians began emigrating to the United States.
The first group of Eastern Catholics to arrive were the Slavs, chiefly from the Ukrainian and Carpathian regions of Europe.
A few years later, Syrians began to emigrate from the Turkish Empire.
The first Slav congregation was established in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania in 1884, and the first Melkite Parish was formed in 1890 in Chicago.
As local churches, these communities developed their own respective languages, music, and ecclesiastical organization,
served by bishops who were sent from Europe and the Middle East in the earlier years.
Among these sister churches are the four distinct jurisdictions. The Ruthenian and Ukrainian each have a metropolia or archdiocese
containing four aparchies or diocese with about 300 parishes.
The Romanian aparchy has 17 parishes, and the Melkites have 41 communities forming one aparchy.
All have a common Byzantine tradition, but each reflecting a background of its own.
The Church Building, Exterior and Interior
God with us is a recurring theme in Eastern Catholic faith.
The large dome of many Byzantine churches conveys this truth impressively.
Unlike a spiral tower soaring toward the heavens, the dome, representing the Kingdom of Heaven, suggests God's coming to us to lift us up to heaven.
The view of the church from above is typically cross-like, a rounded sanctuary preferably on the east end,
the sunrise end symbolizing the risen Lord, and the entrance hall, or narthex, on the other end.
The narthex is the space of entry into the body of the church, always suggesting too our preparation and entry into the new life of God.
A chandelier is often the central source of light in the nave, suspended from the dome and signifying the Lord as the principal light of the world.
Near the center of the church, in most Byzantine Catholic churches, is a tetrapod, or four-legged table, on which is an icon of our Lord,
the Mother of God, or a seasonal feast of a particular saint or holy day event.
Icons
Icons are the distinctive art form of the Christian East, radiating divine life by their tranquil brilliance,
while at the same time symbolizing the human and divine aspects of Christ, the Mother of God, and the saints.
Iconography, though highly stylized, is a very disciplined art form that is more symbolic of inner realities rather than some outward reproduction.
The most significant icon is the pontecrator, Christ is the supreme ruler, which is painted on a dominant area, such as the interior of the church dome.
The long-cherished tradition of iconography is proclaimed outside the church as well as inside, in mosaic or in painted mural.
The icon screen
The most striking feature upon entering a Byzantine church is the icon screen.
It is between the sanctuary, the holy place representing heaven, and the nave, representing the created worshipping earth.
The eye of faith sees the icon screen, not as a separation, but as a symbol of joining the created with the Creator,
a welcome into the mystery of God Himself by personal and public worship.
The opening and closing of the royal doors in the center of the screen repeatedly emphasizes this relationship with the Almighty.
The four main icons on the screen are Christ, right as you face the screen, the Mother of God, left, the patron saint of the church, further down on the right,
and St. John the Baptist or St. Nicholas, further on the left.
The royal doors themselves will often contain an icon of the Annunciation, while the deacon doors, either the deacon saints or the archangels Michael and Gabriel,
suggesting the constant communication of God with His people via His angels. Somewhere above the doors is the Last Supper.
Depending on the size of the church and the style of the screen, there may be icons of other significant saints of the Eastern Church
and tiers of feast days based on New Testament events, and perhaps further, the prophets of the Old Testament.
The Sanctuary
The altar, or holy table, is square in shape, symbolizing the four corners of the world where the apostles were sent to spread the word.
It is usually covered with material in seasonal colors.
The tabernacle on the altar may be in the form of a suspended dove or a container, often shaped as a replica of the church in the center.
Flowers and candles are not to be placed directly on the altar. A seven-branched candelabra is placed directly behind the altar.
The following objects are on the altar.
Antimension, a cloth with relic, portraying the entombment of our Lord with the Holy Thursday date and the signature of the bishop who blessed it.
Gospel book, ornately bound and placed on top of the folded antimension.
Liturgy book, containing the text of the Divine Liturgy, often on a stand next to the altar.
Hand cross, used for blessings.
Communion spoons, used to distribute Holy Eucharist.
And communion cloth, usually red in color and used with the distribution of communion.
Behind the altar is a crucifix. On the backside may be painted the resurrected Christ, which is turned around during the Easter season.
Some Eastern churches of the Slavic background use a three-barred cross.
The short bar on the top symbolizes the inscription board that the Roman soldiers nailed above the head of Christ on the cross, upon which Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews, was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
The center and longest bar represents the cross bar which Christ carried to Golgotha, where he was crucified.
Contrary to popular myth, Jesus Christ did not carry the whole cross, but only the cross bar upon which he was nailed through the wrists, not the hands, and then hoisted up on the upright bar that was already there.
Finally, the bottom bar, often slanted, represents the footrest where his feet were nailed.
There are many explanations given as to why it is slanted, among them being the roll of the two thieves. The thief on the right repented, thus the right side points upward, while the thief on the left blasphemed Christ and was condemned, so the left side points downward.
Flanking the crucifix behind the altar are two fan-shaped objects called rapidia, made of wood or metal.
They are derived from the large fans used in royal pageantry. They are used during parish liturgical processions.
Rapidia are often inscribed with icons of angels depicting the continuous praise of the Lord God.
The icon centered on the end wall of the sanctuary is of the Mother of God with Christ in her womb.
This placement heightens our sense of incarnation of our Lord and at the same time our personal process of deification. God became man through one of us, Mary, so that we could be in union with the Lord.
Two other tables are in the sanctuary. The table of preparation on the left, where the gifts of bread and wine are prepared, and the table of vestry on the right, where vestments are laid out for the celebrant.
The center chair behind the altar is the throne reserved for the bishop only, who is the ultimate pastor of each and every church of his eparchy or diocese.
Liturgy
The Divine Liturgy is more than a memorial meal or a reenactment of the Last Supper.
It is more importantly a continuation of the mystical supper shared by Jesus and his apostles and continued by the collective action of God's people led by the priest,
praising and thanking God, proclaiming the goodness of Christ, partaking of the Eucharist, and manifesting God's kingdom.
The basic structure of the Liturgy is the Liturgy of the Word, litanies, antiphons, hymns, Trisagion, Psalms, Epistle, Gospel, and the Homily,
all centered around the small entrance with the Gospel Book, the Word of God, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Cherubic hymn, and the great entrance with the gifts, the creed, the consecration, the Lord's Prayer, and the reception of the Eucharist.
Some of the distinctive characteristics of the Eastern Liturgy are the chanting or singing of all parts, including the Epistle and Gospel proclamations.
Please don't let us stand and listen to a reading from the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. Glory be to the Lord, glory be to you.
Praise our Lord Jesus Christ in the love of God and Father, and communion and Holy Spirit be with all.
The frequent use of ritual and symbolic movement, the senses engaged through the responsive chanting, incensing, iconography, and reception of the Eucharist.
The ornate vestments, which trace back to early Byzantine Empire clothing. The gesture of personal reverence is a simple bow, no genuflecting, done during blessing or upon entering and leaving the Church.
The sign of the cross is made with the right hand thumb and the first two fingers from the forehand, Father, to the lower breast, Son, to the right shoulder, Holy, and finally to the left shoulder, Spirit.
This form evolved in the Byzantine tradition because of a desire to profess more explicitly the belief in the triune God and the double nature in Christ.
The thumb and the two fingers were extended to symbolize the Trinity, while the ring finger and the little finger were folded back on the palm to profess the God-man, Jesus Christ.
This usage spread to the Western Church, where Pope Leo VI in the middle of the 9th century wrote instructing his clergy, sign the chalice and the host with a proper cross, with two fingers outstretched and the thumb hidden within them, by which the Trinity is symbolized.
Take heed to make this sign rightly.
In the 13th century, Pope Innocent III directed most explicitly that the sign of the cross be made with three fingers from the forehead to the breast and from the right to the left shoulder, the actual way it is still made by the majority of Eastern Catholics today.
The Western Church retained this ancient form until about the 14th century, when gradually the open hand was introduced and the sign began to be made in an inverted fashion from left to right.
Perhaps mistakenly, following the lead of the priest, who in blessing inverts his movement so it will be seen correctly by the congregation before him.
Sacraments.
The sacraments, or holy mysteries, are the same seven used in the entire Catholic Church.
Baptism.
Baptism is usually by triple immersion as a more visible sign of the Trinity, and also our share in the resurrection of Christ on the third day.
The ceremony, which begins in the nave of the Church and continues either at the entry, baptistry, or tetrapod, features a lighted candle from darkness to the light which is Christ, the white baptismal robe, the newness of life received.
And the anointing with olive oil of the five senses, heart and shoulders, for their instrumental roles in expressing this illuminated new life.
Chrismation, or confirmation. Baptism is followed immediately with the second of the sacraments of initiation, following the practice of Paul in Acts chapter 19 verses 5 through 6 and of Philip in Acts chapter 8 verses 14 through 17.
The chrism, or holy oil, symbolizing Christ, the anointed of God, is consecrated by the bishop on Holy Thursday each year. The priest, who is the administrator of the sacrament of chrismation, uses the words, the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This fulfills our personal Pentecost and as such, activates our baptismal life of Christ.
The Eucharist.
During the Divine Liturgy, communion is administered under both species of bread, levend, and wine, reverently placed, usually with a spoon, into the open mouth of the recipient, who may assist the priest by holding the communion cloth under the chin.
It is customary for the priest to mention the first name of the individual during the prayer of reception.
Some Eastern churches, depending on the diocesan regulations, complete the threefold sacraments of initiation by administering the Eucharist immediately following chrismation.
Reconciliation, or repentance.
The sacramental mystery of penance forgives sins committed after baptism. In the Eastern Church, the most traditional way of penance is the confession of sins before the icon of our Lord, followed by the prayer of forgiveness as the priest imposes his hand on the penitent.
Holy matrimony, or crowning.
While the covenant between the parties remains the basis of marriage, the sacrament is conferred by the blessing of the priest, who crowns the couple as the head of a new creation.
Other important aspects of the rite express the couple's unity in Christ and their priestly role in the family.
Holy orders.
Marriage and priesthood are not incompatible sacraments in the Eastern Church.
Priests have an option to marry prior to ordination. However, this rite was suspended in North America in April of 1929.
While the church law of celibacy still exists here, married men are ordained as priests in other parts of the world.
Anointing of the sick.
Those who are ill may receive the mystery of holy anointing. In strict Byzantine tradition, this mystery should be administered by seven priests, but in practice, it may be administered by one priest.
It includes also the imposition of the gospel book after the anointing.
Calendar.
At one time, all the Eastern churches maintained the Julian calendar, whose dates were eventually fixed at 13 days later than the commonly used Gregorian calendar.
For at least one to two generations now, most Eastern Catholic churches have been using the Gregorian calendar.
Along with the Sunday feasts of Easter and Pentecost, the major feast days in the Eastern Church are the Nativity of our Lord, Christmas, December 25th,
the Theophany or Epiphany, January 6th, the encounter of our Lord in the temple, February 2nd, the Annunciation, March 25th,
the Ascension, a movable day, Saints Peter and Paul, June 29th, the Transfiguration, August 6th,
the Dormition or Assumption, August 15th, the Birth of the Mother of God, September 8th,
the Exultation of the Holy Cross, September 14th, the entrance of the Mother of God into the temple, November 21st,
the Conception of St. Anne or Immaculate Conception, December 8th or December 9th.
Some of these feast days are obligatory for Eastern Christians.
Other important liturgical days of the year are All Saints Day, celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost,
All Souls Day, the five All Souls Saturdays, three of which are during Lent, one before Lent and one on the eve of Pentecost,
St. Nicholas Day, December 6th. St. Nicholas is recognized as the patron saint of some Eastern churches
and receives special attention, annual banquets and children's parties, the Circumcision, January 1st,
patron saint or patronage of the parish church, and the beginning of the church liturgical year, which is September 1st.
Special Blessings
In most Byzantine churches on major holy days and the Sundays following, the Divine Liturgy is concluded with the sacramental,
which includes anointing the faithful on the forehead with oil and the distribution of blessed bread.
Water
Blessed on the feast of the Theophany, January 6th, is taken to individual homes and also used for the traditional blessing of homes
during a visit from the priest at that time of the year.
Great are you, O Lord, and wonderful are your works. No word can do justice to the praise of your wonders.
Other solemn blessings may include pussy willows and palms on Palm Sunday or Flowery Sunday,
Paschal food at Easter, usually those foods abstain from during Lent,
fruit on the feast of Transfiguration on August 6th, and flowers on the feast of the Dormition, August 15th.
Fasting
Fasting in all the Eastern churches is qualitative rather than quantitative.
That is, the rules governing the fast prescribe abstinence from specified types of food, not the number of meals.
Individuals may fast more as a personal spiritual program, such as the following examples in the Ruthenian Byzantine Church.
Simple fast from meat products, obligation on the Fridays of Lent,
and strict fast from meat and dairy products on the first day of Lent and on Good Friday.
Although those from age 14 are bound to keep the simple fast, and those from the age of 18 through 59 are bound to keep the strict fast,
all the faithful who receive Holy Communion are exhorted to keep the fasts.
Other Eastern churches have different fasting regulations.
Other fasting periods no longer mandatory include the period before the Nativity,
traditionally beginning on November 14th after the feast of St. Philip, known as Philip's Fast.
However, in some Catholic churches, the fast prior to the Nativity of Our Lord begins on December 10th.
In preparation for the feast of the Dormition or Assumption, and before the Feasts of St. Peter and Paul.
Eastern Christians also fast before important moments or times in life, such as matrimony or ordination.
Iconographers also fast before painting icons.
Lent.
In the Eastern Church, Lent always begins on a Monday, two days before the Roman calendar's Ash Wednesday.
In an early computation, the six-week or 42-day period before Palm Sunday becomes 40 days when you subtract the day following the last Friday of the Great Fast,
Lazarus Saturday, and Cheese Fair Sunday, which precedes the first Monday.
The existence of both the Eastern and Western churches is necessary for a clearer and better understanding of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Though Eastern Christians may seem to be only a small minority of the whole Church,
their tradition and theology constitute an essential dimension of the Christian Gospel.
In this video, we have presented some information and facts about the Byzantine Church as a handy resource.
We must also challenge the Western Christians to come to know the East more deeply.
Because of the continuity of its culture, its tradition retained a live contact with the Apostolic preaching.
Through this tradition, we rediscover anew the foundations of theology,
our faith that Christ Jesus God became incarnate in our world and has deified humanity for a long time.
Through the authentic celebration of its liturgy, we experience this tradition directly and find ourselves at home in both heaven and earth.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.