Russian Catholic Church
Encyclopedia
The Russian Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite
church sui juris in full union with the Catholic Church. Historically it represents a schism
from the Russian Orthodox Church
. It is now in full communion
with and subject to the authority of the Pope
as defined by Eastern canon law
. Russian Catholics have no hierarchy; their few parishes are served by priests ordained in other Byzantine Catholic Churches, former Orthodox priests, and Catholic priests with biritual faculties, many of them Jesuits.
granted religious tolerance. Thereafter, communities of Greek Catholics emerged and became organized. Old Believers
were prominent in the early years of the movement. In 1917, Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky appointed the first Apostolic Exarchate for Russian Catholics with Most Reverend Leonid Feodorov
, formerly a Russian Orthodox seminarian, as Exarch
. However, the October Revolution
soon followed, dispersing Russian-Rite Catholics into the Siberian prison camps
and the centers of the Russian diaspora
throughout the world. In the spring of 1923, Exarch
Leonid Feodorov
was prosecuted for counterrevolution by Nikolai Krylenko
and sentenced to ten years in the Soviet concentration camp at Solovki
. Released in 1932, he died three years later. He was beatified in 2001 by Pope John Paul II
.
In 1928, a second Apostolic Exarchate was set up, for the Russian Catholics in China
, based in Harbin
.
, a tiny group of Russian families maintained themselves as “Old Catholics,” (rus: старокатолики (starokatoliki)), a name which should not be confused with the Döllingerite Old Catholic Church
es of Europe and the U.S., which formally split with the Roman Catholic Church in the wake of the reforms of the First Vatican Council
. The status of this group of Russian "Old Catholics", families and groups of individuals to whom the union with Rome
remains dear and essential, or its relation to the current Russian (Rite) Catholic Church is unclear.
The modern Russian Catholic church owes much to the inspiration of poet and philosopher Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov
(1853–1900), who urged, following Dante
, that, just as the world needed the Tsar as a universal monarch, the Church needed the Pope of Rome as a universal ecclesial hierarch. Following Solovyov's teachings a Russian Orthodox priest, Nicholas Tolstoy
, entered into full communion with the See of Rome under the Melkite Greek-Catholic, Byzantine Rite Patriarchate of Antioch. Solovyov received sacramental last holy communion from Father Tolstoy believing that in doing so he remained also a faithful member of the Russian Orthodox Church. Orthodox authorities refer to Tolstoy as an apostate and “ex-priest,” but tend to imply that Solovyov still died an Orthodox Christian. Nevertheless, Solovyov never retracted his sentiments in favor of union with the Catholic Church and the See of Rome, and to this day, many Russian Catholics refer to themselves as members of the 'Russian Orthodox Church in communion with Rome'.
, some Russian Catholics began to appear in the open. In a 2005 article, Russian Catholic priest Sergei Golovanov
stated that three Russian Catholic priests served on Russia
n soil celebrating the Russian Byzantine Divine Liturgy. Two of them used the recension
of the Russian Liturgy
as reformed by Patriarch Nikon
of Moscow in the 1666. The other priest used the medieval rite of the Old Believers
, that is to say, as the Russian liturgical recension
existed before Patriarch Nikon
's reforms of the Russian Liturgy. All Eastern Catholics in the Russian Federation strictly maintain the use of Church Slavonic, although vernacular
Liturgies are more common in the Russian diaspora
.
, the Latin-rite Apostolic Administrator of Siberia, based in Novosibirsk
, was appointed by Pope John Paul II
as Ordinary for all Eastern Catholics in the Russian Federation. As of 2010, five parishes have been registered with civil authorities in Siberia
, while in Moscow
two parishes and a pastoral center operate without official registration. There are also communities in Saint Petersburg
and Obninsk
.
Outside of Russia, there are Russian Catholic parishes and faith communities in San Francisco, New York, El Segundo
, Denver
, Melbourne, Buenos Aires
, Dublin, Meudon
, Paris, Chevetogne, Lyon
, Berlin, Munich
, Rome, Milan
, and Singapore
. They are all under the jurisdiction of the respective local Latin-rite bishops.
As of 2010, the two Exarchates are still listed in the Annuario Pontificio as extant, but they have not yet been reconstituted, nor have new Russian-Rite bishops been appointed to head them.
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
church sui juris in full union with the Catholic Church. Historically it represents a schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
from the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
. It is now in full communion
Full communion
In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....
with and subject to the authority of the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
as defined by Eastern canon law
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches is the title of the 1990 codification of the common portions of the Canon Law for the 22 of the 23 sui iuris Churches in the Catholic Church. The Roman or Latin rite Church is guided by its own particular Canons...
. Russian Catholics have no hierarchy; their few parishes are served by priests ordained in other Byzantine Catholic Churches, former Orthodox priests, and Catholic priests with biritual faculties, many of them Jesuits.
History
Byzantine-rite Catholicism was illegal in the Tsarist Russian empire through the 1800s and until 1905, when Tsar Nicholas IINicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
granted religious tolerance. Thereafter, communities of Greek Catholics emerged and became organized. Old Believers
Old Believers
In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the Old Believers separated after 1666 from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon between 1652–66...
were prominent in the early years of the movement. In 1917, Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky appointed the first Apostolic Exarchate for Russian Catholics with Most Reverend Leonid Feodorov
Leonid Feodorov
Blessed Leonid Ivanovich Feodorov was Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church, in addition to being a survivor of the GULAG. After painstaking investigation, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 27, 2001.-Early life:...
, formerly a Russian Orthodox seminarian, as Exarch
Exarch
In the Byzantine Empire, an exarch was governor with extended authority of a province at some remove from the capital Constantinople. The prevailing situation frequently involved him in military operations....
. However, the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
soon followed, dispersing Russian-Rite Catholics into the Siberian prison camps
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
and the centers of the Russian diaspora
Russian diaspora
The term Russian diaspora refers to the global community of ethnic Russians, usually more specifically those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Russian national identity within a local community.The term "Russian...
throughout the world. In the spring of 1923, Exarch
Exarch
In the Byzantine Empire, an exarch was governor with extended authority of a province at some remove from the capital Constantinople. The prevailing situation frequently involved him in military operations....
Leonid Feodorov
Leonid Feodorov
Blessed Leonid Ivanovich Feodorov was Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church, in addition to being a survivor of the GULAG. After painstaking investigation, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 27, 2001.-Early life:...
was prosecuted for counterrevolution by Nikolai Krylenko
Nikolai Krylenko
Nikolai Vasilyevich Krylenko was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician. Krylenko served in a variety of posts in the Soviet legal system, rising to become People's Commissar for Justice and Prosecutor General of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic.Krylenko was an...
and sentenced to ten years in the Soviet concentration camp at Solovki
Solovki
The Solovki prison camp was located on the Solovetsky Islands, in the White Sea). It was the "mother of the GULAG" according to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn...
. Released in 1932, he died three years later. He was beatified in 2001 by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
.
In 1928, a second Apostolic Exarchate was set up, for the Russian Catholics in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, based in Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
.
Precursors
In Russia, it is purported that after the gradual development of the East-West SchismEast-West Schism
The East–West Schism of 1054, sometimes known as the Great Schism, formally divided the State church of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively...
, a tiny group of Russian families maintained themselves as “Old Catholics,” (rus: старокатолики (starokatoliki)), a name which should not be confused with the Döllingerite Old Catholic Church
Old Catholic Church
The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
es of Europe and the U.S., which formally split with the Roman Catholic Church in the wake of the reforms of the First Vatican Council
First Vatican Council
The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...
. The status of this group of Russian "Old Catholics", families and groups of individuals to whom the union with Rome
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
remains dear and essential, or its relation to the current Russian (Rite) Catholic Church is unclear.
The modern Russian Catholic church owes much to the inspiration of poet and philosopher Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov
Vladimir Solovyov (philosopher)
Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov was a Russian philosopher, poet, pamphleteer, literary critic, who played a significant role in the development of Russian philosophy and poetry at the end of the 19th century...
(1853–1900), who urged, following Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
, that, just as the world needed the Tsar as a universal monarch, the Church needed the Pope of Rome as a universal ecclesial hierarch. Following Solovyov's teachings a Russian Orthodox priest, Nicholas Tolstoy
Nicholas Tolstoy
Nicholas Tolstoy was the first Russian Orthodox priest who solicited a union with Catholic Church in 1893. Father Tolstoy inaugurated a small Catholic community of Russian origin and was responsible by its development and its faithfuls. Father Tolstoy died on February 4,...
, entered into full communion with the See of Rome under the Melkite Greek-Catholic, Byzantine Rite Patriarchate of Antioch. Solovyov received sacramental last holy communion from Father Tolstoy believing that in doing so he remained also a faithful member of the Russian Orthodox Church. Orthodox authorities refer to Tolstoy as an apostate and “ex-priest,” but tend to imply that Solovyov still died an Orthodox Christian. Nevertheless, Solovyov never retracted his sentiments in favor of union with the Catholic Church and the See of Rome, and to this day, many Russian Catholics refer to themselves as members of the 'Russian Orthodox Church in communion with Rome'.
Post-Soviet revival
In the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, some Russian Catholics began to appear in the open. In a 2005 article, Russian Catholic priest Sergei Golovanov
Sergei Golovanov
Sergey Golovanov is a Russian Catholic priest of the Byzantine Rite.- Biography :...
stated that three Russian Catholic priests served on Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n soil celebrating the Russian Byzantine Divine Liturgy. Two of them used the recension
Recension
Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author...
of the Russian Liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
as reformed by Patriarch Nikon
Patriarch Nikon
Nikon , born Nikita Minin , was the seventh patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church...
of Moscow in the 1666. The other priest used the medieval rite of the Old Believers
Old Believers
In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the Old Believers separated after 1666 from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon between 1652–66...
, that is to say, as the Russian liturgical recension
Recension
Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author...
existed before Patriarch Nikon
Patriarch Nikon
Nikon , born Nikita Minin , was the seventh patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church...
's reforms of the Russian Liturgy. All Eastern Catholics in the Russian Federation strictly maintain the use of Church Slavonic, although vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
Liturgies are more common in the Russian diaspora
Russian diaspora
The term Russian diaspora refers to the global community of ethnic Russians, usually more specifically those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Russian national identity within a local community.The term "Russian...
.
Structure
In 2004, Bishop Joseph WerthJoseph Werth
Bishop Joseph Werth, SJ Иосиф Верт is Bishop of Transfiguration in Novosibirsk .Named as the Latin-rite Apostolic Administrator of Siberia - a see that encompassed 4.2 million square miles and extends through nine of the world's twenty four time zones - by Pope John Paul II on April 13, 1991, Werth...
, the Latin-rite Apostolic Administrator of Siberia, based in Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
, was appointed by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
as Ordinary for all Eastern Catholics in the Russian Federation. As of 2010, five parishes have been registered with civil authorities in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, while in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
two parishes and a pastoral center operate without official registration. There are also communities in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and Obninsk
Obninsk
Obninsk is a city in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: Obninsk is one of the major Russian science cities. The first nuclear power plant in the world for the large-scale production of electricity opened here on June 27, 1954, and it also doubled as a training...
.
Outside of Russia, there are Russian Catholic parishes and faith communities in San Francisco, New York, El Segundo
El Segundo, California
El Segundo is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on the Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is one of the Beach Cities of Los Angeles County and part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments...
, Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, Melbourne, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Dublin, Meudon
Meudon
Meudon is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris.-Geography:...
, Paris, Chevetogne, Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, Berlin, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Rome, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. They are all under the jurisdiction of the respective local Latin-rite bishops.
As of 2010, the two Exarchates are still listed in the Annuario Pontificio as extant, but they have not yet been reconstituted, nor have new Russian-Rite bishops been appointed to head them.
See also
- Eastern Catholic Churches
- Florentine Union
- Vladimir Sergeyevich SolovyovVladimir Solovyov (philosopher)Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov was a Russian philosopher, poet, pamphleteer, literary critic, who played a significant role in the development of Russian philosophy and poetry at the end of the 19th century...
- Metropolitan Isidore of KievIsidore of KievIsidore of Kiev, also known as Isidore of Thessalonica was a Greek Metropolitan of Kiev, cardinal, humanist, and theologian. He was one of the chief Eastern defenders of reunion at the time of the Council of Florence.-Early life:...
, All Russia and Moscow - Patriarch IgnatiusPatriarch IgnatiusIgnatius was a Russian Orthodox bishop of Greek descent who was the second Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in 1605-1606, even though his status is now disputed and he is frequently omitted from the list of Patriarchs of Moscow by the Russian Orthodox Church.Ignatius was reported to be of...
- Byzantine RiteByzantine RiteThe Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
- Church Slavonic language
- Russicum
- BlessedBeatificationBeatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
Peter ArtemievPeter ArtemievBlessed Peter Artemiev - was a Russian Orthodox Deacon, a convert to Byzantine Catholicism, and one of the first martyrs of the Russian Catholic Church.- Biography :... - Anna AbrikosovaAnna AbrikosovaAnna Ivanovna Abrikosova — was a prominent figure in the Russian Catholic Church, and a Religious Sister of the Third Order of St. Dominic. Since 2002, her life has been under scrutiny for possible beatification by the Holy See...
, alias Mother Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D.
Source
External links
- Byzantine Rite Catholics in Russia
- Directory of Russian Greek Catholic churches, monasteries and institutions in the world.
- The website of Saint Michael's Russian Catholic Church in New York City is a must for anyone desiring to delve deeper into the history of the Russian Catholic Movement.
- “A Brief History of The Russian Byzantine Catholic Church and the Russian Catholics.”
- An online article about a visit to Moscow's Russian Catholics shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union.
- A visit to the same Russian rite Catholic community from 2001.
- The Catholic Newmartyrs of Russia
- Normalization of the Position of Byzantine Rite Catholics in Russia
- The Byzantine - Slavic Rite