Ruthenian Catholic Church
Encyclopedia
The Ruthenian Catholic Church is a sui iuris
(i.e., self-governing) Eastern Catholic Church (see particular Church
), which uses the Divine Liturgy
of the Constantinopolitan Byzantine Eastern Rite
. Its roots are among the Rusyns
who lived in the region called Carpathian Ruthenia
, in and around the Carpathian Mountains
. This is the area where the borders of present-day Hungary
, Slovakia
and Ukraine
meet. The Ruthenian Catholic Church is in full communion
with the Bishop of Rome who is spiritual leader of the 23 sui iuris particular churches which compose the Catholic Church.
people living in Carpathian Ruthenia
as a result of the missionary outreach of Saint
s Cyril
and Methodius who brought Christianity and the Byzantine Rite to the Slavic peoples
in the ninth century. After the separation of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches
in 1054, the Ruthenian Church retained its Orthodox ties.
The invasion of the Magyars in the 10th century later brought Catholic missionary influence to the area. With the Union of Uzhhorod
in 1646, 63 Ruthenian clergy were received into the Catholic Church, and in 1664 a union reached at Mukachevo brought additional communities into the Catholic communion. The resulting diocese
s retained their Byzantine rite and liturgical
traditions, and their bishops
were elected by a council composed of Basilian monk
s and eparchial clergy
.
The region became, in part, incorporated in Czechoslovakia
after World War I
. Annexation to the Soviet Union
after World War II
led to persecution of the Ruthenian Catholic Church. However, since the collapse of Communism
the Ruthenian Catholic Church in Eastern Europe
has seen a resurgence in numbers of faithful
and priests.
homeland are to be found in the North America
. In the 19th and 20th centuries, various Byzantine-Rite Catholics arrived in the United States
, particularly in coal
mining towns. The predominant Latin-Rite Catholic hierarchy did not always receive them well, being disturbed in particular at what they saw as the innovation, for the United States, of a married Catholic clergy. At their persistent request, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith
applied, on 1 May 1897, to the United States
rules already set out in a letter of 2 May 1890 to François-Marie-Benjamin Richard
, the Archbishop of Paris
. These rules stated that only celibates and widowed priests coming without their children should be permitted in the United States. This rule was restated with special reference to Catholics of the Ruthenian Church by the 1 March 1929 decree Cum data fuerit, which was renewed for a further ten years in 1939. Dissatisfaction by many Ruthenian Catholics had already given rise to some groups placing themselves under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America
in the 1890s. In 1938 the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
was created when 37 Ruthenian parishes were received into the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch (c.f. Archbishop John Ireland
, Saint Alexis Toth).
Relations with the Latin-Rite Catholic hierarchy have improved, especially since the Second Vatican Council
, at which the Ruthenian Church influenced decisions regarding using the vernacular (i.e. the language of the people) in the liturgy
. (Unlike the former custom in the Latin Church
, the Ruthenian Church always celebrated the Divine Liturgy
in the Church Slavonic language, an ancient Slavic language.) In its decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum
the Second Vatican Council declared:
Ruthenian parish
es tend to stress the importance of unity with the Bishop of Rome and the whole Catholic Church, albeit with an Eastern expression. The Second Vatican Council
urged Eastern Rite Churches to eliminate Liturgical Latinization
and to strengthen their Eastern Christian identity. This directive has been met with some success, and the Ruthenian Church is no exception. In June 1999 the Council of Hierarchs of the Byzantine Metropolitan Church Sui Iuris of Pittsburgh U.S.A. promulgated the norms of particular law to govern itself. In January 2007, the Revised Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great were promulgated.
Membership of the Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic Church is not limited to those who trace their heritage to Eastern Europe.
in the United States of America and two in Europe
. As of 2010, its membership was estimated at some 646,000 faithful, with seven bishops, 626 parishes, 501 priests, 67 deacons, and 234 men and women in religious order
s.
Metropolia of Pittsburgh
(one archeparchy, three suffragan eparchies):
Immediately subject to the Holy See
:
One issue preventing organization of the Ruthenian Catholic Church under a single synod
is the desire of some of the priests and faithful of the Eparchy of Mukacheve that it should be part of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
.
History:
Eparchies:
Parishes:
Documents:
Sui iuris
Sui iuris, commonly also spelled sui juris, is a Latin phrase that literally means “of one’s own laws”.-Secular law:In civil law the phrase sui juris indicates legal competence, the capacity to manage one’s own affairs...
(i.e., self-governing) Eastern Catholic Church (see particular Church
Particular Church
In Catholic canon law, a Particular Church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognised as the equivalent of a bishop.There are two kinds of particular Churches:# Local particular Churches ...
), which uses the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
of the Constantinopolitan Byzantine Eastern Rite
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...
. Its roots are among the Rusyns
Rusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
who lived in the region called Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia is a region in Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast , with smaller parts in easternmost Slovakia , Poland's Lemkovyna and Romanian Maramureş.It is...
, in and around the Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
. This is the area where the borders of present-day Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
meet. The Ruthenian Catholic Church is 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 the Bishop of Rome who is spiritual leader of the 23 sui iuris particular churches which compose the Catholic Church.
History
The Ruthenian Church developed among the RusynRusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
people living in Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia is a region in Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast , with smaller parts in easternmost Slovakia , Poland's Lemkovyna and Romanian Maramureş.It is...
as a result of the missionary outreach of Saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
s Cyril
Saints Cyril and Methodius
Saints Cyril and Methodius were two Byzantine Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century. They became missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples of Bulgaria, Great Moravia and Pannonia. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they...
and Methodius who brought Christianity and the Byzantine Rite to the Slavic peoples
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
in the ninth century. After the separation of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
in 1054, the Ruthenian Church retained its Orthodox ties.
The invasion of the Magyars in the 10th century later brought Catholic missionary influence to the area. With the Union of Uzhhorod
Union of Uzhhorod
The Union of Uzhhorod, also referred to as Union of Ungvár, was the 1646 decision of 63 Ruthenian Orthodox priests from the south slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, then within the Kingdom of Hungary, to join the Catholic Church on terms similar to the Union of Brest from 1596 in the lands of the...
in 1646, 63 Ruthenian clergy were received into the Catholic Church, and in 1664 a union reached at Mukachevo brought additional communities into the Catholic communion. The resulting diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s retained their Byzantine rite and liturgical
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...
traditions, and their bishops
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
were elected by a council composed of Basilian monk
Basilian monk
Basilian monks are monks who follow the "Rule" of Saint Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea. The chief importance of the monastic rules and institutes of St. Basil lies in the fact that to this day his reconstruction of the monastic life is the basis of most of the monasticism practiced in the...
s and eparchial clergy
Secular clergy
The term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or members of a religious order.-Catholic Church:In the Catholic Church, the secular clergy are ministers, such as deacons and priests, who do not belong to a religious order...
.
The region became, in part, incorporated in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Annexation to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
led to persecution of the Ruthenian Catholic Church. However, since the collapse of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
the Ruthenian Catholic Church in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
has seen a resurgence in numbers of faithful
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
and priests.
The United States
The vast majority of Ruthenian Catholics outside of their EuropeanEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
homeland are to be found in the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. In the 19th and 20th centuries, various Byzantine-Rite Catholics arrived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, particularly in coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mining towns. The predominant Latin-Rite Catholic hierarchy did not always receive them well, being disturbed in particular at what they saw as the innovation, for the United States, of a married Catholic clergy. At their persistent request, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for missionary work and related activities...
applied, on 1 May 1897, to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rules already set out in a letter of 2 May 1890 to François-Marie-Benjamin Richard
François-Marie-Benjamin Richard
François-Marie-Benjamin Richard , archbishop of Paris, French prelate, was born at Nantes, Loire-Atlantique....
, the Archbishop of Paris
Archbishop of Paris
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on...
. These rules stated that only celibates and widowed priests coming without their children should be permitted in the United States. This rule was restated with special reference to Catholics of the Ruthenian Church by the 1 March 1929 decree Cum data fuerit, which was renewed for a further ten years in 1939. Dissatisfaction by many Ruthenian Catholics had already given rise to some groups placing themselves under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America
Russian Orthodox Church in America
The Russian Orthodox Church in America is a Russian Orthodox Christian group that claims continuation from the Russian Orthodox Church through Patriarchal Ukase and Synodal Charter....
in the 1890s. In 1938 the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese
The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese or American Carpatho-Ruthenian Orthodox Diocese is a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with 78 parishes in the United States and Canada. It was led by the late Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko of Amissos...
was created when 37 Ruthenian parishes were received into the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch (c.f. Archbishop John Ireland
John Ireland (archbishop)
John Ireland was the third bishop and first archbishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota . He became both a religious as well as civic leader in Saint Paul during the turn of the century...
, Saint Alexis Toth).
Relations with the Latin-Rite Catholic hierarchy have improved, especially since the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
, at which the Ruthenian Church influenced decisions regarding using the vernacular (i.e. the language of the people) in the liturgy
Christian liturgy
A liturgy is a set form of ceremony or pattern of worship. Christian liturgy is a pattern for worship used by a Christian congregation or denomination on a regular basis....
. (Unlike the former custom in the Latin Church
Latin Church
The Latin Church is the largest particular church within the Catholic Church. It is a particular church not on the level of the local particular churches known as dioceses or eparchies, but on the level of autonomous ritual churches, of which there are 23, the remaining 22 of which are Eastern...
, the Ruthenian Church always celebrated the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
in the Church Slavonic language, an ancient Slavic language.) In its decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum
Orientalium Ecclesiarum
Orientalium Ecclesiarum is the Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches from the Second Vatican Council. One of the shorter such documents, it was passed by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,110 to 39 and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964...
the Second Vatican Council declared:
"The Catholic Church holds in high esteem the institutions, liturgical rites, ecclesiastical traditions and the established standards of the Christian life of the Eastern Churches, for in them, distinguished as they are for their venerable antiquity, there remains conspicuous the tradition that has been handed down from the Apostles through the Fathers and that forms part of the divinely revealed and undivided heritage of the universal Church."
Ruthenian parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
es tend to stress the importance of unity with the Bishop of Rome and the whole Catholic Church, albeit with an Eastern expression. The Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
urged Eastern Rite Churches to eliminate Liturgical Latinization
Liturgical Latinisation
Liturgical Latinisation, also known as Latinisation, is the process by which liturgical and other aspects of the Churches of Eastern Christianity were altered to resemble more closely the practices of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church...
and to strengthen their Eastern Christian identity. This directive has been met with some success, and the Ruthenian Church is no exception. In June 1999 the Council of Hierarchs of the Byzantine Metropolitan Church Sui Iuris of Pittsburgh U.S.A. promulgated the norms of particular law to govern itself. In January 2007, the Revised Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is the most celebrated Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine Rite. It is named after the anaphora with the same name which is its core part and it is attributed to Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople in the 5th century.It reflects the work of...
and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great were promulgated.
Membership of the Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic Church is not limited to those who trace their heritage to Eastern Europe.
Structure
The Ruthenian Church has four eparchiesEparchy
Eparchy is an anglicized Greek word , authentically Latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something,' like province, prefecture, or territory, to have the jurisdiction over, it has specific meanings both in politics, history and in the hierarchy of the Eastern Christian...
in the United States of America and two in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. As of 2010, its membership was estimated at some 646,000 faithful, with seven bishops, 626 parishes, 501 priests, 67 deacons, and 234 men and women in religious order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
s.
Metropolia of Pittsburgh
Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh
The Byzantine Catholic Metropolia of Pittsburgh is an autonomous Byzantine Rite particular church of the Catholic Church, originally serving members of the Ruthenian Catholic Church and their descendants in the United States...
(one archeparchy, three suffragan eparchies):
- Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of PittsburghByzantine Catholic Archeparchy of PittsburghThe Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is the Catholic archeparchy governing all of the Byzantine Catholic Church in the Western portion of Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and in the states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia...
(established in 1924) - Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of ParmaByzantine Catholic Eparchy of ParmaThe Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma is the Catholic eparchy governing most Byzantine Catholics in the midwestern United States. Its headquarters are at 1900 Carlton Road, Parma, Ohio. The current bishop is the Most Reverend John Kudrick....
(1969) - Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of PassaicByzantine Catholic Eparchy of PassaicThe Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic is the Catholic eparchy governing most Byzantine Catholics in the eastern United States. Its headquarters are at 445 Lackawanna Avenue, Woodland Park . The current bishop is the Most Reverend William C. Skurla.The Eparchy was erected July 6, 1963 and its...
(1963) - Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix (founded 1981 at Van Nuys, transferred in 2010)
Immediately subject to the Holy See
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...
:
- Eparchy of MukacheveByzantine Catholic Eparchy of MukacheveThe Eparchy of Mukacheve is an eparchy of the Ruthenian Catholic Church, with territory located in the west of Ukraine.The eparchy, like the entire Ruthenian Catholic Church, is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church...
in Ukraine (1771) - Apostolic Exarchate in the Czech RepublicApostolic Exarchate in the Czech RepublicApostolic Exarchate in the Czech Republic is a Roman Catholic institution overseeing the Catholics of Byzantine Rite living in the Czech Republic....
(1996)
One issue preventing organization of the Ruthenian Catholic Church under a single synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
is the desire of some of the priests and faithful of the Eparchy of Mukacheve that it should be part of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
.
See also
- Ukrainian Greek Catholic ChurchUkrainian Greek Catholic ChurchThe Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
- History of Christianity in UkraineHistory of Christianity in UkraineThe History of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the apostolic church. It has remained the dominant religion in the country since its acceptance in 988 by Vladimir the Great , who instated it as the state religion of Kievan Rus', a medieval East Slavic state.Although...
- Union of BrestUnion of BrestUnion of Brest or Union of Brześć refers to the 1595-1596 decision of the Church of Rus', the "Metropolia of Kiev-Halych and all Rus'", to break relations with the Patriarch of Constantinople and place themselves under the Pope of Rome. At the time, this church included most Ukrainians and...
- Union of UzhhorodUnion of UzhhorodThe Union of Uzhhorod, also referred to as Union of Ungvár, was the 1646 decision of 63 Ruthenian Orthodox priests from the south slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, then within the Kingdom of Hungary, to join the Catholic Church on terms similar to the Union of Brest from 1596 in the lands of the...
External links
General Information:- Byzantine Catholic Church in America (unofficial)
- What Is the Byzantine-Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church?
- Byzantine Catholics: Who are we?
- "Ruthenian Catholic Churches": article by Ronald Roberson (Catholic Near East Welfare Association)
- Our Identity
- Ruthenian Liturgical Chant
History:
Eparchies:
- List of Ruthenian Eparchies
- Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh
- Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma
- Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic
- Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix
Parishes:
- Directory of Byzantine-Ruthenian Parish web sites
- St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church, Toledo
- St. Melany Byzantine Catholic Church Tucson, AZ USA
- Cathedral of St. Mary (Byzantine-Ruthenian Church) (from "The Tidings")
- Ss. Peter & Paul Byzantine Catholic Church (Portage, PA, USA)
Documents: