Unity in Diversity: Rites and Churches
THE CHURCH NEEDS TO LEARN TO
BREATHE WITH TWO LUNGS – ITS
EASTERN ONE AND ITS WESTERN
ONE. (JOHN PAUL II)
Dr Andrew Kania
Dr Andrew Kania
The Early Church
 The event of Pentecost gave the apostles not only a
specific mission but the courage to proclaim to all the
nations the Word of God.
 The atmosphere in which the early members of the
Church preached the message of Christ was one of
extreme hostility.
 The Jewish communities saw the development of the
Christian communities as a threat to their traditional
beliefs.
Dr Andrew Kania
Eastern Tradition in the celebration
of the Sacraments
 Crowns: Kings and Queens of their family/kingdom
 Three cycles: trinity
 Holding the cloak of the Priest: first steps with Christ
 Drinking from the common cup: Both joys and pains are shared
together
 Bride is not given away: walks in freely into the Church by herself.
 Wedding begins at the back of the Church completed at the altar.
 Baptism/Holy Communion/Confirmation received together and
performed at roughly the same time as Western Churches Baptise
their children. Small children receive just the Blood of Christ until
parents decide that their child will begin to receive the Body of
Christ appropriately e.g. not spat out or misunderstood by young
minds.
Dr Andrew Kania
Eastern Catholic Churches are full and complete
members of the Catholic Church
 They simply have
different:



Liturgies
Traditions
Histories
Dr Andrew Kania
 They hold the same:



Core beliefs (e.g. The
Nicene Creed)
Sacraments
Recognise the authority of
the Pope
Dr Andrew Kania
Dr Andrew Kania
Dr Andrew Kania
Eastern Catholic Churches are full and complete
members of the Catholic Church
 Each Church has different
 Religious customs
 Languages
 Styles of worship
Dr Andrew Kania
Who were the Apostles?
Matt 10:2
Mark 3:16
Luke 6:14
Acts 1:13
Andrew
Andrew
Andrew
Andrew
Bartholomew
Bartholomew
Bartholomew
Bartholomew
James son of Alphaeus
James son of Alphaeus
James son of Alphaeus
James son of Alphaeus
James son of Zebedee
James son of Zebedee
James
James
John
John
John
John
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
(not named)
Matthew
Matthew
Matthew
Matthew
Philip
Philip
Philip
Philip
Simon (who is called Peter)
Simon (to whom he gave the Simon (whom he named
name Peter)
Peter)
Simon the Zealot
Simon the Zealot
Simon who was called the
Zealot
Simon the Zealot
Thaddaeus
Thaddaeus
Judas son of James
Judas son of James
Thomas
Thomas
Thomas
Thomas
Peter
Where did the Apostles go?
Apostle
Simon Peter
Andrew (Peter's brother)
Simon the Zealot
Destinations
Parthia [Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia],
Britain
Cappadocia, Galatia, Bithynia, Scythia
North Africa [Egypt, Cyrene, Mauritania, Lybia],
Britain
James son of Alphaeus
Spain, (and possibly Britain and Ireland)
Thomas
Parthia, Media, Persia [Carman, Hyrcani, Bactria -that is Iran and Afhganistan today], Northwest India
Bartholomew
Judas (Libbaeus Thaddaeus)
Philip
Parthia, Media, Persia, Northwest India
Assyria, Mesopotamia
Scythia, Upper (Northern) Asia Minor
Matthew
John
James (brother of John)
Matthias (replaced Judas Iscariot)
Parthia, Asiatic Aethiopia (Hindu Kush)
Gaul? (modern France)
beheaded by Herod (Acts 12)
Dacia (Romania), Upper Macedonia
Paul (Apostle to the Gentiles, Israelites, and kings)
Southern Asia Minor, British Isles
The evolution of the various Churches comprising the Catholic
Church, arose from five ancient religious centres:
Rome
(Italy)
Dr Andrew Kania
Alexandria
Constantinople
(Egypt)
(Istanbul,
Turkey)
Jerusalem
Antioch
(Israel)
(Turkey)
Dr Andrew Kania
The Catholic Church
Western
Churches
Roman
Ambrosian
(Milan, Italy)
Latin (Rome,
Italy)
Mozarabic
(Spanish)
Celtic (Irish no longer in
existence)
Eastern Churches
(22 Sister Churches)
Jerusalem
Armenian
Armenian *
Antiochian
Maronite
Malankar*
Syrian*
Chaldean*
Malabar*
* These Churches have a corresponding Orthodox Church.
Dr Andrew Kania
Alexandrian
Coptic*
Ethiopian*
Byzantine
Albanian*
Byelorussian*
Church of the
Byzantines*
Greek*
Hungarian*
ItaloAlbanian*
Melkite*
Romanian*
Russian*
Ruthenian*
Slovakian*
Ukranian*
Eastern Church
Members Worldwide
Chaldean
383 000
Coptic
243 000
Ethiopian
197 000
Greek Catholic
Hungarian
Italo-Albanian
2345
269 000
61 000
Maronite Church
3 107 000
Melkite Church
1 341 000
Romanian
746 000
Ruthenian
598 000
Slovakian
226 000
Syrian
124 000
Syro-Malabar
Syro-Malankara
Ukrainian Catholic
Belarus
Russian/Georgian
Dr Andrew Kania
TOTAL
3 753 000
405 000
4 322 000
100 000
45 000
16 378 345
1997
Dr Andrew Kania
Treasures of the West
 Universities
 Hospitals
 Great Artistic Traditions (arts, music)
 Mystic Traditions
Dr Andrew Kania
Treasures of the East
 Witness to diversity
 Sense of mystery
 Theosis – the process of becoming like God. Not God in essence but







God through participation
Martyrology (Chaldeans in Iraq/ Ukrainians in Soviet Union)
Reverence of the sacred
Icons
Liturgical tradition
The Sign of the Cross
The Nicene Creed (St Athanasius said “even Lucifer can say the
creed because the contents are true however the difference
between the Christians and Lucifer is the ability to love God”)
The Gospels
Dr Andrew Kania
Eastern Christian Media
HTTP://WWW.EASTERNCHRISTIANMEDIA.CO
M/VIDEOS.HTML
Dr Andrew Kania