Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches , Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans , and Anglicans . Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; among the Reformed (Calvinist) Churches this was a point of controversy in the Protestant Reformation and sometimes since, in particular during the ritualist controversies in the Church of England in the 19th century .
87-473: In the early Christian churches, officers and leaders, like their congregations, wore the normal dress of civil life in the Greco-Roman world , although with an expectation that the clothing should be clean and pure during holy observances. From the 4th century onward, however, modifications began to be made to the form of the garments, and, as secular fashions changed from the 6th century, the church retained
174-616: A Phanyo . Prelates will in addition wear a hood-like head-covering called a Masnaphto over the Kutino and under the Phanyo . Prelates will also wear a Batrashil or Pallium (similar to an Epitrachelion but reaching down in both front and back) as well as Pectoral Icons. In addition, they will have a vestment similar to the Epigonation worn attached the Zenoro on the right side (called
261-507: A Sakro ) and will carry a crosier and hand cross. Deacons wear the Kutino and an Orarion (called an Uroro ) in different ways depending on their order: Greco-Roman world The Greco-Roman civilization ( / ˌ ɡ r iː k oʊ ˈ r oʊ m ən , ˌ ɡ r ɛ k oʊ -/ ; also Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture ; spelled Graeco-Roman in British English ), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes
348-746: A particular church , the word has been and is still sometimes, even if rarely, officially used of the particular church itself. Thus the term Latin rite can refer either to the Latin Church or to one or more of the Latin liturgical rites , which include the Roman Rite , Ambrosian Rite , Mozarabic Rite , and others. In the 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO), the terms autonomous Church and rite are thus defined: A group of Christian faithful linked in accordance with
435-724: A symbolic meaning as well. These symbolic meanings are often indicated by the prayer that the priest says as he puts each item on. These prayers are verses taken directly from the Old Testament , usually the Psalms . For example, the prayer for the Sticharion is from Isaiah 61:10: The Syro Malabar Catholic Church follows the East Syriac rite and the vestments used in Holy Mass are based on East Syriac tradition. Within
522-516: A juridical-pastoral nature, constantly taking initiative from a theological perspective. Past interventions by the Holy See, the Instruction said, were in some ways defective and needed revision, but often served also as a safeguard against aggressive initiatives. These interventions felt the effects of the mentality and convictions of the times, according to which a certain subordination of
609-687: A mantle of mutual knowledge. For example, several hundred papyrus volumes found in a Roman villa at Herculaneum are in Greek. The lives of Cicero and Julius Caesar are examples of Romans who frequented schools in Greece. The installation, both in Greek and Latin , of Augustus 's monumental eulogy, the Res Gestae , exemplifies the official recognition of the dual vehicles for the common culture. The familiarity of figures from Roman legend and history in
696-470: A means of identifying the wearer as a member of the clergy or a religious order. A distinction is often made between the type of vestment worn for Holy Eucharist or Holy Communion and that worn for other services. Non-Eucharistic vestments are typically referred to as " choir dress " or "choir habit" in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican churches, because they are worn for the chanting of
783-762: A minority within the Catholic Church; of the 1.3 billion Catholics in communion with the pope, approximately 18 million are members of the eastern churches. The largest numbers of Eastern Catholics may be found in Eastern Europe , Eastern Africa , the Middle East , and India . As of 2022, the Syro-Malabar Church is the largest Eastern Catholic Church, followed by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church . With
870-405: A model of the unity our Churches are seeking." At the same time, the commission stated: These principles were repeated in the 2016 Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill , which stated that 'It is today clear that the past method of “uniatism”, understood as the union of one community to the other, separating it from its Church, is not the way to re–establish unity. Nonetheless,
957-468: A new approach towards simplicity, especially under the influence of Calvinism . The Church of England experienced its own controversies over the proper use of vestments. On the other hand, Lutheranism largely retained many pre-Reformation vestments, especially in Scandinavia, e.g. Church of Sweden . The resulting varieties of liturgical dress are described below. The rubrics (regulations) for
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#17327729241351044-644: A specific rite" (canon 476), etc. The Second Vatican Council spoke of Eastern Catholic Churches as "particular Churches or rites". In 1999, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops stated: "We have been accustomed to speaking of the Latin (Roman or Western) Rite or the Eastern Rites to designate these different Churches. However, the Church's contemporary legislation as contained in
1131-524: A systematic whole, completing them with further clarification: thus, the intent of the Instruction, presented to the Eastern Churches which are in full communion with the Apostolic See , is to help them fully realize their own identity. The authoritative general directive of this Instruction, formulated to be implemented in Eastern celebrations and liturgical life, articulates itself in propositions of
1218-461: A witness to the Apostolicity of the Catholic Church, that their diversity, consistent with unity of the faith, is itself a witness to the unity of the Church, that they add to her dignity and honour. He says that the Catholic Church does not possess one rite only, but that she embraces all the ancient rites of Christendom; her unity consists not in a mechanical uniformity of all her parts, but on
1305-593: Is impossible to translate in most other languages, and is not universally accepted even in English. These churches are also referred to as pre-Chalcedonian or now more rarely as non-Chalcedonian or anti-Chalcedonian . In languages other than English other means are used to distinguish the two families of Churches. Some reserve the term "Orthodox" for those that are here called "Eastern Orthodox" Churches, but members of what are called " Oriental Orthodox " Churches consider this illicit. The East–West Schism came about in
1392-573: Is much variation within each of those churches. Among the Paleo-Orthodoxy and Emerging Church movements in Protestant and evangelical churches, which includes many Methodists and Presbyterians , clergy are moving away from the traditional black Geneva gown and reclaiming not only the more ancient Eucharist vestments of alb and chasuble, but also cassock and surplice (typically a full length Old English style surplice which resembles
1479-478: Is sometimes considered derogatory by such people, though it was used by some Latin and Eastern Catholics prior to the Second Vatican Council of 1962–1965. Official Catholic documents no longer use the term due to its perceived negative overtones. Eastern Catholic Churches have their origins in the Middle East , North Africa , East Africa , Eastern Europe and South India . However, since
1566-730: Is the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches , which by law includes as members all Eastern Catholic patriarchs and major archbishops. The largest six churches based on membership are, in order, the Syro-Malabar Church (East Syriac Rite), the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC; Byzantine Rite), the Maronite Church (West Syriac Rite), the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Byzantine Rite), the Chaldean Catholic Church (East Syriac Rite), and
1653-632: Is the result of the syncretism between Roman and Greek myths, spanning the period of Great Greece at the end of Roman paganism . Along with philosophy and political theory , mythology is one of the greatest contributions of Classical antiquity to Western society . From a historical point of view, early Christianity was born in the Greco-Roman world, which had a massive influence on Christian culture . Eastern Catholic Churches God Schools Relations with: The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches , also called
1740-653: The Constitutio Antoniniana , and although one of the edict's main purposes was to increase tax revenue, all of the empire's free men became citizens with all the rights this entailed. As a result, even after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire , the people who remained within the lands (including Byzantium) that the empire comprised continued to call themselves Rhomaioi . ( Hellenes had been referring to pagan, or non-Christian, Greeks until
1827-519: The Parallel Lives by Plutarch is one example of the extent to which " universal history " was then synonymous with the accomplishments of famous Latins and Hellenes . Most educated Romans were likely bilingual in Greek and Latin. Graeco-Roman architecture in the Roman world followed the principles and style that had been established by ancient Greece. That era's most representative building
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#17327729241351914-682: The Armenian Catholic Church (Armenian Rite). These six churches account for about 85% of the membership of the Eastern Catholic Churches. On 30 November 1894, Pope Leo XIII issued the apostolic constitution Orientalium dignitas , in which he stated: The Churches of the East are worthy of the glory and reverence that they hold throughout the whole of Christendom in virtue of those extremely ancient, singular memorials that they have bequeathed to us. For it
2001-794: The Celtic alb, an ungirdled liturgical tunic of the old Gallican Rite ). In the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Eastern Catholic churches, any member of the clergy of whatever rank is vested when serving his particular function during the Divine Liturgy or other service. As in the Latin Church, the use of vestments is rooted in the early history of the church. The various vestments serve several different functions. The three forms of stole ( Orarion , Epitrachelion , and Omophorion ) are marks of rank . The three outer garments ( Sticharion , Phelonion , and Sakkos ) serve to distinguish
2088-630: The Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches makes it clear that we ought to speak, not of rites, but of Churches. Canon 112 of the Code of Canon Law uses the phrase 'autonomous ritual Churches' to designate the various Churches." And a writer in a periodical of January 2006 declared: "The Eastern Churches are still mistakenly called 'Eastern-Rite' Churches, a reference to their various liturgical histories. They are most properly called Eastern Churches, or Eastern Catholic Churches." However,
2175-644: The Council of Florence (1431–1445), these controversies about Western theological elaborations and usages were identified as, chiefly, the insertion of " Filioque " into the Nicene Creed , the use of unleavened bread for the Eucharist , purgatory , and the authority of the pope. The schism is generally considered to have started in 1054, when the Patriarch of Constantinople , Michael I Cerularius , and
2262-692: The Council of Florence convened, which featured a strong dialogue focused on understanding the theological differences between the East and West, with the hope of reuniting the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Several eastern churches associated themselves with Rome, forming Eastern Catholic churches. The See of Rome accepted them without requiring that they adopt the customs of the Latin Church, so that they all have their own "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary heritage, differentiated by peoples' culture and historical circumstances, that finds expression in each sui iuris Church's own way of living
2349-655: The Daily Office , which, in the West, takes place in the choir rather than the sanctuary . In other traditions, there is no specific name for this attire, although it often takes the form of a Geneva gown worn with or without preaching bands and a stole or preaching scarf . In the more ancient traditions, each vestment—or at least the stole—will have a cross on it, which the clergy kiss before putting it on. A number of churches also have special vesting prayers which are recited before putting each vestment on, especially
2436-753: The Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches , Eastern Rite Catholicism , or simply the Eastern Churches , are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ( sui iuris ) particular churches of the Catholic Church , in full communion with the pope in Rome . Although they are distinct theologically, liturgically, and historically from the Latin Church , they are all in full communion with it and with each other. Eastern Catholics are
2523-481: The Eucharist and the other sacraments. Full communion with the bishop of Rome constitutes mutual sacramental sharing between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church and the recognition of papal supremacy . Provisions within the 1983 Latin canon law and the 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches govern the relationship between the Eastern and Latin Churches. Historically, pressure to conform to
2610-580: The European portion of Turkey ), Moesia (roughly corresponding to modern-day Central Serbia , Kosovo , Northern Macedonia , Northern Bulgaria and Romanian Dobrudja ), and Pannonia (corresponding to modern-day Western Hungary , the Austrian Länder of Burgenland , Eastern Slovenia and Northern Serbia ). Also included were Dacia (roughly corresponding to modern-day Romania and Moldavia ), Nubia (a region roughly corresponding to
2697-812: The Fourth Crusade .) Through attrition of Byzantine territory in the preceding 400 or so years from perceived friends and foes alike (Crusaders, Ottoman Turks, and others), Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire (the Eastern Roman Empire) fell to the Turks led by Mehmed II in 1453. There is a perception that these events led to the predecessor of Greek nationalism through the Ottoman era and even into modern times. Greco-Roman mythology , sometimes called classical mythology ,
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2784-412: The Latin Church , which uses the Latin liturgical rites , among which the Roman Rite is the most widespread. The Eastern Catholic churches are instead distinct particular churches sui iuris , although they maintain full and equal, mutual sacramental exchange with members of the Latin Church. There are different meanings of the word rite . Apart from its reference to the liturgical patrimony of
2871-597: The Oriental Orthodox Churches and the corresponding Eastern Catholic Churches there is much variance as to what vestments are used. In these Churches, generally only a white robe will be used for the Eucharistic service. On more solemn occasions, an epitrachelion -like vestment is worn, and sometimes a vestment resembling a cope is worn. Priests and bishops always carry a Hand Cross during services. Deacons wear either an orarion crossed over
2958-468: The Papal Legate , Humbert of Silva Candida , issued mutual excommunications ; in 1965, these excommunications were revoked by both Rome and Constantinople. In spite of that event, for many years both churches continued to maintain friendly relations and seemed to be unaware of any formal or final rupture. However, estrangement continued. In 1190, Eastern Orthodox theologian Theodore Balsamon , who
3045-744: The clergy from the laity . Some are practical ( Zone and Epimanikia ), holding the other vestments in place. Some ( Nabedrennik and Epigonation ) are awards of distinction. Obligatory vestments for presbyters are: Sticharion , Epitrachelion , Epimanikia , Zone , and Phelonion . Awards are: Nabedrennik , Kalimavkion , Pectoral cross , Epigonation , Pectoral cross with decorations, Mitre , second Pectoral cross with decorations, and Patriarchal Pectoral cross. Obligatory vestments for deacons are: Sticharion , Epimanikia , and Orarion . Awards are: double orarion, and Kalimavkion . Awards for bishops are: second panagia , and patriarchal panagia. In addition to these functions, most vestments carry
3132-424: The conciliar constitution on the Roman rite, "in the very nature of things, affect other rites as well." The Instruction states: The liturgical laws valid for all the Eastern Churches are important because they provide the general orientation. However, being distributed among various texts, they risk remaining ignored, poorly coordinated and poorly interpreted. It seemed opportune, therefore, to gather them in
3219-401: The ordination of married men to the priesthood (although not as bishops to the episcopacy ), in contrast to the stricter clerical celibacy of Latin Church. Both Latin and Eastern Catholics may freely attend a Catholic liturgy celebrated in any rite. Although Eastern Catholics are in full communion with the pope and members of the worldwide Catholic Church , they are not members of
3306-623: The 12th–13th centuries, the two sides had become openly hostile, each considering that the other no longer belonged to the church that was orthodox and catholic. Over time, it became customary to refer to the Eastern side as the Orthodox Church and the Western as the Catholic Church, without either side thereby renouncing its claim of being the truly orthodox or the truly catholic church. Parties within many non-Latin churches repeatedly sought to organize efforts to restore communion. In 1438,
3393-697: The 19th century, diaspora has spread to Western Europe , the Americas and Oceania in part because of persecution , where eparchies have been established to serve adherents alongside those of Latin Church dioceses . Latin Catholics in the Middle East , on the other hand, are traditionally cared for by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem . Communion between Christian churches has been broken over matters of faith, whereby each side accused
3480-552: The Chaldean Catholic Church—an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with Rome—and two Assyrian churches which are not in communion with either Rome or each other. The Chaldean Catholic Church is the largest of the three. The groups of Assyrians who did not reunify with Rome remained and are known as the Assyrian Church of the East , which experienced an internal schism in 1968 which led to
3567-540: The Church, Lumen gentium , deals with Eastern Catholic Churches in paragraph 23, stating: By divine Providence it has come about that various churches, established in various places by the apostles and their successors, have in the course of time coalesced into several groups, organically united, which, preserving the unity of faith and the unique divine constitution of the universal Church, enjoy their own discipline, their own liturgical usage, and their own theological and spiritual heritage. Some of these churches, notably
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3654-411: The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches brought together, in one place, the developments that took place in previous texts, and is "an expository expansion based upon the canons, with constant emphasis upon the preservation of Eastern liturgical traditions and a return to those usages whenever possible—certainly in preference to the usages of the Latin Church , however much some principles and norms of
3741-659: The East: each individual sui iuris church also has its own canons, its own particular law, layered on top of this code. In 1993 the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church submitted the document Uniatism, method of union of the past, and the present search for full communion , also known as the Balamand declaration , "to
3828-963: The Eastern Orthodox and other non-Catholic churches. The five historic liturgical traditions of Eastern Christianity, comprising the Alexandrian Rite , the Armenian Rite , the Byzantine Rite , the East Syriac Rite , and the West Syriac Rite , are all represented within Eastern Catholic liturgy . On occasion, this leads to a conflation of the liturgical word "rite" and the institutional word "church". Some Eastern Catholic jurisdictions admit members of churches not in communion with Rome to
3915-461: The Episcopal bodies of today are in a position to render a manifold and fruitful assistance, so that this collegiate feeling may be put into practical application. The 1964 decree Unitatis redintegratio deals with Eastern Catholic Churches in paragraphs 14–17. The First Vatican Council discussed the need for a common code for the Eastern churches, but no concrete action was taken. Only after
4002-444: The Eucharistic vestments. For the Eucharist , each vestment symbolizes a spiritual dimension of the priesthood, with roots in the very origins of the Church. In some measure these vestments harken to the Roman roots of the Western Church . Use of the following vestments varies. Some are used by all Western Christians in liturgical traditions. Many are used only in the Latin Church Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican churches, and there
4089-463: The Great , and of Marcus Licinius Crassus (conqueror of the slave general Spartacus ), who was defeated in the field by a Persian force and was beheaded by them. In the schools of art , philosophy , and rhetoric , the foundations of education were transmitted throughout the lands of Greek and Roman rule. Within its educated class, spanning all of the "Greco-Roman" eras, the testimony of literary borrowings and influences are overwhelming proofs of
4176-441: The Greeks and the Romans, in which those peoples' cultural perceptions, ideas, and sensitivities became dominant in classical antiquity . That process was aided by the universal adoption of Greek as the language of intellectual culture and commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean and of Latin as the language of public administration and of forensic advocacy , especially in the Western Mediterranean. Greek and Latin were never
4263-403: The Orthodox Church used "unacceptable means". The missionary outlook and proselytism that accompanied the Unia was judged incompatible with the rediscovery by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches of each other as Sister Churches. Thus the commission concluded that the "missionary apostolate, ... which has been called 'uniatism', can no longer be accepted either as a method to be followed or as
4350-426: The Persians, with which there was constant interaction: Xenophon 's Anabasis (the ' March Upcountry ' ), the Greco-Persian wars , the famous battles of Marathon and Salamis , the Greek tragedy The Persians by Aeschylus , Alexander the Great 's defeat of the Persian emperor Darius III and conquest of the Persian empire , or the later Roman generals' difficulties with the Persian armies, such as Pompey
4437-417: The Roman jurist and imperial chancellor Ulpian of Phoenician origin; the mathematician and geographer Claudius Ptolemy of Greco-Egyptian ethnicity; and the theologian Augustine of Berber origin. Note too the historian Josephus Flavius , who was of Jewish origin but spoke and wrote in Greek. Based on the above definition, the "cores" of the Greco-Roman world can be confidently stated to have been
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#17327729241354524-404: The West, despite firm and repeated papal confirmation of these Churches' universal character. The Second Vatican Council brought the reform impulse to visible fruition. Several documents, from both during and after the Second Vatican Council, have led to significant reform and development within Eastern Catholic Churches. The Second Vatican Council directed, in Orientalium Ecclesiarum , that
4611-583: The ancient discipline of the sacraments existing in the Eastern churches, and the ritual practices connected with their celebration and administration, and declared its ardent desire that this should be re-established, if circumstances warranted (n. 12). It applied this in particular to administration of sacrament of Confirmation by priests (n. 13). It expressed the wish that, where the permanent diaconate (ordination as deacons of men who are not intended afterwards to become priests) had fallen into disuse, it should be restored (n. 17). Paragraphs 7–11 are devoted to
4698-419: The ancient patriarchal churches, as parent-stocks of the Faith, so to speak, have begotten others as daughter churches, with which they are connected down to our own time by a close bond of charity in their sacramental life and in their mutual respect for their rights and duties. This variety of local churches with one common aspiration is splendid evidence of the catholicity of the undivided Church. In like manner
4785-502: The authorities of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches for approval and application," which stated that initiatives that "led to the union of certain communities with the See of Rome and brought with them, as a consequence, the breaking of communion with their Mother Churches of the East ... took place not without the interference of extra-ecclesial interests". Likewise the commission acknowledged that "certain civil authorities [who] made attempts" to force Eastern Catholics to return to
4872-400: The benefits of the Latin Church's 1917 Code of Canon Law were appreciated was a serious effort made to codify the Eastern Catholic Churches' canon laws. This came to fruition with the promulgation of the 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches , which took effect in 1991. It is a framework document that contains canons that are a consequence of the common patrimony of the churches of
4959-430: The coasts of the Mediterranean Sea , specifically the Italian Peninsula , Greece , Cyprus , the Iberian Peninsula , the Anatolian Peninsula (modern-day Turkey ), Gaul (modern-day France ), the Syrian region (modern-day Levantine countries , Central and Northern Syria , Lebanon and Palestine ), Egypt and Roman Africa (corresponding to modern-day Tunisia , Eastern Algeria and Western Libya ). Occupying
5046-408: The context of cultural differences between the Greek-speaking East and Latin-speaking West, and of rivalry between the Churches in Rome—which claimed a primacy not merely of honour but also of authority—and in Constantinople , which claimed parity with Rome. The rivalry and lack of comprehension gave rise to controversies, some of which appear already in the acts of the Quinisext Council of 692. At
5133-468: The contrary, in their variety, according in one principle and vivified by it." Leo XIII declared still in force Pope Benedict XIV 's encyclical Demandatam , addressed to the Patriarch and the Bishops of the Melkite Catholic Church , in which Benedict XIV forbade Latin Church clergy to induce Melkite Catholics to transfer to the Roman Rite, and he broadened this prohibition to cover all Eastern Catholics, declaring: "Any Latin rite missionary, whether of
5220-436: The creation of the Ancient Church of the East . The Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara churches are the two Eastern Catholic descendants of the Church of the East in the Indian subcontinent. In 451, those who accepted the Council of Chalcedon similarly classified those who rejected it as Monophysite heretics. The Churches that refused to accept the Council considered instead that it was they who were orthodox; they reject
5307-409: The description Monophysite (meaning only-nature ) preferring instead Miaphysite (meaning one-nature ). The difference in terms may appear subtle, but it is theologically very important. "Monophysite" implies a single divine nature alone with no real human nature—a heretical belief according to Chalcedonian Christianity —whereas "Miaphysite" can be understood to mean one nature as God, existing in
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#17327729241355394-417: The ecclesial communities which emerged in these historical circumstances have the right to exist and to undertake all that is necessary to meet the spiritual needs of their faithful, while seeking to live in peace with their neighbours. Orthodox and Greek Catholics are in need of reconciliation and of mutually acceptable forms of co–existence.' The 1996 Instruction for Applying the Liturgical Prescriptions of
5481-416: The exception of the Maronite Church , 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, or the Church of the East ; these churches underwent various schisms throughout history. Eastern Catholic Churches formerly part of other communions have been points of controversy in ecumenical relations with
5568-427: The faith". Most Eastern Catholic churches arose when a group within an ancient church in disagreement with the See of Rome returned to full communion with that see. The following churches have been in communion with the Bishop of Rome for a large part of their history: The canon law shared by all Eastern Catholic churches, CCEO , was codified in 1990. The dicastery that works with the Eastern Catholic churches
5655-440: The far south of Egypt and modern-day Northern Sudan ), Mauretania (corresponding to modern-day Morocco , Western Algeria and Northern Mauritania ), Arabia Petraea (corresponding to modern-day Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia , Jordan , Southern Syria and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula ), and the Tauric Chersonesus (modern-day Crimea and the coast of Ukraine ). The Greco-Roman world had another "world" or empire to its east,
5742-419: The geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were directly and intimately influenced by the language, culture, government and religion of the Greeks and Romans . A better-known term is classical antiquity . In exact terms the area refers to the "Mediterranean world" , the extensive tracts of land centered on the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins, the "swimming pool and spa" of
5829-494: The law by a hierarchy and expressly or tacitly recognized by the supreme authority of the Church as autonomous is in this Code called an autonomous Church (canon 27). When speaking of Eastern Catholic Churches, the Latin Church's 1983 Code of Canon Law (1983 CIC) uses the terms "ritual Church" or "ritual Church sui iuris " (canons 111 and 112), and also speaks of "a subject of an Eastern rite" (canon 1015 §2), "Ordinaries of another rite" (canon 450 §1), "the faithful of
5916-424: The left shoulder, or brought around the back (where the two pieces form a cross) and then hanging down in front (not crossed), secured by the cross piece. In these Churches, a more full set of vestments is used. Apart from the usual Sticharion (called Kutino in Syriac), Epitrachelion (called Hamnikho ), Zone (called Zenoro ), and Epimanikia (called Zende ), a priest will wear a Cope -like vestment called
6003-503: The native languages of many or most of the rural peasants, who formed the great majority of the Roman Empire 's population. However, they became the languages of the urban and cosmopolitan elites and the Empire's lingua franca for those who lived within the large territories and populations outside the Macedonian settlements and the Roman colonies . All Roman citizens of note and accomplishment, regardless of their ethnic extractions, spoke and wrote in Greek or Latin. Examples include
6090-411: The non-Latin liturgies was perceived toward the Latin-Rite liturgy which was considered " ritus praestantior ". This attitude may have led to interventions in the Eastern liturgical texts which today, in light of theological studies and progress, have need of revision, in the sense of a return to ancestral traditions. The work of the commissions, nevertheless, availing themselves of the best experts of
6177-398: The norms of the Western Christianity practiced by the majority Latin Church led to a degree of encroachment ( Latinization ) on some of the Eastern Catholic traditions. The Second Vatican Council document, Orientalium Ecclesiarum , built on previous reforms to reaffirm the right of Eastern Catholics to maintain their distinct practices. The 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
6264-417: The original forms of their garments, although with separate development and with regional variations. Having separate, consecrated clothing for the ceremonies and rites in the churches emphasized the sacred nature of the functions the priest and ministers carried out at the altar . The Catholic Church's vestments had essentially established their final forms by the 13th century. The Reformation brought about
6351-399: The other of heresy or departure from the true faith ( orthodoxy ). Communion has been broken also because of disagreement about questions of authority or the legitimacy of the election of a particular bishop. In these latter cases each side accused the other of schism , but not of heresy. The following ecumenical councils are major breaches of communion: In 431, the churches that accepted
6438-691: The other peoples of the world, no matter how far-flung. When blessed Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, intended to cast down the manifold wickedness of error and vice, in accord with the will of Heaven, he brought the light of divine Truth, the Gospel of peace, freedom in Christ to the metropolis of the Gentiles. Adrian Fortescue wrote that Leo XIII "begins by explaining again that the ancient Eastern rites are
6525-588: The periphery of that world were the so-called "Roman Germany" (the modern-day Alpine countries of Austria and Switzerland and the Agri Decumates , southwestern Germany ), the Illyricum (modern-day Northern Albania , Montenegro , Bosnia and Herzegovina and the coast of Croatia ), the Macedonian region , Thrace (corresponding to modern-day Southeastern Bulgaria , Northeastern Greece and
6612-479: The person of Jesus who is both human and divine—an idea more easily reconciled to Chalcedonian doctrine. They are often called, in English, Oriental Orthodox Churches , to distinguish them from the Eastern Orthodox Churches . This distinction, by which the words oriental and eastern that in themselves have exactly the same meaning but are used as labels to describe two different realities,
6699-516: The powers of the patriarchs and major archbishops of the Eastern Churches, whose rights and privileges, it says, should be re-established in accordance with the ancient tradition of each of the Churches and the decrees of the ecumenical councils , adapted somewhat to modern conditions. Where there is need, new patriarchates should be established either by an ecumenical council or by the Bishop of Rome. The Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on
6786-481: The secular or religious clergy, who induces with his advice or assistance any Eastern rite faithful to transfer to the Latin rite, will be deposed and excluded from his benefice in addition to the ipso facto suspension a divinis and other punishments that he will incur as imposed in the aforesaid Constitution Demandatam ." There had been confusion on the part of Western clergy about the legitimate presence of Eastern Catholic Churches in countries seen as belonging to
6873-749: The teaching of the Council of Ephesus (which condemned the views of Nestorius ) classified as heretics those who rejected the council's statements. The Church of the East , which was mainly under the Sassanid Empire , never accepted the council's views. It later experienced a period of great expansion in Asia before collapsing after the Mongol invasion of the Middle East in the 14th century. Monuments of their presence still exist in China. Now they are relatively few in number and have divided into three churches:
6960-482: The term "rite" continues to be used. The 1983 CIC forbids a Latin bishop to ordain, without permission of the Holy See, a subject of his who is "of an Eastern rite " (not "who uses an Eastern rite ", the faculty for which is sometimes granted to Latin clergy). The term Uniat or Uniate has been applied to Eastern Catholic churches and individual members whose church hierarchies were previously part of Eastern Orthodox or Oriental Orthodox churches. The term
7047-484: The times, succeeded in safeguarding a major part of the Eastern heritage, often defending it against aggressive initiatives and publishing precious editions of liturgical texts for numerous Eastern Churches. Today, particularly after the solemn declarations of the Apostolic Letter Orientalium dignitas by Leo XIII, after the creation of the still active special Commission for the liturgy within
7134-548: The traditions of Eastern Catholic Churches should be maintained. It declared that "it is the mind of the Catholic Church that each individual Church or Rite should retain its traditions whole and entire and likewise that it should adapt its way of life to the different needs of time and place" (n. 2), and that they should all "preserve their legitimate liturgical rite and their established way of life, and ... these may not be altered except to obtain for themselves an organic improvement" (n. 6; cf. n. 22). It confirmed and approved
7221-468: The type of vestments to be worn vary between the various communions and denominations. In some, clergy are directed to wear special clerical clothing in public at all, most, or some times. This generally consists of a clerical collar , clergy shirt, and (on certain occasions) a cassock . In the case of members of religious orders , non-liturgical wear includes a religious habit . This ordinary wear does not constitute liturgical vestment, but simply acts as
7308-574: Was patriarch of Antioch , wrote that "no Latin should be given Communion unless he first declares that he will abstain from the doctrines and customs that separate him from us". Later in 1204, Constantinople was sacked by the Catholic armies of the Fourth Crusade , whereas two decades previously the Massacre of the Latins (i.e., Catholics) had occurred in Constantinople in 1182. Thus, by
7395-480: Was in that part of the world that the first actions for the redemption of the human race began, in accord with the all-kind plan of God. They swiftly gave forth their yield: there flowered in first blush the glories of preaching the True Faith to the nations, of martyrdom, and of holiness. They gave us the first joys of the fruits of salvation. From them has come a wondrously grand and powerful flood of benefits upon
7482-424: Was the first codified body of canon law governing the Eastern Catholic Churches collectively, although each church also has its own internal canons and laws on top of this. Members of Eastern Catholic churches are obliged to follow the norms of their particular church regarding celebration of church feasts, marriage, and other customs. Notable distinct norms include many Eastern Catholic Churches regularly allowing
7569-780: Was the temple. Other prominent structures that represented that style included government buildings like the Roman Senate . The three primary styles of column design used in temples in classical Greece were Doric , Ionic , and Corinthian . Some examples of Doric architecture are the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, and the Erechtheum , next to the Parthenon, is Ionic. By AD 211, with Caracalla 's edict known as
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