Each rite has its own prayers, rituals or ways of celebrating the sacraments, as well as its own vestments, church art and architecture, music, etc. When most people think of the “Catholic Church,” they are thinking of the Roman Catholic Church. It is a little-known fact that there are many Catholic Churches in union with the Bishop of Rome, commonly referred to as the pope.
There are six princi
ple — or main — rites used in the Catholic Church: Alexandrian, Armenian, Byzantine, East Syrian, Latin and West Syrian. Each rite has its own prayers, rituals or ways of celebrating the sacraments as well as its own vestments, church art and architecture, music, etc. Each rite also has its own theological emphasis or way of explaining the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic faith.
Within the Catholic Church, there are 21 self-governing or “sui juris” churches such as the Roman Catholic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church (Our church), the Maronite Catholic Church and the Romanian Greek Catholic Church.
Each of these Catholic churches uses one of the rites listed above. For instance, the Roman Catholic Church uses the Roman rite, the Armenian Catholic Church uses the Armenian rite, the Chaldean Catholic Church uses the East Syrian rite, the Ethiopian Catholic Church uses the Alexandrian rite, the Romanian Greek Catholic Church uses the Byzantine rite, etc.
All of these churches are headed by a patriarch, major archbishop, or metropolitan — and all are in union with the Bishop of Rome (pope). We all share the same Catholic faith. We all experience or live it out in different ways. Members of these Catholic churches can attend and are encouraged to receive the sacraments in the other Catholic churches. There is total inter-communion between us.
