The Eastern Catholic Churches and the Restoration of Unity Theology
The Church of Christ is unity in diversity. Around the great centers of diffusion, the rites have been gradually defined as “the liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony, culture and circumstances of the history of a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the faith i...
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2025-05-01
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| author | Buzalic Alexandru |
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| description | The Church of Christ is unity in diversity. Around the great centers of diffusion, the rites have been gradually defined as “the liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony, culture and circumstances of the history of a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the faith is manifested” (<i>Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches</i> can. 28 § 1). At the same time, the necessity of the existence of the sacred ministry for the celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments is the basis for the establishment of the hierarchy of bishoprics that are formed ontogenetically and diachronically around the primary diffusion center, recognized as the Mother Church or, starting from the IVth–Vth centuries, as the Patriarchates. The tensions between dissident factions culminated in the Ecclesiastical Schism of 1054, which separated Eastern Christianity from the Roman Church. The restoration of the unity of the Constantinopolitan Churches of Central and Eastern Europe began with the Union of Brest–Litovsk (1595–1596), which generated a process of gradual entry of the territories of the Eastern Churches into unity, in 1700 reaching Transylvania. The Greek Catholic Churches fought a pioneering struggle in asserting their own traditions in order to restore the unity of the Church. The Eastern churches that re-entered the unity of the Catholic Church faced a change of ecclesiological paradigm, being in a permanent struggle to preserve their own specificity and to affirm the unity. The signatories of the Union Acts rejected “the Uniatism” from the beginning, a fact accepted today within the theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches, the canonical evolution and the treatises of Greek–Catholic theology being the result of a process of experimentation “from within” of unity and catholicity in the context of the modern and contemporary era. The United Churches have paved the way for the restoration of unity between East and West, being obligated to grasp different forms of canonical manifestation of unity in the absence of a Patriarchate in communion with the Church of Rome, during which they offer a reflection that fully grows through a theology of restoring the unity of the Church, benefiting today from the ecclesiological paradigm shift of Vatican II and by the conceptual tools provided by the traditions and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dee26073ecdf479aaba2e3868fb509b7 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj-art-dee26073ecdf479aaba2e3868fb509b72025-08-20T02:21:53ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442025-05-0116669110.3390/rel16060691The Eastern Catholic Churches and the Restoration of Unity TheologyBuzalic Alexandru0Faculty of Greek-Catholic Theology, Babeş Bolyai University, 400084 Cluj Napoca, RomaniaThe Church of Christ is unity in diversity. Around the great centers of diffusion, the rites have been gradually defined as “the liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony, culture and circumstances of the history of a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the faith is manifested” (<i>Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches</i> can. 28 § 1). At the same time, the necessity of the existence of the sacred ministry for the celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments is the basis for the establishment of the hierarchy of bishoprics that are formed ontogenetically and diachronically around the primary diffusion center, recognized as the Mother Church or, starting from the IVth–Vth centuries, as the Patriarchates. The tensions between dissident factions culminated in the Ecclesiastical Schism of 1054, which separated Eastern Christianity from the Roman Church. The restoration of the unity of the Constantinopolitan Churches of Central and Eastern Europe began with the Union of Brest–Litovsk (1595–1596), which generated a process of gradual entry of the territories of the Eastern Churches into unity, in 1700 reaching Transylvania. The Greek Catholic Churches fought a pioneering struggle in asserting their own traditions in order to restore the unity of the Church. The Eastern churches that re-entered the unity of the Catholic Church faced a change of ecclesiological paradigm, being in a permanent struggle to preserve their own specificity and to affirm the unity. The signatories of the Union Acts rejected “the Uniatism” from the beginning, a fact accepted today within the theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches, the canonical evolution and the treatises of Greek–Catholic theology being the result of a process of experimentation “from within” of unity and catholicity in the context of the modern and contemporary era. The United Churches have paved the way for the restoration of unity between East and West, being obligated to grasp different forms of canonical manifestation of unity in the absence of a Patriarchate in communion with the Church of Rome, during which they offer a reflection that fully grows through a theology of restoring the unity of the Church, benefiting today from the ecclesiological paradigm shift of Vatican II and by the conceptual tools provided by the traditions and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/6/691Church unityCode of Canons of Oriental Churchesecumenical theologyEastern Catholic Churchtheological reconciliationunity |
| spellingShingle | Buzalic Alexandru The Eastern Catholic Churches and the Restoration of Unity Theology Religions Church unity Code of Canons of Oriental Churches ecumenical theology Eastern Catholic Church theological reconciliation unity |
| title | The Eastern Catholic Churches and the Restoration of Unity Theology |
| title_full | The Eastern Catholic Churches and the Restoration of Unity Theology |
| title_fullStr | The Eastern Catholic Churches and the Restoration of Unity Theology |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Eastern Catholic Churches and the Restoration of Unity Theology |
| title_short | The Eastern Catholic Churches and the Restoration of Unity Theology |
| title_sort | eastern catholic churches and the restoration of unity theology |
| topic | Church unity Code of Canons of Oriental Churches ecumenical theology Eastern Catholic Church theological reconciliation unity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/6/691 |
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