www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Change from Greek Catholic to Byzantine Catholic

When was the Greek Catholic Church renamed the Byzantine Catholic Church and why?

This will probably be denied, but the motive for the change of name seems to have been the painful discovery that the American courts considered "Greek Catholic" to be ambiguous - it could mean Eastern Orthodox, it could mean what most of us in fact mean by it, or it could mean "independent". In turn, this bizarre situation arose because the Oxford Movement in the midst of the 19th century, in the effort to establish what is sometimes called the "Branch Theory", managed to get the Oxford English Dictionary to give Eastern Orthodoxy as a referent for "Greek Catholic". It is safe to say that during the heyday of the court cases - and, of course, at the time of the founding of the "Greek Catholic" parishes in the USA - most of the people involved had never heard of the Oxford English Dictionary, much less of the mid-19th-century Oxford Movement, but the argument still held up in court. So, willy-nilly, Greek Catholics in the USA discovered that they had become Byzantine Catholics (nobody has ever used that name in connection with Eastern Orthodoxy). The next step is even more strange - "Byzantine Catholic" is quite often shortened to "Byzantine" these days, for whatever that may be worth.
Incognitus

Dear Incognitus,

Yes, I find the whole issue of the meanings of "Greek Catholic" to be fascinating!

It was originally intended to mean "Orthodox" and it was adopted by the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a definition of the "Uniates."

The original term our EC ancestors used following the Union of Brest was either "Orthodox in communion with Rome" or "Greco-Uniates."

In fact, the Russian Orthodox Church also tended to use the term "Uniates" or "United" in conjunction with the Old Believers and Assyrians that came into communion with it while retaining their liturgical traditions.

The term "Greek" originally meant "Byzantine" for those who promoted its use until "Greek" came to mean a narrow, ethnic understanding.

Today, this term has again become official for the UGCC to, as I understand it, underline our Byzantine heritage and difference from the Latin Catholic tradition.

I personally like neither "Greek" nor "Byzantine" Catholic. I believe that the use of either is a close approximation to a "Latinized" way of thinking that undercuts the real Particularity of our Eastern Churches by emphasizing "Rite."

Alex

Dear Incognitus,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

I always thought one factor in renaming our churches �Byzantine� was that ethnic identity was very much attached to our parishes. For example, I grew up at St. John the Baptist Hungarian Greek-Catholic Church. We also had Slovak Greek-Catholics, Romanian Greek-Catholics, etc.

The relationship between the nationality designation (Hungarian/Croatian, etc) and the patrimony (Greek) typically was never clarified (this was in the 50's and 60's). How could one be �Hungarian� and also �Greek�? If there was confusion for those in the community around us, there was also confusion within the community. We knew we were Hungarian. I really never knew where the Greek aspect entered. Any catechesis we had in those years emphasized the nationality, and literally ignored the patrimony.

As I recall, it was through Bishop Elko that the �Greek Catholic� name was changed to �Byzantine Catholic� in the United States. Personally, I agree with the change and feel it gives us stronger support for our identity. Additionally, parish programs such as adult inquiry classes for existing and new parishioners should cover the historical, spiritual and patrimonial aspects of our identity. People become very responsive once they are presented with factual information.

My prayers are with you,
Deacon El

My impression is that the initiative for the change of name came from Bishop Daniel Ivancho - but I may be mistaken.
Incognitus

Dear Friends,

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada dropped the "Greek" in its title a while ago.

For the UGCC, the old "Greek" designation connotes the idea of sharing in the traditions of the Church of Constantinople. When the Ukrainian Kozaks (they also called themselves "Roxolanians") when to fight the Turks, there were only Greeks, Greek bishops and the like - no sight of any "Byzantines."

Patriarch Josef Slipyj minted this title for his Church: The Particular Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Byzantine-Ukrainian Rite (Greco-Ruthenian).

As they say in Russian, "One cannot understand any of this without vodka . . ." (Byez vodky nye rozbyerosh!)

Alex

"As they say in Russian, "One cannot understand any of this without vodka . . ." (Byez vodky nye rozbyerosh!)"

Alex, I was so happy to see you quoting a Russian proverb, it shows you really aren't prejudiced against them! What a truly "catholic" man you are!

Don

"Vodka, vodka, mat' rodnaia,
Vodka Russkaia rieka . . ."

Incognitus

Dear Don,

Would you mind repeating that for the Administrator's benefit?

The bad news is that the Moscow Patriarchate is not happy with us Ukies.

The good news is that most Russians haven't yet heard of the "Moscow Patriachate!"

Oy Russkaya Dusha . . .!

I prefer the old Tsarist songs though . . .

And remember, I'm a direct descendant of St Alexander Nevsky.

Byeleaf eet oor nout!

Alex