www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Process for Ruthenian to become Ukrainian Catholic

Dear Bretheren and Sisters in Christ,

Does anyone know what the canonical process is for a Ruthenian Catholic to change Jurisdictions to the Ukrainian Catholic Church?

Mind you I am sure there are pastoral practices, but what is the canonical process?

Blessings.

Sincerely,


Robert

Robert, it is very simple. You write a letter to the bishop of the Ruthenian Eparchy notifying him you are switching jurisdictions and you copy the Ukrainian chancery you are joining. You should write a brief cover letter to the Ukrainian chancery with the copy so they know what it is about.

Since you live in Washington (at least that is indicated by your post) you will write Bishop Skurla and copy Bishop Richard Seminack in Chicago with a cover letter.

As a courtesy you should also copy the Ruthenian pastor whose parish you are leaving and the Ukrainian pastor whose parish you are joining.

Slava Isusu Christu!

Thank you for your info. May I ask for some kind of history behind how you learned this, just for verification. I am sure you are right, but just checking.

Thank you.

In Christ,


Robert

As a subdeacon and even prior I have assisted numerous families and individuals make various changes of jurisdiction, of churches sui iuris, assisting with such letters for the pastor, etc.

With the great distance between churches in the West (as you can appreciate), it happens sometimes for practical reasons if a family wants to fully become part of a parish and its eparchy because they settle permanently in an area but they are of another jurisdiction that they cannot access for logistical reasons of distance. Some decide to fully join a parish and eparchy in that case since that is now their parish family. They start supporting that parish financially and stewardship, etc.

Some have other various reasons as well. Hope that answers your questions.

Slava Isusu Christu!

Thank you for your informed and credible responses of which I am most appreciative. May God grant you and yours health and happiness for Many Years!

In the Theotokos,


Robert Horvath

I just thought you stop saying "i nyni i prisno i vo viki vikov" and replace it with "i nini i povsyakchas i na viki vichni"? Oh, yeah, and replace all o's with i's.

(My apologies if my levity offended this rather serious thread.)

Dave

Teacher! Teacher!

OK, I've got a question. This has been puzzling me for a while.

Is there a fundamental difference between changing rites and changing jurisdictions?

For instance, a Maronite may wish to become Ukrainian Catholic (as an example). Said person would be changing both rites and jurisdictions. A Ukrainian Catholic may wish to become Romanian Catholic and would only be changing jurisdictions the way I see it.

The reason I ask is that it has been posted in the past that a change in rites is only ordinarily done once. Is it possible to change jurisdictions more than once?

Thanks in advance.

Michael

Isn't a change of sui iuris Church the same regardless of what "Rite" is involved? That is, the process to change from Ruthenian to Ukrainian is the same canonically speaking as changing from Latin to Maronite, or Ukrainian to Latin.

Lemko is right, on paper all of these are changes of church sui iuris.

In reality the process is slightly more straightforward in this case since you are dealing with two sui iuris churches of the same liturgical rite (non-Roman) and therefore you don't have to go through the Pro-Nuncio or any other Roman hierarchal path.

It is simply a matter of notification verses a matter of "petition" with changing from the Roman. In the case of a change from the Roman Rite you are dealing with the additional hurdle of straddling two codes of canon law, and in this case only are dealing with one. All in all a lot of legalese to do the same thing.

Thanks for that, I'm glad we are getting somewhere on this topic.

Are we to say then that someone could transfer from the Roman jursdiction to Ukrainian and then later in life transfer to the Melkites with a simple notification?

In Christ,
Michael

Michael, once you are outside of the Roman canon law which really only permits one change of church sui iuris in the life a Catholic normally, the process becomes the matter of notification that you mention.

The Roman canonists really don't or can't care once you are outside of the bounds of Roman canon law and relegate those matters to the Eastern Code and its clarifications in particular law. So yes, once you transferred from the Roman to the Melkite, let's say, you could then transfer to the Maronite, Ruthenian, etc. with the notification procedure.

But such an action should never be taken lightly and should have justifying circumstances such as marriage, physical relocation, genuine spiritual benefit, etc.

Diak writes of himself: "As a subdeacon and even prior" -
Dear Diak: so you are a subdeacon, a diak and even a prior! Who knows what greater heights you may attain. Remember us all when you come into your kingdom! Incognitus

That should have read "prior to subdiaconal ordination". I meant prior as in terms of time.

My wife is the prioress, not me.

Just to add some further clarification:

Since the promulgation of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches the process has been streamlined in that as long as a person is changing sui iuris Churches that have overlapping or coterminous territories there is no involvement of the Nuncio or the Vatican, even when dealing with a change between the Latin Church and an Eastern Church, where previously they were involved. A simple written request and the agreement of the losing and gaining hierarchs is all that is required.

If one wanted to join a Church that had no jurisdiction in an area, such as the Coptic, Ethiopian, or Syro-Malankar Churches in the US, then the Vatican is involved although I do not know what the procedure is.

Additionally, I know of no canon in the CCEO or the CIC that states a change can occur only once. So theoretically, as long as the Churches have coterminous territories and the hierarchs agree, a person could do this as many times as the hierarchs agree to it. Of course, I don't think anyone would recommend changing more than once unless it is absolutely necessary.

In Christ,
Subdeacon Lance

Lance, while I do not disgree that the process is simpler than it used to be, the CCEO does not abrogate the Roman Code nor its obligations to Romans. The Roman Code still retains the term "petition" when describing a change of church sui iuris.

The one-time change is a rule of thumb still used by the Pro-Nuncio as well as most Greek Catholic hierarchs. I believe it existed in the older Roman Code and is still used on a general precidental basis by the Romans.