Code of Canons of The Eastern Churches - Churches Sui Iuris

Churches Sui Iuris

A church sui iuris is "a community of the Christian faithful, which is joined together by a hierarchy according to the norm of law and which is expressly or tacitly recognised as sui iuris by the supreme authority of the Church" (CCEO.27) . The term sui iuris is an innovation of CCEO (Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium - Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches) and denotes the relative autonomy of the Oriental Catholic Churches. This canonical term, pregnant with many juridical nuances, indicates the God-given mission of the Oriental Catholic Churches to preserve their patrimonial autonomous nature. The autonomy of these churches is relative in the sense that they are under the authority of the Bishop of Rome.

For a better understanding of the concept of church sui iuris see, Žužek, Understanding The Eastern Code, pp. 94–109. “Una Chiesa Orientale cattolica è una parte della Chiesa Universale che vive la fede in modo corrispondente ad una delle cinque grandi tradizioni orientali- Alessandrina, Antiochena, Costantinopolitina, Caldea, Armena- e che contiene o è almeno capace di contenere, come sue componenti minori, piú communià diocesane gerarchicamente riunite sotto la guida di un capo commune legittimamente eleto e in communione con Roma, il quale con il proprio Sinodo costituisce la superiore istanza per tutti gli affari di carattere amministrativo, legislativo e giudiziario delle stesse Communità, nell'ambitto del diritto commune a tutte le Chiese, determinato nei Canoni sancti dai Concili Ecumenici o del Romano Pontefice, sempre preservando il diritto di quest'ultimo di intervenire nei singoli casi” pp. 103–104. A rough translation of this may be rendered "An Eastern Catholic Church is on part of the Universal Church in which lives the faith in a corresponding manner to one of the five great Eastern Traditions - Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Chalcedon, Armenian - and which contains or is capable of containing, as its small marts, more community specific diocesan rule and the guide of a legitimately elected head of the community and in Communion with Rome, in which, with its own Synod, constitutes the highest law for all those affairs of an administrative character, legislative and guiding of its own community, in the aim of the direction common to all the Church, determined in the Holy Canons of the Ecumenical Councils or of the Roman Pontiff, always preserving the direction of the latter in individual cases."

According to the CCEO the Oriental Catholic Churches sui iuris are of four categories:

1.Patriarchal Churches:

The patriarchal church is the full-grown form of an Oriental Catholic Church. It is a community of the Christian faithful joined together by a patriarchal hierarchy. The patriarch together with the synod of bishops has the legislative, judicial and administrative powers within the ecclesiastical territory, without prejudice to those powers reserved, in the common law to the pope (CCEO 55-150). Among the Catholic Oriental churches the following hold patriarchal status: Maronite, Chaldian, Coptic, Syrian, Melkite, Armenian.

2.Major Archiepiscopal Churches:

Major archiepiscopal churches are those oriental churches which are governed by major archbishops, assisted by a respective synod of bishops. These churches have almost the same rights and obligations of patriarchal churches. A major archbishop is the metropolitan of a see; he is chosen by the pope or recognised by him, and presides over an entire Eastern Church sui iuris. What is stated in common law concerning patriarchal churches or patriarchs is understood to be applicable to major archiepiscopal churches or major archbishops, unless the common law expressly provides otherwise or the matter is obvious. (CCEO.151, 152). The four major archiepsicopal churches are: the Syro Malabar, the Ukrainian Byzantine, the Syro Malankara Catholic and Romanian Byzantine.

3.Metropolitan Churches:

This is a church which is governed by a metropolitan "sui iuris." Such a church is presided over by the metropolitan of a determined see who has been canonically elected and confirmed by the pope. He is assisted by a council of hierarchs according to the norms of law (CCEO. 155§1). The Catholic metropolitan churches are the Ethiopian Church and the Ruthenian Church.

4. Other Churches:

Apart from the above mentioned forms of church there are other ecclesiastical communities which are entrusted to a hierarch who presides in accordance with the norms of canon law. (CCEO. 174). The following Oriental Catholic churches are of this status: Belarussian Greek, Bulgarian Greek, Macedonian Greek, Greek Byzantine, Hungarian Greek, Italo-Albanian, Slovakian Greek, Byzantine Church of the Eparchy of Križvci, Albanian Byzentine, Russian Byzantine. Altogether there are 22 oriental sui iuris churches in within the Catholic communion.