What does the Eastern Catholic Church believe?

If you’re like most Catholics, your mind was probably blown when you discovered there’s this entirely different “lung” – as Pope St. John Paul II called it in his encylclical Ut Unum Sint – to the Catholic Church other than just the Roman Catholic Church.

A quick bit of research showed you that there are many similarities and many significant differences between Roman Catholics and Eastern Catholics.

So now you might be wondering: What does the Eastern Catholic Church believe?

Do Eastern Catholics believe all the same dogmas as Roman Catholics, or do they somehow get to reject certain dogmas because of their ancient apostolic patrimony?

The short answer is that the Eastern Catholic Churches believe everything that the Roman Catholic Church also affirms. We share the same Faith! If we didn’t share the same Faith, we’d have no grounds for communion with one another. So things like the Immaculate Conception, the Filioque, purgatory, and Papal Infallibility and Supremecy, among the other dogmatic teachings, are all affirmed and adhered to by the Eastern Catholic faithful.

These affirmations aside, however, there are some points of clarity you should keep in mind as you explore the theological, spiritual, liturgical, and historical richness of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

There are 23 Eastern Catholic Churches

You may have noticed the subtle shift from “Church” to “Churches” in the response to the original question of this article.

That was deliberate.

A lot of Catholics don’t realize that there is no one Eastern Catholic Church. Rather, there are 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, each one falling into one of five ritual families, and each one bearing its own culture and history.

In all honesty, many Eastern Catholics forget this too, often holding up their own tradition as the pinnacle of Eastern Catholicism and looking down on those other Eastern Catholic Churches that don’t closely resemble their own tradition.

But the fact remains, there are 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, each of them of equal dignity to one another and their much larger Roman Catholic sibling. To learn more about the dignity and approach of the Eastern Catholic Churches, a good starting place is Vatican II’s decree Orientalium ecclesiarum – written specifically about the Eastern Catholic Churches.

We have our own approaches & perspectives

Because there are multiple Eastern Catholic Churches, and not just one Eastern Catholic Church, it’s important to keep in mind that each of these Churches has its own approach to, and perspectives on the one Faith we all share.

Each of the Eastern Catholic Churches developed within their own specific cultures, with their own specific languages, and their own specific historical circumstances with which to contend. Each drew from the wellspring of the Scriptures and its own liturgical-ritual tradition for inspiration when contending with the important questions and issues of its day. 

These factors have heavily influenced how the Eastern Catholic Churches reflect on the one Faith to address the needs of their people.

For example…

During the time of the first several ecumenical councils, the Church as a whole had to contend with the introduction of Greek philosophical language and concepts into its theological reflections. Many in the Syriac tradition struggled with this, not least among them being St. Ephrem of Nisibis (aka St. Ephrem the Syrian – a Doctor of the Church).

St. Ephrem, among many others, feared that the use of philosophical language and concepts opened the door to us creating intellectual “idols” of our own concept of God.

Rather than emphasize the role of reason and philosophy in theological reflection, therefore, the Syriac approach emphasizes the role of the Scriptures and liturgy, with a strong preference for typological and poetic reflection on the Scriptures. 

Fun Fact: The Greek-speaking St. John Chrysostom shared St. Ephrem’s concern over the use of philosophy in theological reflection. You’ll find his homilies are heavily Biblical and typological. He often even paraphrases entire passages from the Scriptures in order to make them clearer, rather than offer a philosophical reflection on a passage.

The Greek-speaking Byzantines, for a time, embraced the role of philosophy in theological reflection. After all, it was mostly the Greek-speaking East that introduced philosophical language and concepts into theology. But under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, they shifted their emphasis to more poetic and liturgical reflection. This really comes to light when one reads Nicholas Cabasilas’s Commentary on the Divine Liturgy, for example.

Eastern Catholics believe everything that Roman Catholics believe

The fact remains, however, that Eastern Catholics believe all the same core dogmas that Roman Catholics believe.

It’s the difference in emphasis that confuses most people. And this confusion leads many to assume that Eastern Catholics also believe (or don’t believe) different dogmas.

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception is an excellent example.

When you read how the dogma of the Immaculate Conception is defined in Ineffabilis Deus – Pope Pius IX’s 1854 encyclical in which he defines the Immaculate Conception – it quickly becomes apparent that the concept of the Immaculate Concpetion is tied up with the Roman Church’s concept of original sin.

Since the Catholic East has a somewhat different perspective on “original sin” than does the West, Pope Pius IX’s definition leaves many Eastern Catholics scratching their heads.

Does that mean that the East denies the dogma of the Immaculate Conception?

Not at all.

Instead, the East tends to emphasize Mary’s holiness while also affirming her sinlessness. If you attend a Byzantine Divine Liturgy, you’ll hear Mary referred to as the “all holy, all pure, most highly blessed, and glorious Lady.” At the same time, a famous Byzantine hymn, the “Agni Parthene,” refers to Mary as “Virgin pure, immaculate.”

In its most famous hymn to the Blessed Mother, “Ya Oum Allah,” the Maronite tradition affirms Mary as “most blessed” and praises Christ who “took flesh and appeared from [her] pure womb.” But rather than emphasize either Mary’s sinlessness or her holiness, this hymn emphasizes her maternal care for us, her spiritual children.

In general, however, the East is content to affirm that Mary was sinless, but leave any further speculation on the nature of her sinlessness aside to focus instead on other aspects of her blessedness.

A difference in emphasis

This difference in emphasis is carried over into other areas as well.

What is baptism? Is it a death and rising? Is it a rebirth? Is it a washing?

As Catholics we affirm that it’s not “either or,” but “both and!” The Byzantine liturgical tradition follows St. Paul in emphasizing baptism as a death and resurrection. The Maronites and other Syriac tradition follow St. John the Evangelist in emphasizing baptism as rebirth – the baptismal font representing the womb of Mother Church. The Roman tradition emphasizes baptism as a washing away of original sin.

None of these traditions are wrong. They’re each just offering different perspectives on a core truth of the Faith.

This is why Pope St. John Paul II was so adamant that Catholics learn to “breathe with both lungs” of the Church. When we cultivate a deeper understanding of each other’s unique perspectives and approaches to our one Faith, we come away with a deeper appreciation of just how truly catholic (as in universal) our Faith is.

So. What do the Eastern Catholic Churches believe?

We believe everything that the Roman Catholic Church also believes, but we bring our own perspectives and emphases with us in reflecting on our shared Faith.