Intro to the Eastern Catholic Churches Part III: The Alexandrian Rite

The universal Catholic Church has many different ways of expressing the fullness of the Truth handed down by Christ to His Apostles and their successors. We see these different ways of expressing our Catholic faith manifested in the Churches of the West and the East, in which, as the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council proclaimed, “exists an admirable bond of union, such that the variety within the Church in no way harms its unity; rather it manifests it, for it is the mind of the Catholic Church that each individual Church or Rite should retain its traditions whole and entire…”

As detailed in the first part of this series of essays, there are no less than six different ways of expressing the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic faith, and we call these expressions “Rites”, which are further subdivided into 24 sui iuris, or self-governing, Churches. All 24 of these sui iuris Churches are in communion with the Pope in Rome and recognize him as the Vicar of Christ. One of these six Rites is the Latin Rite of the West, which contains the Roman Catholic Church. The other five Rites are from the East, which contain the other 23 sui iuris Churches. In the second part of this series, we delved into the rich patrimony of the Armenian Rite, which houses the Armenian Catholic Church. In this essay, we will explore a part of the Church many in the West are not familiar with as most of these Catholics still reside in the Eastern part of Africa. We focus now on the Catholic Churches which express themselves according to the Alexandrian Rite. There are three Churches which use the Alexandrian Rite in their liturgies: the Coptic Catholic Church, the Ethiopian Catholic Church and the Eritrean Catholic Church. Sometimes, the Alexandrian Rite is also called the Ge’ez Rite when referring to the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Churches, as these two Churches say the Divine Liturgy in the Ge’ez language, while the Coptic Catholic Church traditionally utilizes the Coptic language in its liturgies. We will briefly explore the traditions, history, liturgical practices and great figures of these three particular Churches so we may, as Pope St. John Paul II has exhorted us, “be familiar with that tradition [of the Eastern Churches], so as to be nourished by it…”

History

Coptic Catholic Church

According to tradition, the Alexandrian Church was founded by St. Mark the Evangelist. Most Coptic Christians today are members of the Coptic (Oriental) Orthodox Church of Alexandria, which broke away from the Catholic Church following the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon following disagreements on Christological doctrines. There were many Christians who remained in the Egyptian region that were never out of communion with the Catholic Church, as there were many Latin Catholic bishops who served over the region before full reunion was made. Over the centuries, there were some attempts at a restoration of communion with the Holy See which unfortunately produced few results. Most notable among these attempts, was the signing of the Cantate Domino by a delegation of Coptic Orthodox bishops at the Ecumenical Council of Florence in 1442, asking for communion with the pope in Rome. It wasn’t until the middle of the 18^th century when reunion was officially recognized.

In 1741, Coptic bishop Anba Athanasius became Catholic, and in that same year he was appointed by Pope Benedict XIV as the Apostolic Vicar of the nearly 2,000 Coptic Catholics in the region. Bishop Athanasius later returned to the Coptic Orthodox after a few years, but a line of bishops succeeded him in his apostolic vicariate through the 19^th century. In 1824, Pope Leo XII established the patriarchate of Alexandria (thus restoring one of the five original patriarchal episcopal sees that existed before the Great Schism in 1054) with Bishop Maximos Jouwed as Patriarch, but this basically only existed on paper as the Ottoman Empire did not allow the Coptic Catholic Church to even build churches until 1829. As the population of Coptic Catholics increased over the next few decades, Pope Leo XIII finally re-established the patriarchate by appointing Bishop Cyril Makarios as Coptic Catholic patriarch of Alexandria. After Patriarch Cyril’s resignation in 1908, the office of Patriarch remained vacant until 1947 when Bishop Markos II Khouzam was elected Patriarch.

Ethiopian Catholic Church

Tradition holds that the first people to spread the Gospel in the Ethiopian region were two of the Apostles, Ss. Matthew and Bartholomew. Like the Copts, most Ethiopian Christians today are Orthodox and belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which also broke from the Catholic Church following the Council of Chalcedon in the 5^th century. And just like with the Coptic Catholic Church, there were many attempts at reconciliation between the Catholic and Orthodox Church in Ethiopia. In 1439, Pope Eugene IV tried to get through to the Ethiopian emperor, but his message fell on deaf ears. Nearly 100 years later, attacks from Muslim insurgents ravaged the region, and many Christians were being forced to decide between submission to Islam or death. The emperor appealed to Portugal for help, and with the navy came a swift defeat of the Muslim attackers, as well as Jesuit missionaries, hoping to unite the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. In 1622, their efforts seemed to find success when the Ethiopian emperor Susenyos converted and made Catholicism the state religion. However, trouble was soon on the horizon.

In 1623, Pope Gregory XV named Jesuit Afonso Mendes the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Church. Mendes’ episcopacy did not last long. He brought sweeping reforms to the Ethiopian Church, and imposed several Latinizations which angered the Christians there who had been following the Alexandrian Rite for several centuries beforehand. Mendes also imposed many Western customs on his flock, and changed the Ethiopian liturgical calendar to the Latin calendar. Emperor Susenyos implemented these Latinizations with force. Following this implementation, civil war broke out and lasted for around five years amidst much bloodshed, and in the end, Susenyos abdicated the throne, saying that both the Ethiopian Orthodox and Latin Catholic traditions would be tolerated. The next emperor, Susenyos’s son, dissolved the union between Rome and Ethiopia in 1636, and Mendes was expelled from the Ethiopian region, as were the rest of the missionaries that remained alive. Many missionaries were martyred and Catholic books and missals were burned following the Jesuit missionaries’ expulsion. 200 years would pass before any Catholic missionaries came back to the region.

In 1839, Italian Lazarist and Capuchin friars were allowed to come into the region on a limited basis. This time, the missionary envoy did much better. St. Justin de Jacobis led these efforts, and instead of imposing Latinizations, he adapted to the liturgical traditions of the Ethiopian Christians there, and won many converts from the Orthodox Church. St. Justin was ordained a bishop and was given the faculties to administer the sacraments in the Alexandrian Rite and in 1849 was named the Apostolic Vicar of Abyssinia, thus establishing the Ethiopian Catholic Church in full communion with Rome. In 1961, the Ethiopian Catholic Church was raised to a Metropolitanate when the city of Addis Abba became Metropolitan Archeparchy. A metropolitan sui iuris Church differs from a patriarchal sui iuris Church in that it is “presided over by the Metropolitan of a determined see who has been appointed by the Roman Pontiff and is assisted by a council of hierarchs according to the norm of law" (CCEO. 155§1). The Ethiopian Catholic Church is one of five Eastern Catholic Churches that are Metropolitan Churches.

Eritrean Catholic Church

The Eritrean Catholic Church is the newest sui iuris Church established. Pope Francis separated it from the Ethiopian Catholic Church in January 2015. This is a direct result of the Eritrean War of Independence which ended in 1991. In 1993, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church was established, and it was only a matter of time until the same happened in the Catholic Church. This was foreseen when Pope St. John Paul II created two new eparchies in Keren and Barentu, Eritrea in 1993.

Therefore, the Eritrean Catholic Church shares much of its history with the Ethiopian Catholic Church. The current Archeparchy of Asmara was established in 1961.

The Churches of the Alexandrian Rite Today

Coptic Catholic Church

Since the election of Patriarch Markos II, there have been four more patriarchs of Alexandria that have succeeded him, including the first Coptic Catholic appointed to the cardinalate. Many Roman Catholics may be surprised to learn that out of the 215 living cardinals, eight of those cardinals belong to various Eastern Catholic Churches. Antonios I Naguib, now Coptic Catholic Patriarch emeritus of Alexandria, was created cardinal by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI in 2010, and is now one of two cardinals who adhere to the Alexandrian liturgical tradition, the other of which we’ll talk about below. The current Patriarch of the Coptic Catholic Church is Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, whose election was ratified by Pope Benedict on January 18^th, 2013, with his seat located at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Egypt in Nasr City, a suburb of Cairo.

Today, the Coptic Catholic Church remains very small in comparison to the Coptic Orthodox Church, and unfortunately it has not yet re-established the great monasteries that are seen by their Orthodox counterparts, but their numbers are slowly growing and expanding through different corners of the world out of Egypt. According to the 2015 Annuario Pontificio, there are over 173,000 Coptic Catholics worldwide with seven eparchies (including the patriarchal eparchy in Alexandria) all based in Egypt. There are small numbers of Coptic Catholics in other countries such as Australia and France. There are also a small number of Coptic Catholics in the United States, with two parishes in Los Angeles and Brooklyn, and a few communities which are in Nashville and in New Jersey. In his visit to these communities in the United States back in 2011, Cardinal Naguib reminded his flock that although the situation in Egypt has been tense following the overthrow of the government there, and that the situation with militant Islamists has made it very difficult for all Christians to live in peace, he is hopeful that the future will be bright for Catholics in Egypt: “I am thankful to the Catholic Church in the United States for all the things she does to support our church and mission by prayers, financial help and also for the presence of American missionaries, priests and religious sisters; they are not many but they represent your country well.”

Ethiopian Catholic Church

As we saw above with the Copts, the Ethiopian Catholic Church also can lay claim to one of the 215 living cardinals. In fact, he is one of the 115 cardinal-electors. Only four of those cardinal-electors come from one of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphie was elected as head of the Ethiopian Catholic Church in 1999, and was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Francis on February 14, 2015.

Today, the majority of Ethiopian Catholics live in far-flung villages, however orphanages and schools have been a top priority for these Catholics, and their region can boast quite a few of them. Vocations appear to be on the rise, and the small Church has been steadily growing since 1990, according to the 2015 Annuario Pontificio. There were a little over 88,000 faithful living throughout one archeparchy and three eparchies in Ethiopia, as well as a small amount of Ethiopian Catholics living in North America. Various missions have popped up across the United States and Canada in such cities as Chicago, Toronto and Glendale.

Eritrean Catholic Church

When Pope Francis established the Eritrean Catholic Church, the Archeparchy of Asmara was raised to a Metropolitan Archeparchy, thus also making it a metropolitan sui iuris Church. The current head of the Eritrean Catholic Church is Archbishop Menghesteab Tesfamariam, who had been bishop of Asmara since 2001. There are a total of three eparchies in addition to the archeparchy of Asmara throughout Eritrea with nearly 160,000 people under Archbishop Tesfamariam’s jurisdiction. Like the Ethiopian Catholic Church, there are several small communities that follow the Alexandrian liturgical tradition throughout the United States and Canada.

Liturgy and Traditions

The Alexandrian Rite utilizes three different liturgies, the only real difference between these coming from the anaphoras. The word “anaphora” is a Greek term literally meaning “offering” or “sacrifice”, and corresponds to the Latin Canon of the Mass. The Offertory in many of the Eastern Catholic Churches is more elaborate than what we see in the Latin Mass (Extraordinay or Ordinary Form), which is why we see many different anaphoras used throughout the different rites of the Church. In the Alexandrian Rite, the main liturgy said during most of the year is the Liturgy of St. Basil. A version of this liturgy is also used in the Churches of the Byzantine Rite. This liturgy came to be sometime around the 4^th century, and while it’s unclear if St. Basil the Great himself was the author of the older Egyptian version of this liturgy, there is evidence that he could have modified the texts of the liturgy after spending time in Egypt in the mid-4^th century.

The Liturgy of St. Gregory Nazianzen is said only on certain solemnities of the Coptic calendar. Significant Holy Days of Obligation for Coptic Catholics include The Assumption, the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, and the feast of St. Mark. The Liturgy of St. Gregory is a little newer than the Liturgy of St. Basil. It didn’t come into use in Egypt until after the 6^th century, and the text was adapted and translated for Egyptian use.

The third liturgy used in the Alexandrian liturgical tradition is the Liturgy of St. Cyril, which comes from the ancient Liturgy of St. Mark, and is used during the Great Fast (Lent). The original liturgy of St. Mark was written in Greek, and was later translated word for word into Coptic by Doctor of the Church, St. Cyril of Alexandria in the early 5^th century. So while the Greek version of this liturgy is still known as the Liturgy of St. Mark, it’s commonly called the Liturgy of St. Cyril for those Churches of the Alexandrian Rite, with its official title being “the Anaphora of our holy father Mark the Apostle, which the thrice-blessed Saint Cyril the Archbishop established.” It can easily be seen why the shorthand of “the Liturgy of St. Cyril” is more often used. But despite the translation into Coptic, there are several parts of the Liturgy that were already universally known in Greek at the time of St. Cyril’s translation. Those specific parts were kept in Greek, much in the same way we still say the Agnus Dei in Latin at times during the Ordinary Form of the Mass in the vernacular.

You may have noticed a lot of talk about the Copts, but the Ethiopians and Eritreans have not been left out. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia: “In the general effect of its liturgical rules the Ethiopian Church is allied to the Coptic Rite. Numerous modifications, and especially additions, have, in the course of time, been introduced into its ritual; but the basic text remains that of Egypt, from which, in many places, it differs only in the language. Its calendar and the distribution of festivals are regulated as in the Coptic Church...” This is why it can be said that the Alexandrian Rite can be subdivided into the Coptic Rite and the Ge’ez Rite, but the only major difference seen in the Ge’ez tradition from the Coptic tradition is the language (during the liturgy the Coptics speak Coptic, Ethiopians and Eritreans speak Ge’ez) and certain local customs such as drums being used during the liturgy. Other differences include that some Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Churches have the men and women separated during the liturgy, and that at times older women in the congregation will ululate at certain moments of the liturgy, such as before the reception of Holy Communion. In addition, the vernacular may be used in all three of these Churches at certain points of the Divine Liturgy, especially in the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Churches, as Ge’ez has not been the language of the common people in centuries, much like Latin has become.

All three Churches administer the Eucharist through intinction, which means that the Body has been dipped into the Precious Blood just before It is given to the communicant. The bread used by the Coptic Catholics is typically leavened bread and is stamped with the Coptic cross before it is consecrated. Typically, for Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholics, the bread is unleavened and since it is given through intinction, is only given on the tongue.

The sacraments of initiation in the Alexandrian Rite are traditionally given all at the same time, even to infants. Like with the Armenian Catholics, immediately following Baptism, Chrismation (or Confirmation) is given. The rites are separate, and the baptismal rite is the longer of the two. The baptismal rite includes several readings from the Scriptures, followed by a mixing of a small amount of the oil of the catechumens mixed into the baptismal water. The candidate is baptized via full immersion, and afterwards the new Christian and godparents process around the altar and church three times rejoicing that the child has joined the Church. The rite of Chrismation is similar to that of the Armenian Catholics, but the only parts of the body marked with the chrism are typically the forehead, mouth and heart several times over to total 36 distinct annointings with the chrism. If the one being baptized is an infant, the priest will confer Holy Communion to the infant via a small amount of the Precious Blood on his finger. Sometimes, when the child reaches the age of reason, their first Solemn Communion is made. Many Eastern Catholic Churches have adopted this practice in recent years.

The Churches of the Alexandrian Rite have historically permitted a married priesthood as part of their tradition, but there appears to be no abrogation in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches regarding the Latinizations imposing a celibate priesthood that came during the late 19th century. Currently, at least for the Coptic Catholics, priestly celibacy is the norm unless a priest converts from Orthodoxy.

As for the liturgical seasons, the Coptic liturgical year typically begins with the Feast of the Cross in late September, which commemorates the finding of the True Cross by St. Helen. There are many seasons of fasting throughout the year. Most notably these seasons include the Holy Nativity Fast which traditionally started on November 25^th, but has since been shortened to 15 days before Christmas. The Great Fast does not start with an Ash Wednesday or Clean Monday as seen in the Latin and Byzantine traditions, but is usually stricter than the Lenten fast seen in the Latin Church. The Apostles’ Fast also follows Pentecost in preparation for the feast Ss. Peter and Paul.

Great Saints

Coptic Catholic Church

Many of the greatest saints in the Coptic Catholic Church come from the first millennium of the Catholic Church’s existence. First and foremost among them is the great Doctor of the Church, St. Athanasius of Alexandria, who served as the 20^th patriarch of Alexandria, St. Mark the Evangelist being the 1^st Patriarch. He attended the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, and is famous for vehemently opposing Arianism, causing him to be exiled from his own see several times throughout his episcopate. His feast is celebrated in the Latin Church on May 2^nd. Other great saints include St. Peter of Alexandria (also called the “Seal of Martyrs” as he was the last martyr to be put to death by the public authority at Alexandria) who was the 17^th Patriarch of Alexandria with a feast day of November 26^th, as well as Saint Dionysius of Alexandria whose feast we celebrate on November 17^th. St Dionysius was the 14^th Patriarch of Alexandria, and defended Pope St. Cornelius while the heresy of Novatianism was running rampant in the mid-3^rd century. He was called “the teacher of the Catholic Church” by St. Athanasius. One saint who was not a patriarch was St. Anthony the Great, also called St. Anthony of the Desert. He was the greatest of the Desert Fathers and is often called the “Father of All Monks”, and his feast is celebrated on January 17^th.

Although these men were not Catholic, but Orthodox, the 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya should receive mention. These 21 men were martyred for their faith by ISIS in February of 2015 and were canonized as saints by the Coptic Orthodox Church. Regarding these men, Pope Francis said, emphases mine:

“…the blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is a testimony which cries out to be heard… It makes no difference whether they be Catholics, Orthodox, Copts or Protestants. They are Christians! Their blood is one and the same. Their blood confesses Christ. This is not to minimize differences, nor to turn a blind eye to them. However, in dying for Christ do such divisions among Christians retain real relevance? In dying for Christ one has become the perfect disciple, and enters a real communion with Christ’s Body in heaven.”

It is most important that all peoples come to know Christ through His Catholic Church, but as the article linked to above mentions, these martyrs can be great examples for Western Christians despite our divisions. Furthermore, one of these martyrs, Matthew Ayairga, was not a Christian when he was captured. When asked by his executioners if he rejected Jesus Christ, he was moved by the faith he witnessed from the others and said, “Their God is my God”, accepting Christ there on the spot. Isn’t this the baptism of desire the Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of? Or at the very least, the baptism of blood the same Catechism tells us about? Surely, Matthew Ayairga should serve as a great example for us as Catholics in keeping an unwavering faith even in the sight of certain death.

Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Church

As these two Churches share much of the same history and the Eritrean Catholic Church was only established last year, both Churches share virtually all of the same saints that come from the Ge’ez tradition. There are many saints from the Ethiopian and Eritrean regions throughout the centuries. Called the Kesate Birhan (Revealer of Light), St. Frumentius was the first person to bring Christianity to the Aksumite kingdom in the 4^th century. The Aksumite kingdom covered the areas of present day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. St. Frumentius was a Greek born in Tyre, and came to Eritrea as a young man with his teacher and another student. After his two companions left, he decided to stay behind to convert the people there. He eventually travelled to Alexandria to ask St. Athanasius to send a pastor to look over the people in the Aksumite kingdom. In the great Doctor’s wisdom, St. Athanasius ordained St. Frumentius himself as the first bishop of Aksum. He returned to Eritrea and spread the faith through his preaching and miracles, and secured the conversions of the two royal princes. His feast is celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church on October 27^th.

Another great saint who was mentioned previously, and the forefather of today’s Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Churches, was St. Justin de Jacobis. He did everything he could to reverse the damage done by the Jesuit missionaries 200 years prior and bring the Ethiopians back to the Catholic Church. It was hard winning converts at first, but following a visit to Rome in which he brought some of the Ethiopian Orthodox monks and priests, conversions began to flourish. St. Justin was quoted as saying “That visit to Rome altered the ideas of my poor Ethiopians; it was the best possible course of theology for them.” At first, St. Justin resisted his appointment to the Apostolic Vicariate, until he reluctantly accepted in 1849, and was given bi-ritual faculties to administer the sacraments in both the Latin and Alexandrian Rites. He was canonized by Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1975, and his feast day is celebrated on July 31^st.

The very first priest that St. Justin ordained was Blessed Michael (Mika’el) Gabra. Bl. Michael was one of the monks who traveled to Rome with St. Justin, and was 50 years old at the time. Shortly after their return to Ethiopia, Bl. Michael converted to Catholicism in 1844 and once St. Justin was consecrated bishop, he finally was ordained a priest at the age of 60 in 1851. Together with St. Justin, Bl. Michael wrote a catechism of Christian doctrine which was adapted to the needs of the local Church, and translated many works on moral theology into the native language of Amharic. A seminary was also founded for the formation of Catholic priests in the Alexandrian Rite. In 1855, Bl. Michael and four of his companions were thrown into prison following a persecution of Catholics by the recently crowned emperor. The five Catholics were tortured so that they might apostatize, but Bl. Michael remained firm in his faith, even in the face of the Orthodox metropolitan. Bl. Michael was condemned to death on May 31^st, but a reprieve was granted to him so that he would be imprisoned for life. For three more months he was subject to ill treatment, and he finally caught cholera and later died on August 28^th, 1926. He was beatified as a martyr by Pope Pius XI in 1926, and his feast day is commemorated on September 1^st.

The Alexandrian Rite has produced a trio of wonderful Churches for Catholics throughout the world to treasure. This region of the world has produced many great saints, and even though their numbers are now small, thanks to schisms and militant Islamist groups, it’s obvious that the vibrancy of these Catholics continuously shine forth and be a true “light of the East” for all to see. In our next trek into the Eastern Catholic Churches, we’ll explore the Chaldean, or East Syrian Rite, which contains the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.