The
Eastern Rites are the churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that are in
communion with the
Roman Catholic Church. They are also called "Eastern Catholic" or "
Uniate[?]" churches. Western (or "
Latin-Rite") Catholic
bishops are subject directly to the
pope, but each Eastern-rite Catholic bishop is subject indirectly to the pope via one of six Catholic "patriarchs of the east", who sit in
Alexandria,
Antioch,
Antelias[?],
Baghdad,
Beirut, and
Damascus. (There is a seventh patriarch of the east in
Jerusalem, but his church follows the Latin Rite.)
These churches accept Catholic dogma, but retain their own hierarchies and liturgies, and follow some laws and customs that differ from those of Western "Latin-Rite" Catholic churches. For example, their priests need not be celibate, and their parish priests rather than diocesan bishops normally confirm parishoners, using the chrismation rite rather than the rite used in the West.
The Eastern-Rite Churches:
Greek liturgy
West Syriac liturgy
East Syriac liturgy
Armenian liturgy
Coptic liturgy
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