Difference between revisions of "Western Rite"

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The '''Western Rite''' is a strand of Orthodox Christian worship based on the liturgical traditions of the ancient pre-[[Great Schism|Schism]] Orthodox Church of the West.  Western Rite Orthodox Christians hold in common the full Orthodox faith with their brethren of the Byzantine Rite, and most of the [[bishop]]s who care for such [[parish]]es are themselves followers of the Byzantine Rite.  
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The '''Western Rite''' is a minority liturgical tradition within the Orthodox Church.  Western Rite Orthodox Christians hold the full Orthodox faith in common with their brethren of the [[Byzantine Rite]] but celebrate Western forms of liturgy. Liturgical diversity, both between and within the East and West, was common before the [[Great Schism]], yet not as diverse as like in today's time.  At present, all of the [[bishop]]s who care for such [[parish]]es are themselves followers of the Byzantine Rite.  
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{{westernrite}}
 
==Modern History==
 
==Modern History==
 
===The Nineteenth Century===
 
===The Nineteenth Century===
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In 1864, 44-year-old [[Joseph Julian Overbeck]], a former German [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] priest who had left the priesthood and later married, was [[chrismation|chrismated]] into the [[Orthodox Church]] at the Russian Embassy Chapel in London.  Overbeck was a Syriac scholar and professor in Bonn who had become disillusioned with the papal claims of supremacy.  Two years after his chrismation, he published ''Catholic Orthodoxy and Anglo-Catholicism'', in which he developed the schema with which he was about to begin his work for the next twenty years.  In 1867, he published the first issue of the ''Orthodox Catholic Review'', a periodical which "aimed at setting forth the truth of Catholic Orthodoxy as opposed to Popery and Protestantism, clearing its way through the heap of rubbish stored up by both parties for centuries past."  Overbeck regarded both the Papacy and the Church of England to be on the verge of collapse.
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:''Main article: [[Western Rite in the Nineteenth Century]]''
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In 1864, 44-year-old [[Joseph Julian Overbeck]] was [[chrismation|chrismated]] into the [[Orthodox Church]].  Overbeck was a former [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] priest from Germany who had left the priesthood after becoming disillusioned with papal supremacy.  He became Lutheran and married before joining the Orthodox Church.  In 1866, he published ''Catholic Orthodoxy and Anglo-Catholicism'', which contained the groundings for his work for the next twenty years.  A year later, be began publishing a periodical, ''Orthodox Catholic Review'', aimed at putting forward Orthodoxy and rejecting Catholicism and Protestantism.
  
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In March of 1867, Overbeck circulated a petition to the [[Holy Synod]] of the [[Church of Russia]] explaining his designs and requesting the establishment of a Western Rite church in [[full communion]] with the Eastern Rite of the Orthodox Church, saying, "we are Westerns...and must plead an inalienable right to remain Westerns." In September of 1867 the petition, with some 122 signatures—mainly Tractarian clerics (the "Oxford Movement")—was sent to the Russian synod.  Upon receipt, a synodal commission was formed, comprised of seven members under the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, inviting Overbeck to attend the deliberations.  Accompanying him was Fr. Eugene Popoff (chaplain of the Russian embassy in London), and the two were present in January of 1870 when the scheme was approved.  Overbeck was then requested to submit a draft of the Western liturgy for examination.
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The year 1867 saw Overbeck, with 122 signatures from the Oxford Movement, petition the Church of Russia for the establishment of a Western Rite church in full communion with the Eastern Rite.  A seven-member synodal commission was then formed, and invited Overbeck to attend.  The idea was approved, and Overbeck set about submitting a draft of the proposed Western liturgy, which added an epiclesis and the Trisagion hymn to the Tridentine [[Mass]].  This rite was submitted in 1871, and was examined and approved by the commission.  Overbeck focused his efforts on the Old Catholic movement, who had rejected Papal Infallibility.  He continued to engage in polemics with Catholics, Anglicans, and Orthodox converts using the Byzantine Rite.
  
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The liturgy which Dr. Overbeck developed for the Russians was based on the 1570 Roman rite of Pope Pius V, but also included a brief [[epiclesis]] and the [[Trisagion]] hymn after the ''Gloria'', "in remembrance of our union with the Orthodox Church." Returning to Russia in January of 1871, Overbeck submitted the rite.  In two long sessions of the commission, the liturgy was examined and then approved for use.
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In 1876, Overbeck issued an appeal to the various Holy Synods, traveling to Constantinople in 1879.  There he met the Ecumenical Patriarch, who authorized him to deliver sermons and create apologetical material.  In 1881, he had some success when the Ecumenical Patriarchate agreed that the West had a right to a Western church and rite.
  
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Over the next few years, Overbeck mainly focused on the development of the Old Catholic movement in Europe (which had gone into [[schism]] from Rome over the new [[dogma]] of [[Papal Infallibility]] promulgated at the First Vatican Council), probably hoping to find fertile ground for the establishment of his liturgical use, a Western liturgical rite within the Orthodox Church.  In his magazine, he engaged in polemics with both Roman Catholics and Anglicans, as well as Orthodox converts who used the Byzantine rite.
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However, his successes did not establish the Western Rite.  Overbeck's marriage after his Catholic ordination was a canonical impediment to his ordination to the Orthodox priesthood; the Holy Synod of Greece vetoed his scheme amongst Orthodox Churches, pressuring Constantinople to retract its previous endorsement; the ''Orthodox Catholic Review'' ended its run; and by 1892, he admitted failure.  Overbeck reposed in 1905.
  
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In 1876, he reiterated his design and issued an ''Appeal to the Patriarchs and Holy Synods of the Orthodox Catholic Church''. Three years later, he travelled to Constantinople to meet the Ecumenical Patriarch, [[Ioachim III of Constantinople|Ioachim III]], who gave him authorization for delivering sermons and addresses in defense of Orthodoxy. In August of 1881, the [[Church of Constantinople]] appointed a commission to examine the scheme and made the announcement that "an agreement on certain points has already been reached," recognizing the right of the West to have a Western church and rite as had existed before the [[Great Schism]].
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One Western Rite parish briefly entered communion with the Orthodox Church in the Nineteenth Century. In 1890, a Swiss Old Catholic parish in Wisconsin pastored by Fr. Joseph Rene Vilatte approached Bp. Vladimir (Sokolovsky) about being received into Orthodoxy. Bishop Vladimir received them on May 9, 1891; however, Fr. Vilatte was consecrated to the episcopacy by hierarchs of the [[Church of Antioch (Syriac)|Syriac Orthodox Church]] in India, among them Metropolitan [[Julius of Goa|Alvares Mar Yulios]] of Goa, on 29 May 1892. He eventually led his parish back into Old Catholicism.
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Much to Overbeck's disappointment, no further developments occurred.  He had hoped to be a [[priest]] within the Orthodox Church, but his marriage after his Roman Catholic [[ordination]] was seen as an impediment, rendering him ineligible.  He became somewhat paranoid in his later years, especially regarding the Greeks in London as hostile toward him.  The ''Orthodox Catholic Review'' ended its run in 1885, and seven years later he admitted that his project had failed, saying that he had had "Hopes entertained with joy by all the truly Orthodox, recommended and pushed forward by the Holy Synods of Russia, Romania and Serbia, approved by Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, but finally crushed and destroyed by the veto of the Greek Synod!"  He died in 1905, his dream unfulfilled.
 
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Fr. [[Georges Florovsky]] wrote:  "it was not just a fantastic dream.  The question raised by Overbeck was pertinent, even if his own answer to it was confusedly conceived. And probably the vision of Overbeck was greater than his personal interpretation."
 
  
 
===The Twentieth Century===
 
===The Twentieth Century===
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In the twentieth century, two significant Western Rite Orthodox movements have occurred, building on the principles established by the work of Dr. Overbeck, one in France and the other in the United States.
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[[Image:Alexander_Turner.jpg|right|thumb|Former Antiochian Western Rite Vicar General Fr. Alexander Turner celebrating Mass.]]
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:''Main article: [[Western Rite in the Twentieth Century]]''
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In 1911, Arnold Harris Mathew, an Old Catholic bishop, entered into union with the Patriarchate of Antioch but left the Church soon after.  In 1926, the six-parish ''Polish Catholic National Church'' was received into the Polish Orthodox Church.  It celebrated the Liturgy of St. Gregory, and flourished as Orthodox until wiped out by the Nazis. [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-five.html] [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-four.html]
  
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====France====
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St. Tikhon's involvement in the Western Rite has been more enduring. While he was bishop of the Russian mission in America, some Episcopalians were interested in the possibility of joining Orthodoxy while retaining some form of the Anglican liturgy.  St. Tikhon sent the 1892 Book of Common Prayer to the Holy Synod, asking about the possibility.  According to Fr. Edward Hughes, St. Raphael of Brooklyn composed the letter of inquiry.  In 1904, the Holy Synod admitted its possibility, including edits for its use in an Orthodox manner.  It concluded that such edits "can be carried out only on the spot, in America," and found it "desirable to send the 'Observations' themselves to the Right Rev. Tikhon, the American Bishop."  Between communications, the Episcopalians who had petitioned withdrew.  Thus, St. Tikhon could not receive any Episcopalians before returning to Russia in 1907.  However, his involvement lay the groundwork for the reception and approved liturgy of some parishes in the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-five.html] and later the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia|Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR)]].
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[[Image:Kovalesky-Maximovitch.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Bp. [[Jean (Kovalesky) of Saint-Denis]] and St. [[John Maximovitch]] in 1964]]
 
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In 1937, the [[Church of Russia]] received a small group under the former Liberal Catholic bishop, Louis-Charles (Irénée) Winnaert (1880-1937), dubbing them ''l'Eglise Orthodoxe Occidentale'' ("Western Orthodox Church").  The work of Winnaert was continued, though not without some occasional conflict, by [[Jean (Kovalesky) of Saint-Denis|Evgraph Kovalesky]] (1905-1970) and Lucien Chambault (later known as ''Pére Denis''), the latter of which oversaw a small Orthodox Benedictine community in the rue d'Alleray in Paris.  Also associated with them was the former Benedictine monk, Archimandrite Alexis van der Mensbrugghe (1899-1980), who favorably viewed the restoration of the ancient Roman rite cleansed of medieval accretions and supplemented by Gallican and Byzantine interpolations. In 1948, he published his ''Liturgie Orthodoxe de Rite Occidental'' and in 1962 the ''Missel Orthodoxe Rite Occidental''.
 
  
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After 1946, the [[Orthodox Church of France|Eglise Orthodoxe de France]] was developed by Kovalesky specifically with the intention to restore the ancient [[Gallican Rite|Gallican usage]] of the pre-[[Charlemagne|Carolingian]] Roman rite, basing his work on the letters of St. [[Germanus of Paris|Germanus]], a 6th century [[bishop]] of Paris.  During this troubled period, the Orthodox community in Paris went through several [[jurisdiction]] changes, but eventually Fr. Alexis returned to the [[Church of Russia]] and was consecrated to the episcopacy in 1960, continuing his Western Rite work under the auspices of the Moscow Patriarchate.
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There has been a significant [[Orthodox Church of France|Western Rite movement in France]], the largest remaining group thereof being the ''Union des Associations Cultuelles Orthodoxes de Rite Occidental'' (UACORO - the Union of Western Rite Orthodox Worship Associations).  
  
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After some years of canonical limbo, Kovalesky's group came under the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] between 1959 and 1966, and Kovalesky himself was consecrated with the title of Bishop [[Jean (Kovalesky) of Saint-Denis|Jean de Saint-Denis]] in 1964.  During this time, the Eglise Orthodoxe de France received considerable encouragement from St. [[John Maximovitch]] (who was ROCOR's representative in Western Europe at the time), and his death in 1966 was a serious blow to these French Orthodox Christians, who had had an influential and holy advocate in St. John.
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====The United States====
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The Antiochian Archdiocese has presided over the most stable and successful group of Western Rite parishes.  The Archdiocese received the [[Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil]] in 1961.  Upon reception, the SSB became the [[Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate]], and their leader, [[Alexander Turner]], becoming an Orthodox priest and the Vicar-General of the Vicariate until 1971.  At his repose, Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla became Vicar-General.  On January 1, 2009, Fr. Schneirla retired, and Fr. Edward Hughes became Vicar-General of the Western Rite.
  
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Meanwhile, the Moscow Patriarchate's Western rite withered and came to an end, but Bishop Jean's church continued to thrive, though after St. John's death in 1966, they were again on canonical hiatus.  Bishop Jean died in 1970, and then in 1972 the [[Church of Romania]] took the Eglise Orthodoxe de France under its [[omophorion]].  Gilles Bertrand-Hardy was consecrated as Bishop [[Germain (Bertrand-Hardy) of Saint-Denis|Germain de Saint-Denis]], and the restored Gallican rite became the regular liturgy used in the many small French Orthodox [[parish]]es established throughout France.  The full splendor of that liturgy can be seen in the Cathedral of St. Irén&eacutee in Boulevard Auguste-Blanqui in Paris.  In 1994, after a lengthy conflict with the Romanian Holy Synod regarding various canonical irregularities, the Eglise again found itself in canonical limbo, where it remains to this day.  The Romanian patriarchate established a [[deanery]] under Bishop Germain's brother Archpriest Gregoire to minister to those parishes which chose to stay with Romania.
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Besides the parishes that were in the former Society, other parishes have been received into the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Archdiocese, especially because of the theological and practical devolution of the The Episcopal Church (TEC).  Added to this, several Western Rite missions have been founded, some growing into full parish status.  
  
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In the late 1990s, negotiations had been underway with the [[Church of Serbia]] for the Eglise to come under its jurisdiction, but NATO's bombing of Kosovo in 1999 abruptly ended those hopes, as France was then seen by the Serbians as complicit in its persecution by the West.
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The Church of Russia received a New York Old Catholic community in 1962 as Mount Royal Monastery, which later moved from Woodstock, New York, to St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York City under Archbishop John (Wendland) of the Russian Exarchate of North America.  In 1975, this community was received by Archbishop Nikon (Rklitzsky) of ROCOR and was again relocated. In 1993, after the retirement of the Abbot, Dom Augustine (Whitfield) of Mount Royal, the prior of Mount Royal, Fr. James (Deschene) was blessed to found Christ the Saviour Monastery ("Christminster" colloquially) in Rhode Island, under Bishop [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion of Manhattan]] (since transferred). As of 2007, Christminster relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Its present abbot is Dom [[James (Deschene)|James Deschene]].
  
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====The United States====
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====Elsewhere====
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[[Image:Alexander Turner.jpg|right|frame|Fr. [[Alexander Turner]] at the offertory]]
 
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In 1961, members of the [[Society of the Clerks of St. Basil]] (mainly centered in Mount Vernon, New York) were received into the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]] by Metropolitan [[Antony (Bashir) of New York]].  The Society had been led up to that time by the uncanonical but widely respected Bishop [[Alexander Turner]] (''née'' Paul Tyler Turner), who upon the reception of his group as the [[Western Rite Vicariate]], became a canonical priest of the Orthodox Church and continued to guide the group as its Vicar-General.  Fr. Alexander died in 1971, and the Western Rite Vicariate continued under the leadership of Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla, who remains the Vicar-General to the present time.
 
  
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Besides the original communities associated with the Society, a number of other parishes have been received into the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Archdiocese, particularly as the theological and practical devolution of the [[Episcopal Church U.S.A.]] picked up speed in the latter half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first.  Additionally, several Western Rite missions have been founded, some growing into full parish status.
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Western Rite Orthodoxy, in [[Orthodoxy in Australasia|Australia and New Zealand]], has arisen mostly from Anglican and Continuing Anglican communities.  Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney]] of ROCOR received some communities under his omophor; while others have been received by Bishop [[Gibran (Ramlawey) of Australia and New Zealand|Gibran]] and Metropolitan Archbishop [[Paul (Saliba) of Australia and New Zealand|Paul]], both under the Church of Antioch.
  
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In 1995, the [[Church of Antioch]] also established a British Deanery to absorb converts from the Church of England, though not all of those parishes use the Western Rite, some following the Byzantine.
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Other small groups following the Western Rite have been received, but usually have either had little impact, or have declared their independence soon after their reception.
  
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====Elsewhere====
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The [[Oriental Orthodox]] churches also have some Western Rite parishes.  The Syrian patriarchate of Antioch consecrated Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvarez as Archbishop of Ceylon, Goa, and India in 1889, authorizing a Roman rite diocese under him; in 1891, the Syrians consecrated the aforementioned Joseph René Vilatte as archbishop for the American Old Catholics. Vilatte, however, returned to the Roman Catholic Church at the end of his life. Many independent churches now claim to be under his "succession".
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Other small groups following the Western Rite have been received into the Orthodox Church, but usually have had little impact or sometimes declared their independence subsequent to their canonical reception.  Western Rite parishes were established in Poland in 1926 when six parishes formerly of the Polish National Catholic Church (an Old Catholic communion) were received into the Orthodox Church, but that movement largely dwindled during World War II.
 
  
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Further, the [[Oriental Orthodox]] have also done some Western Rite work.  In 1889, the [[Church of Antioch (Jacobite)|Syrian]] patriarchate of Antioch consecrated Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvarez as Archbishop of Ceylon, Goa and India, authorizing a Roman rite diocese under him.  Additionally, in 1891, the Syrians consecrated Joseph René Vilatte as archbishop for the American Old Catholics.
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==Liturgy in the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate==
  
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==Liturgy==
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North American Western Rite parishes in the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate generally follow one of two types of traditional Western liturgical traditions (and sometimes both).  The majority celebrate the [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]], which is commonly accepted to be an adaptation of the [[Eucharist|Communion]] service from the 1928 Anglican ''Book of Common Prayer'' and ''The Anglican Missal in the American Edition.''[http://members.cox.net/stgregoryoc/history.htm#fifteen] Until 1977, all Western Rite Vicariate parishes celebrated only the [[Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great]], which is a modified form of the [http://www.latin-mass-society.org/msshst.htm Tridentine Mass] (that is, the Mass as revised and authorized by the Roman Catholic Council of Trent).  Many parishes within the Western Rite Vicariate continue to celebrate the Gregorian liturgy.  Since most AWRV parishes celebrate more than one weekly liturgy, many of the parishes that celebrate the Liturgy of St. Tikhon on Sunday celebrate the Liturgy of St. Gregory on weekdays.
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North American Western Rite parishes generally follow one (or sometimes both) of two types of traditional Western liturgical traditions.  About 75% use the [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]], which is an adaptation of the [[Eucharist|Communion]] service from the 1928 Anglican ''Book of Common Prayer'' and ''The Anglican Missal in the American Edition.''  The remaining 25% use the [[Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great]], which is a modified form of the Tridentine Mass known to Roman Catholics before the liturgical reforms of Vatican II in the 1960s. The complete Roman rite of Benediction is also authorized.
 
  
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The liturgy has much less repetition than its corresponding elements in the Byzantine rite, and generally has a more rational, succint manner to it. Celebrants wear distinctive Western vestments, and the faithful follow pious devotional customs particular to their tradition, as well.
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The Western Rite liturgy, depending on its type, makes less use of the litanies than the Byzantine Rite. Celebrants wear distinctive Western vestments, and the faithful follow pious devotional customs particular to their tradition, as well.
  
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==Congregations==
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The development of the current use within the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] is of particular note:
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By far the largest group of these parishes in North America is represented by the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]].  The [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR) also has a small number of Western Rite parishes in addition to at least two monasteries, one located in Australia and another in Rhode Island which follows Benedictine liturgical traditions. 
 
  
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The [[abbot]] who led this latter monastery, named [[Christminster (Providence, Rhode Island)|Christminster]] (or Christ the Savior Monastery), into communion with ROCOR once remarked to St. [[John Maximovitch]] that it was difficult to promote Western Rite Orthodoxy, whereupon the saint replied:  "Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must also be eastern. The West was Orthodox for a thousand years, and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies."[http://members.cox.net/kelticnordic/history.htm]
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:Metropolitan Antony was well aware that the Western Rite was "a work for specialists." The new Western Rite usage of the Archdiocese was to be guided by "a Commission of Orthodox Theologians," an advisory committee of qualified clerics or laymen to advise the Metropolitan and determine "the mode of reception of groups desiring to employ the Western Rite, and the character of the rites to be used, as well as the authorization of official liturgical texts." The first WRV Commission, convened by Metropolitan Antony in 1958, was composed of Fathers Paul Schneirla, Stephen Upson, [[Alexander Schmemann]] and [[John Meyendorff]]. Schneirla, Schmemann, and Meyendorff in particular had seen the Western Rite up close in France, as it had been approved in the Russian Ukase of 1936. Schneirla recalls Schmemann's work in particular as being key, as he was familiar with the Liturgical Movement within the Roman Catholic and Anglican communions. Schmemann was particularly instrumental in joining together the separate Rites of Initiation of the Rituale Romanum – Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion – into one unified rite, according to the Orthodox understanding.
  
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The [[Orthodox Church of France]]—which is currently of ambiguous status with regard to world Orthodoxy, but at one time was cared for by St. [[John Maximovitch]] and later by the [[Church of Romania]]—also uses a Western Rite liturgy based on ancient Gallican liturgical materials.
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:In January of 1962, the official Western Rite Directory was issued, "establishing liturgical usages and customs and discipline," drawing on principles gleaned from the 1904 Moscow Synodal response to Saint Tikhon, the authorization of Western Rite offices by Metropolitan Gerassimos (Messarah) of Beirut, and the 1932 Russian Ukase of Metropolitan Sergius.[http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-eight.html]
  
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The [[Holy Synod of Milan]], an [[Old Calendarist]] group, has a few communities (including one monastery) in the United States which worship according to Western rites, including a restored [[Sarum Rite]].
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Ironically, before his committed and pivotal involvement with the architecture of the current usage of the Western Rite, Fr. Schmemann had criticized it in a response to a 1958 article Fr. Schneirla wrote in ''The Word''.[http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/westernrite.html] However, after his criticisms, Fr. Schmemann worked to establish the Western Rite Vicariate and, later still, taught at the Western Rite seminary in Paris.
  
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It should also be noted that there are a number of groups who follow various Western rites and may call themselves Orthodox but are not part of or in communion with the historic [[Orthodox Church]].
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==Congregations==
  
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==Criticism==
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By far the largest group of Western Orthodox parishes is represented by the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]].  Other Antiochian Western Rite parishes exist in the [[Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand]].
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The Western Rite in the Orthodox Church is not without its critics.  Some argue essentially that there is no liturgical tradition that can be viable within the Church other than the Byzantine ritual tradition, but that argument's main problem is its ignorance of the wide liturgical variety characteristic of the first millennium of the Church's history. For instance, many Orthodox Christians will boast of the Church's liturgical homogeneity, saying that no matter where one might go in the Orthodox world, the liturgy will be familiar, even if it's in another language.  Yet those who find comfort in that claim might be surprised to learn that their first millennium counterparts would have been incapable of making such a claim—even if only the Eastern liturgical tradition were taken into account.
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The [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR) also has a small number of Western Rite parishes in addition to three monasteries: one located in Canada, one in Tasmania, and one in Florida.  Missions and parishes of the ROCOR Western Rite use either the Rite of St. Gregory in one of varying uses (Sarum, Christminster, Mount Royal, or Overbeck), the Gallican Rite, or "The English Liturgy," an English Use service based upon the Sarum Use but which adapts a few elements of the 1549 ''Book of Common Prayer''. Christminster Monastery in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is a Western Orthodox [[Rule of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] monastery, which celebrates the Liturgy of St. Gregory.  St. Petroc Monastery in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, celebrates the [[Sarum Use]].  St. Petroc has a number of dependencies that follow its liturgical usage, as found in the ''Saint Colman Prayer Book''.
  
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The more historically minded criticisms of the Western Rite usually center around the idea that it is untenable to try to revive a liturgical tradition which was lost centuries ago when the West fell away from the [[Orthodox Church]]. This argument essentially states that, because the Western Rite died out in the Church, and because a continuous living tradition is a necessary element of liturgical practice, the Western Rite ought to be abandoned and only developments from the Byzantine Rite ought to be pursued.
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Dom Augustine (Whitfield), the [[abbot]] of the Monastery of Mount Royal from 1963 until retirement, once remarked to St. [[John Maximovitch]] that it was difficult to promote Western Rite Orthodoxy, whereupon the saint replied:  "Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must also be eastern.  The West was Orthodox for a thousand years, and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies." [http://www.christminster.org/history.htm]
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[[Image:Confeitor.jpg|left|thumb|Hieromonk Aidan (Keller, ROCOR) celebrating a Sarum liturgy.]]
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In 2008, Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion]] of ROCOR [http://theyorkforum.yuku.com/sreply/12977/t/Western-Rite-Orthodox-News.html blessed] Hieromonk David (Pierce) to assist Dom Augustine Whitfield "in the continuation of the work of Mt. Royal" at Hieromonk David's monastery, Holyrood, in Florida. Hieromonk David utilizes the ordinary compiled by Mount Royal monastery, and is preparing for publication of the books of the Mount Royal use.
  
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Proponents argue, however, that it is not a dogmatic principle of the Church that liturgical traditions can neither be revived nor created.  After all, there are whole services even within the Byzantine Rite which are not universally practiced (e.g., the [[molieben]]), so they must have been invented somewhere along the way rather than being part of the [[typikon]] when it first came into the form we now know it.  Even then, the rites being used by Western Rite Orthodox Christians are not new, but mainly predate the [[Great Schism]].
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In late 2008, Metropolitan Hilarion received a hieromonk of the Milan Synod, Father Aidan (Keller), and blessed the publication of a new edition of his seminal work, ''Old Sarum Rite Missal'' for his personal prayers, while he serves a Byzantine parish in ROCOR.  His liturgy had previously been blessed by the Western Archdiocese of the [[Milan Synod]].
  
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Another criticism is that the Western Rite is inherently divisive.  Following different liturgical traditions than their neighboring Byzantine Rite Orthodox Christians, those using the Western Rite do not share liturgical unity with them and present an unfamiliar face to the majority of Orthodox Christians.  Though divisive differences exist between the various uses of the Byzantine Rite itself, the Western Rite is much more different.  Again, this argument is based on the relatively new notion of liturgical homogeneity.
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Western rite communities can also be found which are not or, are no longer, in communion with the mainstream [[Orthodox Church]].
  
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Whether the Western Rite will survive in the Orthodox Church and be accepted by the majority who follow the Byzantine Rite remains yet to be seen.  In the meantime, the Byzantine Rite bishops who oversee the Western Rite parishes continue to declare their Western flocks to be Orthodox Christians and regard them as fully in communion with the rest of the Church.
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The [[Orthodox Church of France]] was once cared for by St. [[John Maximovitch]] and later by the [[Church of Romania]]—also uses a Western Rite liturgy based on ancient Gallican liturgical materials, with some Byzantine supplements.  The Orthodox Church of France currently functions as an independent body, and is not in communion with the [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|mainstream Orthodox Church]].
  
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Some Byzantine Rite Orthodox Christians, however, do not recognize the Orthodoxy of those in the Western Rite (despite their being under the jurisdiction of Byzantine Rite bishops with whom they themselves are in communion), and will not share the [[Eucharist]] with them, declaring them to be "Roman Catholics," "[[schism]]atics," or "[[Uniates]]."  As yet, there are no schisms within the episcopacy of the Orthodox Church regarding the issue of Western Rite parishes.
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In addition, the [[Holy Synod of Milan]], an [[Old Calendarist]] Synod (and therefore not in communion with the [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|mainstream Orthodox Church]]), has a number of communities (under the central direction of the monastery and Archdiocesan center, the [[The Abbey of the Holy Name (West Milford, New Jersey)|Abbey of the Holy Name]]) which worship according to Western rites, including its own version of the [[Sarum Use]]. This recension is different from the version of the Sarum Rite used within ROCOR before 2008.
  
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===An Orthodox Unia?===
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==Criticism==
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The situation of Western Orthodox parishes has been compared by some with the analogous status of the autonomous [[Uniate]] churches under the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. For centuries, there have been hierarchical churches in [[full communion]] with and in subjection to the Vatican, but which the Pope allows to follow liturgical customs and rules like those of the [[Orthodox Church]] (e.g., they use Bzyantine Rite liturgies, they confirm newly [[baptism|baptized]] infants via [[chrismation]], they have married [[priest]]s, their churches have [[iconostasis|iconostases]], etc.).  Additionally, as the Uniates share a common dogmatic requirement with Latin Rite Catholics, the Western Rite Orthodox share the same faith as their Byzantine Rite brethren.
+
:''Main article: [[Western Rite Criticism]]''
 +
The Western Rite in the Orthodox Church is not without its critics. Objections are made in regards to desire for liturgical uniformity within Orthodoxy and fears that the Western Rite would produce division within the Church. Some question the sincerity of Western Rite converts, just as some question the conversions of those within the Byzantine Rite.  Finally, some complain about a lack of organic liturgical continuity, or will not attend a Western Rite [[Eucharist]].  However, no Orthodox parish may deny the Eucharist to visiting faithful of the canonical Western Rite, regardless of their feelings about the concept of Western Rite Orthodoxy.  There have been no schisms within the episcopacy of the Orthodox Church regarding the issue of Western Rite parishes.
  
−
However, unlike the [[Uniates]], Western Rite Orthodox congregations are not mainly the result of large-scale ecclesiastical political machinations and [[schism]] but rather of small-scale genuine conversion to Orthodoxy by individuals and congregations.  In any event, the criticism of the Western Rite based on its similarity with the Uniates is mainly guilt by association by means of a superficial similarity of form.  Because the ideas are analogous, the argument goes, they must therefore both be wrong developments.  Yet the more firmly established criticisms of Uniatism usually have nothing to do with rite, but rather with issues of dogma, ecclesiology, and allegedly subversive missionary work.
+
Whether the Western Rite will grow in its acceptance by Orthodox Christians who follow the Byzantine Rite remains to be seen.  In the meantime, the Orthodox bishops who oversee Western Rite parishes—and many who oversee no Western Rite parishes—continue to declare their Western flocks to be true Orthodox Christians and regard them as fully in communion with the rest of the Church.
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
−
* [[Western Rite Vicariate]]
+
* [[Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate]]
 
* [[Sarum Rite]]
 
* [[Sarum Rite]]
 
* [[Gallican Rite]]
 
* [[Gallican Rite]]
 
* [[Stowe Missal]]
 
* [[Stowe Missal]]
 +
* [[Divine Liturgy according to St. Germanus of Paris]]
 +
* [[Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great]]
 
* [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]]
 
* [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]]
−
* [[Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great]]
+
* [[Western Rite Service Books]]
 +
* [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon (text)]]
 +
* [[Saint Petroc Monastery (Cascades, Australia)|Saint Petroc Monastery]], Australia
 +
* [[Christ the Savior Monastery (Providence, Rhode Island)|Christ the Savior Monastery]], Canada
 +
* [[Vestments]]
 +
* [http://www.stcolumbamonastery.org St. Columba of Iona Orthodox Monastery (USA, Massachusetts)]
  
 
==Sources==
 
==Sources==
 
* ''Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity'', pp. 364-365, 514-515
 
* ''Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity'', pp. 364-365, 514-515
 +
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/western-rite Introduction to the Orthodox Western Rite]
 +
* [[Wikipedia:Western Rite Orthodoxy]]
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
 +
* [http://orthodoxwesternrite.wordpress.com/ Orthodox Western Rite Central Resource on WordPress]
 
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/ Western Orthodoxy]
 
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/ Western Orthodoxy]
 
* [http://spot.colorado.edu/~ashtonm/owpp/westernrite.htm The Unofficial Western Rite Orthodoxy Website]
 
* [http://spot.colorado.edu/~ashtonm/owpp/westernrite.htm The Unofficial Western Rite Orthodoxy Website]
−
* [http://www.antiochian.org/western-rite/ Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]
+
* [http://www.antiochian.org/western-rite Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]
 +
* [http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/petroc/ Saint Petroc Monastery ROCOR Tasmania]
 +
* [http://www.christminster.org Christ the Savior Monastery ROCOR Rhode Island]
 +
* [http://www.occidentalorthodox.org.uk/ Worldwide directory of canonical Western Rite Orthodox communities]
 +
* [http://www.stgregoryoc.org/links/western-rite-parish-directory/ Antiochian Western Rite Parishes] (North America, with links to parish sites)
 +
* [http://www.rocor-wr.org/ ROCOR Western-rite Communities] (ROCOR Western-rite Communities homepage with Links to parishes)
  
 
===Liturgies===
 
===Liturgies===
−
* [http://members.aol.com/FrNicholas/liturgy.htm Text of the Liturgy of Saint Gregory]
+
*[http://www.stgregoryoc.org/article/the-divine-liturgy-according-to-the-rite-of-saint-gregory/ Text of the Liturgy of Saint Gregory]
−
* [http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/Mass.htm Text of the Liturgy of Saint Tikhon]
+
*[http://orthodoxanglican.net/downloads/tikhon.PDF Text of the Liturgy of Saint Tikhon], though not in its authorized form.
−
* [http://www.orthodoxresurgence.co.uk/Petroc/sarum.htm Text of the Sarum Rite Liturgy] as corrected for use within [[ROCOR]] by His Eminence Archbishop Hilarion
+
*[http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/petroc/sarum.htm Text of the Sarum Rite Liturgy] as corrected for use within [[ROCOR]] by His Grace Archbishop Hilarion  
 +
*[http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/petroc/english.htm Text of the English Liturgy]
 +
*[http://orthodoxie.free.fr/the_divine_liturgy_of_saint_germanus.htm Text of the Divine Liturgy according to Saint Germanus of Paris]]
 +
*[http://www.stmichaelwhittier.org/resources/osboff7.pdf Office and Prayers of the Oblates of St. Benedict] (PDF) - Western Rite oblates.
 +
*[http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/Liturgy/Liturgics.html Liturgical Texts Project] (PDF) - Compilation of numerous liturgical texts.
 +
*[http://www.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/ordinary_and_canon_rite_of_st_gregory.pdf The Ordinary and Canon of the Mass], according to the Rite of St. Gregory of Great, revised 2012 translation blessed for use by Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America.
 +
*[http://media.wix.com/ugd/144b2c_20fb156e03c34f56a6dc312f73f9888d.pdf The Order of the Divine Liturgy According to the Restored Ancient Roman Rite of St. Gregory the Great], authorized by the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]].
 +
*[http://media.wix.com/ugd/144b2c_a2ca284c5a934ec0af6e0a8fe6404ba7.pdf The Liturgy of the English Church], approved for Orthodox usage by the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]].
 +
*[http://media.wix.com/ugd/144b2c_f7a90a42b99e4fe9879d2aebe641ad20.pdf The Ordinary of the Sarum Liturgy], approved for Orthodox usage by the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]].
 +
*[http://civitas-dei.eu/winch.pdf The Canonical Mass of the English Orthodox], by Dr. Raymond Winch, Third Edition. An academic reconstruction of the pre-schism English usage of the ancient Roman Rite.
  
−
===Book===
+
===Books===
−
* ''[http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=23809 Children of the Promise: An Introduction to Western Rite Orthodoxy]'', by Fr. Michael Keiser
+
* ''[http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=23809 Children of the Promise: An Introduction to Western Rite Orthodoxy]'', by Fr. Michael Keiser. ISBN 9781418475826
 +
* ''[http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~40659.aspx Offering the Lamb: Reflections on the Western Rite Mass in the Orthodox Church]'', by Fr. Michael Keiser. ISBN 9781425970819
 +
* ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=s8nfEy1H8QcC&source=gbs_navlinks_s Liturgies of the Western Church]'', by Prof. Dr. Bard Thompson. ISBN 9780800614287
 +
* ''[http://www.archive.org/details/MN41674ucmf_0 The Ancient Liturgies of the Gallican Church]'', by Rev. J. M. Neale, 1855. ''(In Latin with some English notes)''
  
−
===Introduction and History===
+
===Introduction and History===<!--
−
* [http://www.receive.org/index.php?submenu=23 An Introduction to Western Rite Orthodoxy]: Interview with Fr. Paul Schneirla and Fr. Michael Keiser on [http://www.receive.org/ Come Receive the Light] (audio)
+
* [http://www.receive.org/index.php?submenu=23 An Introduction to Western Rite Orthodoxy]: Interview with Fr. Paul Schneirla and Fr. Michael Keiser on [http://www.receive.org/ Come Receive the Light] (audio) Sent message to Seraphim Danckaert at OCN to see whether this is online. ~Magda --->
−
* A Short History of the Western Rite, by [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/ Benjamin Andersen]:  [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/short-history-of-western-rite.html Part 1], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-two.html Part 2], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-three.html Part 3], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-four.html Part 4], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-five.html Part 5], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-six.html Part 6], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-seven.html Part 7], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-eight.html Part 8], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-nine.html Part 9]
+
* A Short History of the Western Rite Vicariate, by [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/ Benjamin Andersen]:  [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/short-history-of-western-rite.html Part 1], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-two.html Part 2], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-three.html Part 3], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-four.html Part 4], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-five.html Part 5], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-six.html Part 6], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-seven.html Part 7], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-eight.html Part 8], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-nine.html Part 9] (permission required)
 +
* [http://www.occidentalorthodox.org.uk/ Occidental Orthodox Christianity] Dedicated to the furtherance of the Western Rite within canonical Orthodoxy.
 
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/wrbooklet An Introduction to Western Rite Orthodoxy], An electronic version of the now out-of-print Conciliar Press booklet; edited by Fr. Michael Trigg, Ph.D.
 
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/wrbooklet An Introduction to Western Rite Orthodoxy], An electronic version of the now out-of-print Conciliar Press booklet; edited by Fr. Michael Trigg, Ph.D.
 +
* [http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/ Orthodox Resurgence]  Movement for Western Christians seeking reception in the Orthodox Western Rite.
 +
* [http://justus.anglican.org/resources/pc/alcuin/tract12.html "Observations on the American Book of Common Prayer,"] the Holy Synod of Russia's guidelines for suiting the 1892 Book of Common Prayer for celebration within Orthodoxy.
 
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/turner The Western Rite: Its Fascinating Past and Its Promising Future], by Fr. [[Alexander Turner]]
 
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/turner The Western Rite: Its Fascinating Past and Its Promising Future], by Fr. [[Alexander Turner]]
 +
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/overbeck.pdf The Western Rite and the Eastern Church:  Dr. J. J. Overbeck and his scheme for the re-establishment of the Orthodox Church in the West (PDF)], by Fr. David F. Abramtsov, University of Pittsburgh, 1959
 
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/anthony On the Western Rite Edict of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir)], by Fr. David Abramstov, in addition to an excerpt from the report of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir) to the 1958 Archdiocesan Convention
 
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/anthony On the Western Rite Edict of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir)], by Fr. David Abramstov, in addition to an excerpt from the report of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir) to the 1958 Archdiocesan Convention
−
*[http://members.cox.net/kelticnordic/write.htm Western Orthodox Christians: Who Are They?], from [[Christminster (Providence, Rhode Island)]], a Benedictine Monastery under [[ROCOR]]
+
*[http://www.christminster.org/write.htm Western Orthodox Christians: Who Are They?], from [[Christminster (Providence, Rhode Island)]], a Benedictine Monastery under [[ROCOR]]
 +
*[http://www.christminster.org/history.htm History of Christminster]
 
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/whatis What is Western-Rite Orthodoxy?], by Fr. Patrick McCauley
 
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/whatis What is Western-Rite Orthodoxy?], by Fr. Patrick McCauley
 
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/twain The Twain Meet], by Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla
 
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/twain The Twain Meet], by Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla
 
* [http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/janfeb/westernrites.htm Western Rite Orthodox in our midst: Ad Fontes!], by Dr. Alexander Roman
 
* [http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/janfeb/westernrites.htm Western Rite Orthodox in our midst: Ad Fontes!], by Dr. Alexander Roman
 +
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,870973,00.html Eastern But Western], from the May 1, 1964, issue of [i]Time[/i] Magazine.
  
−
===Apologias===
+
===Video===
 +
*[http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/2009/01/video-fuller-christmas-eve-mass-with.html Video] of Dom James Deschene celebrating Midnight Mass for Christmas 2009 at the Oratory of our Lady of Glastonbury, the chapel attached to Christminster Monastery.
 +
*[http://stpaulsorthodox.org/Media/SaintPaul.wmv Video] on the Western Rite from St. Paul Orthodox Church, Houston, Texas
 +
 
 +
===Apologiae===
 +
* [http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/2006/03/message-from-metropolitan-western-rite.html Met. PHILIP (Saliba)'s Promise]: Western Rite churches will not be Byzantized.
 
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/basil Comments on the Western Rite] by Bishop [[Basil (Essey) of Wichita]]
 
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/basil Comments on the Western Rite] by Bishop [[Basil (Essey) of Wichita]]
−
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/Lux-Occidentalis Lux Occidentalis] ''The Orthodox Western Rite and the Liturgical Tradition of Western Orthodox Christianity, with reference to The Orthodox Missal, Saint Luke's Priory Press, Stanton, NJ, 1995'' by the Rev'd John Charles Connely (PDF)
+
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/Lux-Occidentalis Lux Occidentalis (PDF)] ''The Orthodox Western Rite and the Liturgical Tradition of Western Orthodox Christianity, with reference to The Orthodox Missal, Saint Luke's Priory Press, Stanton, NJ, 1995'' by the Rev'd John Charles Connely
 
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/greekdenver Doctrinal Issues: Western Rite Orthodoxy], from the ''Diocesan News for Clergy and Laity'' (February 1995), Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver
 
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/greekdenver Doctrinal Issues: Western Rite Orthodoxy], from the ''Diocesan News for Clergy and Laity'' (February 1995), Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver
 
* [http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/write.htm Western Rite Orthodoxy: Its history, its validity, and its opportunity], by Annette Milkovich, including an interview with Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla, constituting a rough Western Rite "FAQ"
 
* [http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/write.htm Western Rite Orthodoxy: Its history, its validity, and its opportunity], by Annette Milkovich, including an interview with Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla, constituting a rough Western Rite "FAQ"
−
* [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/ Occidentalis - A Weblog of Orthodox Catholic Christianity in the Western Rite tradition]
+
* [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/ Occidentalis - A Weblog of Orthodox Catholic Christianity in the Western Rite tradition] (permission required)
 +
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/sergius.html On the Question of Western Orthodoxy], by Patriarch [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow]] in a letter to [[Vladimir Lossky]]
 +
*[http://http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/search/label/Anti-WR%20Criticism Dealing with Anti-WR Criticism], from the Western Orthodoxy blog.
  
 
===Criticism===
 
===Criticism===
Line 127: Line 163:
 
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/correspondence.html Correspondence on the Western Rite] between Bishop [[Anthony (Gergiannakis) of San Francisco]] and Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla
 
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/correspondence.html Correspondence on the Western Rite] between Bishop [[Anthony (Gergiannakis) of San Francisco]] and Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla
 
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/ware.html Some Thoughts on the "Western Rite" In Orthodoxy], by Bishop [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia]]
 
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/ware.html Some Thoughts on the "Western Rite" In Orthodoxy], by Bishop [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia]]
−
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/tsichlis.html The Western Rite - Some Final Comments], by Fr. Steven Tsichlis
+
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/tsichlis.html The Western Rite - Some Final Comments], by Fr. [[Steven Peter Tsichlis]]
−
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/sergius.html On the Question of Western Orthodoxy], by Patriarch [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow]] in a letter to [[Vladimir Lossky]]
 
 
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/johnson.html The "Western Rite": Is It Right for the Orthodox?], by Fr. Michael Johnson
 
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/johnson.html The "Western Rite": Is It Right for the Orthodox?], by Fr. Michael Johnson
  
 +
===News and Views===
 +
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070222203921/http://homepage.mac.com/gthurman/iblog/C931234280/index.html Fr. Matthew Thurman's blog, Western Rite section] (archive) - consisting primarily of original documents written by Fr. Alexander Turner and other WRV clergy.
 +
* [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com Occidentalis] - maintained by Subdn. Benjamin Andersen (WRV), this blog is a source for this OrthodoxWiki entry. (permission required)
 +
* [http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com Western Orthodoxy] - Breaking news and views on the Western Rite.
 +
* [http://sarisburium.blogspot.com Oremus - Roman Rite in the Orthodox Church]
 +
 +
===Listservs===
 +
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/westernriteorthodoxy Western Rite Orthodoxy]: Discussion of Western Rite Orthodoxy, focusing the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] (Antiochian). Most active participants are members of the Antiochian WRV.
 +
* [http://p097.ezboard.com/belyforum The Ely Forum]: "Dedicated to the theological and liturgical heritage of The Church in the British Isles, the ancient Patriarchates of the Undivided Church and the restoration of our genuine heritage of Orthodox Christianity in the West. A place of sane, sensible, lively, discussion between Christian gentlemen." Founded by Fr. Michael of St. Petroc Monastery (ROCOR).
 +
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Occidentalis/ Occidentalis]: Yahoo discussion group on the Western rite; moderated by Father Aidan (Keller).
 +
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Orthodoxwest/ Orthodoxwest]: Yahoo discussion group on Orthodoxy in the West and sponsored by the Eastern Archdiocese of the Milan Synod; moderated by Father Symeon (Bensimon-Kilmer).
  
 +
[[Category:Featured Articles]]
 
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
 
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
 
[[Category:Liturgics]]
 
[[Category:Liturgics]]
 
[[Category:Western Rite]]
 
[[Category:Western Rite]]
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[[bg:Западен обряд]]
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[[ro:Ritul occidental]]

Latest revision as of 02:27, December 11, 2017

The Western Rite is a minority liturgical tradition within the Orthodox Church. Western Rite Orthodox Christians hold the full Orthodox faith in common with their brethren of the Byzantine Rite but celebrate Western forms of liturgy. Liturgical diversity, both between and within the East and West, was common before the Great Schism, yet not as diverse as like in today's time. At present, all of the bishops who care for such parishes are themselves followers of the Byzantine Rite.

This article forms part
of the series on the
Western Rite
History
Rule of St. Benedict
Nineteenth Century
Twentieth Century
Criticism
Liturgics
Liturgy of St. Gregory
Liturgy of St. Tikhon
Liturgy of St. Germanus
Sarum Rite
Gallican Rite
Stowe Missal
Service Books
Vestments
Groupings
Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate
Society of St. Basil
Orthodox Church of France
Monasteries
Christminster
Saint Petroc
Holy Name Abbey (Old Calendarist)
Edit this box

Modern History

The Nineteenth Century

Main article: Western Rite in the Nineteenth Century

In 1864, 44-year-old Joseph Julian Overbeck was chrismated into the Orthodox Church. Overbeck was a former Roman Catholic priest from Germany who had left the priesthood after becoming disillusioned with papal supremacy. He became Lutheran and married before joining the Orthodox Church. In 1866, he published Catholic Orthodoxy and Anglo-Catholicism, which contained the groundings for his work for the next twenty years. A year later, be began publishing a periodical, Orthodox Catholic Review, aimed at putting forward Orthodoxy and rejecting Catholicism and Protestantism.

The year 1867 saw Overbeck, with 122 signatures from the Oxford Movement, petition the Church of Russia for the establishment of a Western Rite church in full communion with the Eastern Rite. A seven-member synodal commission was then formed, and invited Overbeck to attend. The idea was approved, and Overbeck set about submitting a draft of the proposed Western liturgy, which added an epiclesis and the Trisagion hymn to the Tridentine Mass. This rite was submitted in 1871, and was examined and approved by the commission. Overbeck focused his efforts on the Old Catholic movement, who had rejected Papal Infallibility. He continued to engage in polemics with Catholics, Anglicans, and Orthodox converts using the Byzantine Rite.

In 1876, Overbeck issued an appeal to the various Holy Synods, traveling to Constantinople in 1879. There he met the Ecumenical Patriarch, who authorized him to deliver sermons and create apologetical material. In 1881, he had some success when the Ecumenical Patriarchate agreed that the West had a right to a Western church and rite.

However, his successes did not establish the Western Rite. Overbeck's marriage after his Catholic ordination was a canonical impediment to his ordination to the Orthodox priesthood; the Holy Synod of Greece vetoed his scheme amongst Orthodox Churches, pressuring Constantinople to retract its previous endorsement; the Orthodox Catholic Review ended its run; and by 1892, he admitted failure. Overbeck reposed in 1905.

One Western Rite parish briefly entered communion with the Orthodox Church in the Nineteenth Century. In 1890, a Swiss Old Catholic parish in Wisconsin pastored by Fr. Joseph Rene Vilatte approached Bp. Vladimir (Sokolovsky) about being received into Orthodoxy. Bishop Vladimir received them on May 9, 1891; however, Fr. Vilatte was consecrated to the episcopacy by hierarchs of the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, among them Metropolitan Alvares Mar Yulios of Goa, on 29 May 1892. He eventually led his parish back into Old Catholicism.

The Twentieth Century

Former Antiochian Western Rite Vicar General Fr. Alexander Turner celebrating Mass.
Main article: Western Rite in the Twentieth Century

In 1911, Arnold Harris Mathew, an Old Catholic bishop, entered into union with the Patriarchate of Antioch but left the Church soon after. In 1926, the six-parish Polish Catholic National Church was received into the Polish Orthodox Church. It celebrated the Liturgy of St. Gregory, and flourished as Orthodox until wiped out by the Nazis. [1] [2]

St. Tikhon's involvement in the Western Rite has been more enduring. While he was bishop of the Russian mission in America, some Episcopalians were interested in the possibility of joining Orthodoxy while retaining some form of the Anglican liturgy. St. Tikhon sent the 1892 Book of Common Prayer to the Holy Synod, asking about the possibility. According to Fr. Edward Hughes, St. Raphael of Brooklyn composed the letter of inquiry. In 1904, the Holy Synod admitted its possibility, including edits for its use in an Orthodox manner. It concluded that such edits "can be carried out only on the spot, in America," and found it "desirable to send the 'Observations' themselves to the Right Rev. Tikhon, the American Bishop." Between communications, the Episcopalians who had petitioned withdrew. Thus, St. Tikhon could not receive any Episcopalians before returning to Russia in 1907. However, his involvement lay the groundwork for the reception and approved liturgy of some parishes in the Western Rite Vicariate [3] and later the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR).

There has been a significant Western Rite movement in France, the largest remaining group thereof being the Union des Associations Cultuelles Orthodoxes de Rite Occidental (UACORO - the Union of Western Rite Orthodox Worship Associations).

The United States

The Antiochian Archdiocese has presided over the most stable and successful group of Western Rite parishes. The Archdiocese received the Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil in 1961. Upon reception, the SSB became the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate, and their leader, Alexander Turner, becoming an Orthodox priest and the Vicar-General of the Vicariate until 1971. At his repose, Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla became Vicar-General. On January 1, 2009, Fr. Schneirla retired, and Fr. Edward Hughes became Vicar-General of the Western Rite.

Besides the parishes that were in the former Society, other parishes have been received into the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Archdiocese, especially because of the theological and practical devolution of the The Episcopal Church (TEC). Added to this, several Western Rite missions have been founded, some growing into full parish status.

The Church of Russia received a New York Old Catholic community in 1962 as Mount Royal Monastery, which later moved from Woodstock, New York, to St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York City under Archbishop John (Wendland) of the Russian Exarchate of North America. In 1975, this community was received by Archbishop Nikon (Rklitzsky) of ROCOR and was again relocated. In 1993, after the retirement of the Abbot, Dom Augustine (Whitfield) of Mount Royal, the prior of Mount Royal, Fr. James (Deschene) was blessed to found Christ the Saviour Monastery ("Christminster" colloquially) in Rhode Island, under Bishop Hilarion of Manhattan (since transferred). As of 2007, Christminster relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Its present abbot is Dom James Deschene.

Elsewhere

Western Rite Orthodoxy, in Australia and New Zealand, has arisen mostly from Anglican and Continuing Anglican communities. Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney of ROCOR received some communities under his omophor; while others have been received by Bishop Gibran and Metropolitan Archbishop Paul, both under the Church of Antioch.

Other small groups following the Western Rite have been received, but usually have either had little impact, or have declared their independence soon after their reception.

The Oriental Orthodox churches also have some Western Rite parishes. The Syrian patriarchate of Antioch consecrated Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvarez as Archbishop of Ceylon, Goa, and India in 1889, authorizing a Roman rite diocese under him; in 1891, the Syrians consecrated the aforementioned Joseph René Vilatte as archbishop for the American Old Catholics. Vilatte, however, returned to the Roman Catholic Church at the end of his life. Many independent churches now claim to be under his "succession".

Liturgy in the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate

North American Western Rite parishes in the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate generally follow one of two types of traditional Western liturgical traditions (and sometimes both). The majority celebrate the Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow, which is commonly accepted to be an adaptation of the Communion service from the 1928 Anglican Book of Common Prayer and The Anglican Missal in the American Edition.[4] Until 1977, all Western Rite Vicariate parishes celebrated only the Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great, which is a modified form of the Tridentine Mass (that is, the Mass as revised and authorized by the Roman Catholic Council of Trent). Many parishes within the Western Rite Vicariate continue to celebrate the Gregorian liturgy. Since most AWRV parishes celebrate more than one weekly liturgy, many of the parishes that celebrate the Liturgy of St. Tikhon on Sunday celebrate the Liturgy of St. Gregory on weekdays.

The Western Rite liturgy, depending on its type, makes less use of the litanies than the Byzantine Rite. Celebrants wear distinctive Western vestments, and the faithful follow pious devotional customs particular to their tradition, as well.

The development of the current use within the Western Rite Vicariate is of particular note:

Metropolitan Antony was well aware that the Western Rite was "a work for specialists." The new Western Rite usage of the Archdiocese was to be guided by "a Commission of Orthodox Theologians," an advisory committee of qualified clerics or laymen to advise the Metropolitan and determine "the mode of reception of groups desiring to employ the Western Rite, and the character of the rites to be used, as well as the authorization of official liturgical texts." The first WRV Commission, convened by Metropolitan Antony in 1958, was composed of Fathers Paul Schneirla, Stephen Upson, Alexander Schmemann and John Meyendorff. Schneirla, Schmemann, and Meyendorff in particular had seen the Western Rite up close in France, as it had been approved in the Russian Ukase of 1936. Schneirla recalls Schmemann's work in particular as being key, as he was familiar with the Liturgical Movement within the Roman Catholic and Anglican communions. Schmemann was particularly instrumental in joining together the separate Rites of Initiation of the Rituale Romanum – Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion – into one unified rite, according to the Orthodox understanding.
In January of 1962, the official Western Rite Directory was issued, "establishing liturgical usages and customs and discipline," drawing on principles gleaned from the 1904 Moscow Synodal response to Saint Tikhon, the authorization of Western Rite offices by Metropolitan Gerassimos (Messarah) of Beirut, and the 1932 Russian Ukase of Metropolitan Sergius.[5]

Ironically, before his committed and pivotal involvement with the architecture of the current usage of the Western Rite, Fr. Schmemann had criticized it in a response to a 1958 article Fr. Schneirla wrote in The Word.[6] However, after his criticisms, Fr. Schmemann worked to establish the Western Rite Vicariate and, later still, taught at the Western Rite seminary in Paris.

Congregations

By far the largest group of Western Orthodox parishes is represented by the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Other Antiochian Western Rite parishes exist in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) also has a small number of Western Rite parishes in addition to three monasteries: one located in Canada, one in Tasmania, and one in Florida. Missions and parishes of the ROCOR Western Rite use either the Rite of St. Gregory in one of varying uses (Sarum, Christminster, Mount Royal, or Overbeck), the Gallican Rite, or "The English Liturgy," an English Use service based upon the Sarum Use but which adapts a few elements of the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. Christminster Monastery in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is a Western Orthodox Benedictine monastery, which celebrates the Liturgy of St. Gregory. St. Petroc Monastery in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, celebrates the Sarum Use. St. Petroc has a number of dependencies that follow its liturgical usage, as found in the Saint Colman Prayer Book.

Dom Augustine (Whitfield), the abbot of the Monastery of Mount Royal from 1963 until retirement, once remarked to St. John Maximovitch that it was difficult to promote Western Rite Orthodoxy, whereupon the saint replied: "Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must also be eastern. The West was Orthodox for a thousand years, and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies." [7]

Hieromonk Aidan (Keller, ROCOR) celebrating a Sarum liturgy.

In 2008, Metropolitan Hilarion of ROCOR blessed Hieromonk David (Pierce) to assist Dom Augustine Whitfield "in the continuation of the work of Mt. Royal" at Hieromonk David's monastery, Holyrood, in Florida. Hieromonk David utilizes the ordinary compiled by Mount Royal monastery, and is preparing for publication of the books of the Mount Royal use.

In late 2008, Metropolitan Hilarion received a hieromonk of the Milan Synod, Father Aidan (Keller), and blessed the publication of a new edition of his seminal work, Old Sarum Rite Missal for his personal prayers, while he serves a Byzantine parish in ROCOR. His liturgy had previously been blessed by the Western Archdiocese of the Milan Synod.

Western rite communities can also be found which are not or, are no longer, in communion with the mainstream Orthodox Church.

The Orthodox Church of France was once cared for by St. John Maximovitch and later by the Church of Romania—also uses a Western Rite liturgy based on ancient Gallican liturgical materials, with some Byzantine supplements. The Orthodox Church of France currently functions as an independent body, and is not in communion with the mainstream Orthodox Church.

In addition, the Holy Synod of Milan, an Old Calendarist Synod (and therefore not in communion with the mainstream Orthodox Church), has a number of communities (under the central direction of the monastery and Archdiocesan center, the Abbey of the Holy Name) which worship according to Western rites, including its own version of the Sarum Use. This recension is different from the version of the Sarum Rite used within ROCOR before 2008.

Criticism

Main article: Western Rite Criticism

The Western Rite in the Orthodox Church is not without its critics. Objections are made in regards to desire for liturgical uniformity within Orthodoxy and fears that the Western Rite would produce division within the Church. Some question the sincerity of Western Rite converts, just as some question the conversions of those within the Byzantine Rite. Finally, some complain about a lack of organic liturgical continuity, or will not attend a Western Rite Eucharist. However, no Orthodox parish may deny the Eucharist to visiting faithful of the canonical Western Rite, regardless of their feelings about the concept of Western Rite Orthodoxy. There have been no schisms within the episcopacy of the Orthodox Church regarding the issue of Western Rite parishes.

Whether the Western Rite will grow in its acceptance by Orthodox Christians who follow the Byzantine Rite remains to be seen. In the meantime, the Orthodox bishops who oversee Western Rite parishes—and many who oversee no Western Rite parishes—continue to declare their Western flocks to be true Orthodox Christians and regard them as fully in communion with the rest of the Church.

See also

Sources

External links

Liturgies

Books

Introduction and History

Video

  • Video of Dom James Deschene celebrating Midnight Mass for Christmas 2009 at the Oratory of our Lady of Glastonbury, the chapel attached to Christminster Monastery.
  • Video on the Western Rite from St. Paul Orthodox Church, Houston, Texas

Apologiae

Criticism

News and Views

Listservs

  • Western Rite Orthodoxy: Discussion of Western Rite Orthodoxy, focusing the Western Rite Vicariate (Antiochian). Most active participants are members of the Antiochian WRV.
  • The Ely Forum: "Dedicated to the theological and liturgical heritage of The Church in the British Isles, the ancient Patriarchates of the Undivided Church and the restoration of our genuine heritage of Orthodox Christianity in the West. A place of sane, sensible, lively, discussion between Christian gentlemen." Founded by Fr. Michael of St. Petroc Monastery (ROCOR).
  • Occidentalis: Yahoo discussion group on the Western rite; moderated by Father Aidan (Keller).
  • Orthodoxwest: Yahoo discussion group on Orthodoxy in the West and sponsored by the Eastern Archdiocese of the Milan Synod; moderated by Father Symeon (Bensimon-Kilmer).
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