16,951
edits
Changes
m
lins
The '''Russian Catholic Church''' is a [[Byzantine Rite]] church ''[[sui juris]]'' of the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Historically it represents a [[schism]] from the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]. It is now in [[full communion]] with and subject to the authority of the [[Pope of Rome]] as defined by Eastern canon law. As of 2006, Russian Catholics have no hierarchy; their few [[parish]]es are served by [[priest]]s [[ordination|ordained]] in other Byzantine Catholic Churches, former Orthodox priests, and Roman Catholic priests with biritual faculties, many of them [[Jesuits]].
In Russia, it is purported that after the gradual development of the [[East-West Great Schism]], a tiny group of Russian families maintained themselves as “Old Catholics,” (rus: старокатолики (starokatoliki)), a name which should not be confused with the [[Döllinger]]ite Döllingerite [[Old Catholic Church]]es of Europe and the U.S., who formally split with the Roman Catholic Church in the wake of the reforms of the [[First Vatican Council]]. The status of this group of Russian "Old Catholics", families and groups of individuals to whom the union with Rome remains dear and essential, or its relation to the current Russian (Rite) Catholic Church is unclear.
The modern Russian Catholic church owes much to the inspiration of visionary poet and philosopher [[Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov]] (1853-1900), who urged, following Dante, that, just as the world needed the Tsar as a universal monarch, the Church needed the Pope of Rome as a universal ecclesial [[hierarch]]. Following Solovyov's teachings a Russian Orthodox priest, Nicholas Tolstoy, entered into full communion with the See of Rome under the [[Greek Melkite Catholic Church|Melkite Greek-Catholic, Byzantine Rite]] [[Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs of Antioch|Patriarchate of Antioch]]. Solovyov received sacramental last holy communion from Father Tolstoy believing that in doing so he remained also a faithful member of the Russian Orthodox Church. Orthodox authorities refer to Tolstoy as an [[apostate]] and “ex-priest,” but tend to imply that Solovyov still died an Orthodox Christian. Nevertheless, Solovyov has never retracted his sentiments in favor of union with the Catholic Church and the See of Rome, and to this day, many Russian Catholics refer to themselves as members of the 'Russian ''Orthodox'' Church in communion with Rome'.