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The '''Eastern Catholic Churches''' Churches are churches that follow the ancient liturgical traditions of the East, while being in [[full communion]] with the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and placing themselves under the ultimate authority of the [[Pope|Bishop of Rome]]. Some of these churches, like the [[Orthodox Church]], follow the Byzantine tradition, while others follow other liturgical traditions. The history of each Eastern Rite Catholic church is unique, some having sided with Rome at the time of the [[Great Schism]] and some being joined to Rome after that time. They are sometimes referred to as '''Uniates''', a term which many Eastern Catholics reject as derogatory.

Many of these churches have a direct non-Catholic (usually [[Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] or [[Oriental Orthodox|Oriental]]) counterpart. Others exist only within the Catholic Communionas they were either entirely received into communion with the Roman See or never left that communion.