Western Orthodoxy is a strand of Orthodox Christian worship adapted for congregations in traditionally Catholic or Protestant countries.
There are certain parishes known as Western Orthodox within Eastern Orthodoxy that follow the rituals of either:
By far the largest group of these parishes in North America is represented by the Western Rite Vicariate of the North American Archdiocese of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, which has neither autocephaly (complete hierarchical independence) nor autonomy (governance of internal affairs, but its primate is appointed by and answerable to a parent jurisdiction's synod), but reports ultimately to the Patriarch of Antioch. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) also has a small number of Western-Rite parishes.
One can compare the situation of Western Orthodox parishes with the analogous status of autonomous Eastern-Rite Catholic churches. For centuries, there have been hierarchical churches in full communion with the Vatican, but which the Pope allows to follow customs and rules like those of the Eastern Orthodox Church, (e.g., they confirm newly baptized infants via chrismation, they have married priests, their churches have iconostases, etc.).
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Last updated: 08-23-2005 10:59:37
