Russian Greek Catholic Church

The Russian Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite church sui juris of the Catholic Church. Historically it represents a schism from the Russian Orthodox Church which is now in communion with and subject to the authority of the Pope of Rome.

In Russia, it is purported that after the gradual development of the East-West Schism, a tiny group of families maintained themselves as "Old Catholics," a name which should not be confused with the Old Catholic Churches of Europe and the U.S., who formally split with The Catholic Church in the wake of the reforms of the First Vatican Council. The status of this group or its relation to the curent Russian 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 as a universal heirarch. Following Soloviev's teachings an Orthodox priest, Nicholas Tolstoy, entered into communion with the See of Rome under the Melkite Greek-Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch. Soloviev received communion from Father Tolstoy believing that in doing so he remained a faithful member of the Orthodox Church. Orthodox authorities refer to Tolstoy as an apostate and "ex-priest," but tend to assume that Soloviev died an Orthodox Christian, though he never retracted his sentiments in favor of union with the Catholic Church.

The Russian Catholic Church formally united with Rome in 1905. The first Apostolic Exarchate for Russian Catholics was formed in 1917, but the Bolshevik Revolution soon followed, all but annihilating the community. In 1928, a second Apostolic Exarchate was set up for the Russian Catholics in China, based in Harbin.

As of 2006, the two exarchates are still at least officially extant but have not yet been reconstituted.

See also

• Eastern Rite

Source

• Eastern Catholic Communities Without Hierarchies