Western Rite Parishes (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

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And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

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	Western Rite Parishes (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

QUESTION:

I am curious about the western rite within Orthodoxy and the position of the OCA in regards to it. Are the western rite parishes in full "communion" with other Orthodox and are they able to concelebrate, etc?

Are there any OCA western rite parishes?

ANSWER:

If a Western Rite parish is within the jurisdiction of a canonically-appointed hierarch, it enjoys the same rights as parishes of the Byzantine Rite. "Full communion" is determined, not by rite, but by submission to the duly constituted hierarchal authority.

There are no Western Rite parishes in the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). To my knowledge, the only Western Rite parishes in North America are within the jurisdiction of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America headed by Metropolitan PHILIP -- and if I am not mistaken, there are very few of them.

Published in January 2011.

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