How the Church is Structured?

In most of the Eastern Churches there is a different principle at work.  Like the apostles, Eastern Christians have favored a fellowship of self-governing local Churches bound together in a unity of faith rather than one of administrative centrality.  Thus there are many "local Churches" among Byzantines, each with an autonomous organization but one in faith and practice.  As a rule these Churches have tended to be organized along ethnic or national lines, with a patriarch, metropolitan or archbishop as the principal hierarch.

These differences in structure are reflected in Church laws, among other things.  In the West, for example, all bishops are appointed by the pope who generally, but not necessarily consults with the other bishops in a given area first.  In Byzantine Churches bishops are elected by the Synod (assembly of bishops) within the local Church.  The patriarch or metropolitan presides over this assembly, but does not act without it.

These differences in structure have theological and psychological sides as well.  In the Byzantine Churches the patriarch or metropolitan is not seen as over the Church as the Pope of Rome is often seen in the West.  He is the chief bishop of the Church, not its head.  Eastern Christians recall that the Holy Spirit is the One sent by Christ to be the guide and guardian of the Church and so do not surround the person of a patriarch with the kind of aura often seen in the case of the pope in the West: a kind of adulation which has led many to label him "antichrist".

This understanding of the Church as a series of concentric circles rather than as a pyramid also explains why there is no central authority or organization among Byzantines.  Each local Church is united in fellowship, love and peace with its sister Churches, but is not dependent upon any one of them.  It also explains why parishes in the same city, at least in this country, come to be part of different dioceses.

EASTERN CHURCHES IN AMERICA

As a rule, Eastern Christians emigrated to the U.S. no earlier than 1870.  The first group of Greek Catholics, for example, were Slavs, chiefly from the Ukrainian and Carpathian regions of eastern Europe.  A few years later Syrians began to emigrate from the Turkish Empire.  These immigrants' Churches followed them.  In 1884 the first Slav congregation was established in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania and in 1890 the first Melkite parish was begun in Chicago.  Since the Byzantine Churches are truly "local Churches", these communities each had their respective language, music and ecclesiastical organization.  When bishops came to serve them, they were sent from the Churches overseas.  Clearly the "New World" was a new experience: one which they were not in the same position to meet as the centralized Roman Church.  As a result, Greek Catholics in this country are grouped in a mosaic of sister Churches relating to their various mother Churches abroad and thereby retaining an immigrant character.

Thus among Greek Catholics today, for example, there are four separate jurisdictions: Ruthenian and Ukrainian (each with a metropolis consisting of four dioceses and some 300 parishes), Rumanian (an exarchate with 17 parishes) and Melkite (38 communities in one eparchy or diocese).  All have the same basic spiritual tradition, the Byzantine rite, but each reflects the way that Tradition was lived in its country of origin.  In time, ties with the Mother Churches will probably be severed and one American Greek Catholic Church result, as happened in Europe over the centuries.  When that takes place, America will join Antioch, the Ukraine and the rest as a fully constituted local Church.

THE MELKITE DIOCESE

The Melkite Greek Catholic diocese in the U.S. is formally known as the Eparchy of Newton, eparchy being the Greek word for diocese and Newton, Massachusetts being the headquarters of its bishop.  It is a diocese of the Patriarchate of Antioch, one of the five "Apostolic Sees" or Churches founded by the apostles (the others being Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria and Jerusalem).  The patriarchate includes dioceses in the Middle East (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria), North America (Canada and the U.S.), South America (Brazil and Venezuela), Australia and western Europe (Belgium, France and Italy).  The Patriarch of Antioch, currently Maximos V, is the chief bishop of the Melkite Church, who presides over the Holy Synod, the regular assembly of all the bishops.  Between their meetings affairs are administered by a permanent synod, made up of four or five bishops who conduct the day to day affairs of the patriarchate.

The Newton diocese was established as an exarchate in 1966.  The present eparch is Archbishop Joseph (Tawil) who has held this post since 1970.  In addition to its local parishes, the eparchy's structures include:

The Diocesan Pastoral Council - the chief advisory body of the eparchy, made up of clergy and lay delegates (some of whom are elected and some appointed) and the parish council presidents of each parish.  The D.P.C. meets regularly at various locations throughout the eparchy and formulates recommendations on all aspects of diocesan life.

The Annual Convention - Each year the entire diocese is called to assemble in convention.  These gatherings, hosted each year by a different parish, are times for our far-flung community to come together for prayer, study and fellowship as well as to elect representatives to the Diocesan Pastoral Council.  Each parish has a number of official delegates, but everyone is welcome to attend.

St. Gregory's Seminary - located in Newton, Ma., maintains two programs.  Students for the priesthood reside there and attend classes at Holy Cross Theological School operated by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, a full-time, four year program.  Candidates for the diaconate meet there for three weeks each June for intensive training for three years and complete their training at home by guided study during the intervening time.  Application for either program should be made to the rector.

Diocesan Offices - The following ministries are coordinated by offices in the eparchy:
Communications (responsible for publications, including Sophia, the diocesan journal, as well as for official communications and public relations;
Economos (responsible for financial management, including the operation of the Saint Nicholas Guild described below);
Educational Services (responsible for the development of curriculum resources, and the conducting of educational programs for catechists, cantors and general membership);
Media Communications (a new ministry charged with exploring ways to make the Byzantine tradition visible to society through the communications media);
National Association of Melkite Youth (NAMY) the eparchy's federation of parish youth groups which sponsors regular regional and national youth gatherings.
Saint Nicholas' Guild - an organization of lay associates of the eparchy who assist in the expansion of the diocese by their financial support in an annual appeal.
Society of Publicans (the eparchy's prayer network, composed of people throughout the country who are committed to praying on a daily basis for the spiritual growth of our community);
Tribunal (the diocesan court which assists members in exploring the resolution of problems relating to the Church's marriage laws).
 

Religious Communities - The following communities of men and women have foundations in the diocese:
Community of the Mother of God of Tenderness, Lee, Massachusetts (a women's monastic community);
Monastery of Our Savior, Steubenville, Ohio (a men's monastic community);
Saint Basil's Seminary, Methuen, Massachusetts (motherhouse of the Salvatorian Fathers, a community of priests)

Charitable Ministries - the following ministries are coordinated by clergy and monastics in the eparchy:
Emmaus House in Harlem and Lazarus House on the lower East Side, New York City - two resident and service communities of laypeople attempting to work with the poor in the name of Christ. Epheta, Steubenville, Ohio - a group home for juveniles operated by the Monastery of Our Savior.

For further information concerning our Church, contact the