Congregation for the Oriental Churches

The Congregation for the Oriental Churches () is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, and the curial congregation responsible for contact with the Eastern Catholic Churches for the sake of assisting their development and protecting their rights. It also maintains whole and entire in the one Catholic Church, alongside the liturgical, disciplinary, and spiritual patrimony of the Latin Rite, the heritage and Eastern Catholic canon law of the various Eastern Catholic traditions. It has exclusive authority over the following regions: Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, southern Albania and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel (and Palestinian territories), Syria, Jordan and Turkey, and also oversees jurisdictions based in Romania, Southern Italy, Hungary, India and Ukraine. It was founded by the Motu Proprio "Dei Providentis" of Pope Benedict XV as the "Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Church" on 1 May 1917 and "considers those matters, whether concerning persons or things, affecting the Catholic Oriental Churches."
Structure.
Patriarchs and Major Archbishops of the Oriental Churches, and the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, are members of this Congregation by virtue of the Law itself. The consultors and officials are selected reflecting the diversity of rites.
Authority.
This congregation has authority over:
This congregation's authority does not include the exclusive authority of the Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith and for the Causes of Saints, of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, and the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, including what pertains to dispensations from a marriage "ratum sed non consummatum" ('"ratified but not consummated"). In matters which affect the Eastern as well as the Latin Churches, the Congregation operates, if the matter is important enough, in consultation with the Dicastery that has authority in the matter for the Latin Church. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is exempt from the authority of the Congregation, being directly subject to the Holy See.
The Congregation pays special attention to communities of Eastern Catholic faithful who live in the territory of the Latin Church and attends to their spiritual needs by providing visitors and even their own hierarchs, so far as possible and where numbers and circumstances require, in consultation with the Congregation competent to establish Particular Churches in the region.
In regions where the Eastern Churches have been dominant from ancient times, apostolic and missionary activity is solely the responsibility of this Congregation, even if the above is carried out by Latin Rite missionaries.
The congregation collaborates with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in matters that concern relations with non-Catholic Eastern Churches and with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in matters within the scope of the latter.
History.
On 6 January 1862, Pope Pius IX established the "Congregatio de Propaganda Fide pro negotiis ritus orientalis", a section of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith "for the affairs of the Oriental Rite", with the apostolic constitution "Romani Pontifici". Pope Benedict XV declared it independent on 1 May 1917 with the "motu proprio Dei Providentis" and named it "Congregatio pro Ecclesia Orientali". Pope Paul VI gave it its current name by adopting the plural "Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus" with the apostolic constitution "Regimini Ecclesiae Universae" of 15 August 1967, reflecting the major decree "Orientalium Ecclesiarum" of the Second Vatican Council.
Structure in 1917.
In May 1917, Pope Benedict XV established a congregation for the Eastern Catholic Churches. It was presided over by the pope and included several Cardinals, one of whom filled the role of Secretary.
There were also Councillors, chosen from among the more distinguished clergy and those experienced in things oriental.
The current Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation is Leonardo Sandri. The Archbishop Secretary is Giorgio Gallaro. The Undersecretary is Monsignor Flavio Pace.
Cardinal Secretaries (to 1967).
From 1917 to 1967, the pope held the title of Prefect of the Congregation.