Rites & Liturgy
The 24 Churches sui iuris of the Catholic Church and the rites and uses of the Latin Church, with a shaded map of where each Church has its own jurisdiction.
The Catholic Church is a communion of Churches. Alongside the Latin Church are 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, each with its own hierarchy and liturgical tradition. This guide lists them in a table, with a map of the countries where each has its own jurisdiction, and links to public-domain liturgical texts.
| Church | Tradition (CCEO can. 28 §2) | Catechism (CCC 1203) | Canonical status | Head | Own jurisdiction in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latin Church | Not covered by CCEO | Latin | Church sui iuris; the only Western Church sui iuris | The Roman Pontiff (Pope Leo XIV, elected 2025) | Worldwide (not shaded) |
| Coptic Catholic Church | Alexandrian | Alexandrian or Coptic | Patriarchal Church sui iuris | Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak (GCatholic, 21 October 2026) | 1 country |
| Ethiopian Catholic Church | Alexandrian | Alexandrian or Coptic | Metropolitan Church sui iuris | Archbishop Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie, M.C.C.J. (Metropolitan) (GCatholic, 23 October 2026) | 1 country |
| Eritrean Catholic Church | Alexandrian | Alexandrian or Coptic | Metropolitan Church sui iuris | Archbishop Menghesteab Tesfamariam, M.C.C.J. (Metropolitan) (GCatholic, 21 October 2026) | 1 country |
| Syriac Catholic Church | Antiochene | Syriac | Patriarchal Church sui iuris | Patriarch Ignace Youssif III Younan (GCatholic, 21 October 2026) | 13 countries |
| Maronite Church | Antiochene | Maronite | Patriarchal Church sui iuris | Cardinal Béchara Pierre Raï (Patriarch) (GCatholic, 22 October 2026) | 41 countries |
| Syro-Malankara Catholic Church | Antiochene | Syriac | Major Archiepiscopal Church sui iuris | Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal (Major Archbishop) (GCatholic, 21 October 2026) | 3 countries |
| Armenian Catholic Church | Armenian | Armenian | Patriarchal Church sui iuris | Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian (GCatholic, 25 October 2026) | 30 countries |
| Chaldean Catholic Church | Chaldean | Chaldean | Patriarchal Church sui iuris | Patriarch Paul III Nona (GCatholic, 22 October 2026) | 13 countries |
| Syro-Malabar Catholic Church | Chaldean | Chaldean | Major Archiepiscopal Church sui iuris | Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil (GCatholic, 22 October 2026) | 6 countries |
| Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Major Archiepiscopal Church sui iuris | Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk (GCatholic, 22 October 2026) | 20 countries |
| Melkite Greek Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Patriarchal Church sui iuris | Patriarch Youssef Absi (GCatholic, 22 October 2026) | 19 countries |
| Romanian Greek Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Major Archiepiscopal Church sui iuris | Major Archbishop Claudiu-Lucian Pop (GCatholic, 22 October 2026) | 3 countries |
| Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Metropolitan Church sui iuris | Archbishop William Charles Skurla (Metropolitan) (GCatholic, 21 October 2026) | 4 countries |
| Slovak Greek Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Metropolitan Church sui iuris | Archbishop Jonáš Jozef Maxim, M.S.U. (Metropolitan) (GCatholic, 21 October 2026) | 2 countries |
| Hungarian Greek Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Metropolitan Church sui iuris | Archbishop Peter Fülöp Kocsis (Metropolitan) (GCatholic, 21 October 2026) | 1 country |
| Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Eparchial Church sui iuris | Not yet verified | 1 country |
| Greek Byzantine Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Not yet verified | Not yet verified | 2 countries |
| Italo-Albanian Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Eparchial Church sui iuris | Not yet verified | 1 country |
| Macedonian Greek Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Eparchial Church sui iuris | Not yet verified | 1 country |
| Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Eparchial Church sui iuris | Not yet verified | 5 countries |
| Belarusian Greek Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | No proper hierarchy (Apostolic Visitator) | Not yet verified | 1 country |
| Russian Greek Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Exarchates officially extant but not reconstituted | Not yet verified | 2 countries |
| Albanian Greek Catholic Church | Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) | Byzantine | Listed among the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in lists derived from the Annuario Pontificio. GCatholic omits it and lists a Byzantine Church in Kazakhstan and Central Asia instead. | Unverified Apostolic Administrator of Southern Albania (CNEWA (page last modified 26 October 2021)) | Not verified |
Heads are as listed on the date shown and are re-checked every six months. Every entry's sources are on its page.
| Rite or use | Where | Current books |
|---|---|---|
| Roman Rite (the Missal of Paul VI and John Paul II) | Not mapped | Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia (2002; reimpressio emendata 2008) with later variationes; vernacular editions approved by conferences (English: The Roman Missal, ICEL translation) |
| Roman Missal of 1962 | Not mapped | Not listed |
| Ambrosian Rite | Archdiocese of Milan (most parishes) and Ambrosian parishes in the dioceses of Bergamo, Lodi, Lugano, and Novara Own jurisdiction in Italy. | Messale Ambrosiano (2nd ed., 2024; © ITL srl) |
| Hispanic (Mozarabic) Rite | Own jurisdiction in Spain. | Missale Hispano-Mozarabicum (2 vols, 1991 and 1994); Liber Commicus (1994 and 1995); Liber Offerentium (1991) |
| Rite of Braga (Bracarense) | Not mapped | Missal of Braga (Bracarense), 1924 edition; its use is optional |
| Divine Worship (Personal Ordinariates) | Own jurisdiction in Australia, Canada, Guam, Japan, United Kingdom, United States. | Divine Worship: The Missal (2015) |
| Rites of certain religious orders | Not mapped | Not listed |
Church sui iuris and rite
A Church sui iuris is "a community of the faithful" joined together by a hierarchy according to law, which the supreme authority recognizes, expressly or tacitly, as sui iuris (CCEO can. 27). A rite is the "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony", distinguished by the culture and history of peoples, by which each Church sui iuris expresses its own way of living the faith (CCEO can. 28 §1). (Source: CCEO, vatican.va ↗)
So a Church is a community with its own hierarchy, and a rite is a patrimony. Several Churches share one tradition (fourteen are Byzantine), and one Church, the Latin Church, has several rites and uses. This section therefore has two kinds of entry: 24 Churches sui iuris, and 7 rites and uses within the Latin Church.
Two classifications, shown side by side
- CCEO can. 28 §2 groups the Eastern Churches by tradition of origin: Alexandrian, Antiochene, Armenian, Chaldean, and Constantinopolitan. It does not cover the Latin Church, which is governed by the 1983 Code of Canon Law.
- The Catechism (CCC 1203) lists the rites in use: "the Latin (principally the Roman rite, but also the rites of certain local churches, such as the Ambrosian rite, or those of certain religious orders) and the Byzantine, Alexandrian or Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Maronite and Chaldean rites". (Source: Catechism, vatican.va ↗)
The Catechism says "Byzantine" where the Code says Constantinopolitan, says "Syriac" for the West Syriac rites, and names the Maronite rite separately, while the Code places it within the Antiochene tradition. The table gives both for every Church; neither is forced onto the other.
Where lists differ
- Albanian Greek Catholic Church. Included in lists derived from the Annuario Pontificio, as here; GCatholic omits it. Its present country list is not verified.
- Kazakhstan and Central Asia. GCatholic lists a "Byzantine Church in Kazakhstan and Central Asia", which is not one of the 24 here. It is mentioned only; it has no entry or shading.
- Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. CNEWA describes three jurisdictions whose relationship "has not been clarified"; see its page.