What does it mean to be “Roman” Catholic? Jun. 18, 2024 ROME The Latin Rite is just one of many liturgical expressions of C

What does it mean to be “Roman” Catholic?
Jun. 18, 2024

ROME

The Latin Rite is just one of many liturgical expressions of Catholicism.
In the United States we tend to equate being “Catholic” with being “Roman Catholic.” We may never meet any other type of Catholic in our entire lives.
However, being “Catholic” can take several different forms and depends on the region and customs of several distinct Christian communities. In all, there are three primary liturgical families in the Catholic Church, which correspond to ancient Christian Churches. From these Churches sprung numerous local traditions and rites. For a handy chart that helps visualize the concept, check out this one.
Rome
The liturgy of the Latin Rite is the most widely known in the world as this group consists of the vast majority of Catholics. Within the Latin Rite is the Roman Rite, which includes liturgical traditions from the Church of Rome. This Church and its traditions spread throughout Western Europe and on to the New World of the Americas. There are several other Latin Rites that developed over time in various religious orders and local regions in Europe.
Antioch
There are more than a dozen different traditions that sprung out of the traditions from the Church of Antioch, the first Christian community founded by St. Peter the Apostle. The two primary Rites within this family are the Byzantine and Maronite Rites. The Byzantine branch of rites incorporate a variation of the liturgy developed for the Imperial Church based in Constantinople. At the time the location was also called “Byzantium” and later the Byzantine Empire.

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Philip kosloski