California Chaldeans receive 3,000 Assyrian Christians into Catholic communion

CNA ^ | 5/18/2008

[markomalley]

San Jose, CA., May 18, 2008 / 12:40 pm (CNA).- One week ago today leaders of the Chaldean Catholic Church in California formally received into communion a bishop of the Assyrian Apostolic Church of the East, his clergy, and about 3,000 Assyrian Christians.

The Assyrian Church, centered in modern-day Iraq, dates back to the earliest days of Christianity.  According to the California Catholic Daily, the church eventually embraced the teachings of Nestorius, the fifth-century Archbishop of Constantinople whose doctrines were condemned by the Council of Ephesus in 431. 

Beginning in the sixteenth century, large numbers of Nestorian Assyrians came into union with Rome, forming the Chaldean Catholic Church.  Today, the Chaldean Church is larger than the Assyrian Church.

Assyrian Bishop Mar Bawai presided over the western Assyrian diocese based in San Jose, California.  According to the California Catholic Daily, he was disciplined by the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Apostolic Church for a November 2005 paper defending papal primacy.  His paper, titled “The Position of the Church of the East Theological Tradition on the Questions of Church Unity and Full Communion” argued for the necessity of papal primacy.

Suspended by the synod, he formed the Assyrian Catholic Apostolic Diocese with loyal clergy and faithful.

The California Catholic Daily reports that the new diocese began to draw closer to the Chaldean Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle, which is based in El Cajon.  On January 17, 2008, clergy of the Assyrian Catholic Apostolic Diocese adopted a “Declaration of Intention” at a meeting in Dublin, California.  The declaration said they intended to “enter full communion with the Catholic Church” and “resume church unity with the Chaldean Catholic Church.”

On March 28, Chaldean and Assyrian clergy met at the Cathedral of St. Peter in San Diego, where they recited a Catholic profession of faith before the altar. 

Six priests, over 30 deacons and subdeacons, and some 3,000 lay faithful joined Bishop Mar Bawai in entering full Catholic communion.  The union was solemnized May 10-11 at St. Thomas Church in Turlock and at St. Matthew Church in Ceres.

[SoCalPol]

*The California Catholic Daily reports that the new diocese began to draw closer to the Chaldean Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle, which is based in El Cajon
On March 28, Chaldean and Assyrian clergy met at the Cathedral of St. Peter in San Diego, where they recited a Catholic profession of faith before the altar*

There is over 30,000 Iraqis in San Diego and in the suburb of El Cajon. the largest per cent are Chaldean

[netmilsmom]

We have many Chaldeans that cross over to our Latin Catholic church.

You should hear them talk about GWB and our troops. Both are well loved.

[big'ol_freeper]

This is the type of story that Catholics will see avalanche of in the future. Don’t know when, but as time goes on Christians will begin to return home to Christ in every increasing numbers.

[Hawthorn]

Question:

Is it proper to speak of the Assyrian Church as “Eastern Orthodox?”

Or does it — like the Armenian Church — constitute its own separate branch of Christianity?

[markomalley]

Is it proper to speak of the Assyrian Church as “Eastern Orthodox?”

Well, in terms of the Tetrarchy, they fall under the Patriarch of Antioch.

That makes them distinctly different than the Greeks or Russians, who fall under the Patriarch of Constantinople. But they are an Orthodox Church.

I pinged some folks who might be able to shed some light on the subject.

[SoCalPol]

When Sadam was captured they and some of the Kurds had a rally near the Fed Bldg.here in San Diego in their costumes and music - signs thanking Bush

[netmilsmom]

The Chaldeans at my daughters school passed out candy when the statue of Saddam fell!

[kosta50]

Hawthorn: Is it proper to speak of the Assyrian Church as “Eastern Orthodox?”

markomalley: Well, in terms of the Tetrarchy, they fall under the Patriarch of Antioch.

That makes them distinctly different than the Greeks or Russians, who fall under the Patriarch of Constantinople. But they are an Orthodox Church.

First of all, we don't "fall" under the Patriarch of Constantinople; we are in communion with him. He is not a "pope" jurisdictionally speaking.

Second, the Assyrian Church is Christologically gravely flawed, being Nestorian and is therefore not a "Church," but outside the Church.

[ChurtleDawg]

If they affirmed the Nestorian heresy, then they would not be part of the Orthodox Communion

[FormerLib]

Is it proper to speak of the Assyrian Church as “Eastern Orthodox?”

More importantly, why would anyone think this report is of interest to Orthodox Christians?

HINT: it isn't.

[DogwoodSouth]

Is it proper to speak of the Assyrian Church as “Eastern Orthodox?”

The Assyrian Church is in a class of its own, though it has close relations with the Oriental Orthodox Churches (i.e. Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian Churches, et al). The former split from the historic Church (i.e. Catholic/Orthodox) after the Council of Ephesus and the latter, after the Council of Chalcedon.

[Cronos]

The Assyrian Church is not Eastern Orthodox, nor is it one of the Oriental Churchs (Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian etc.). It is pre-Chalcedonian and, while it does date from the Nestorian schism, it is NOT a Nestorian Church -- kosta, the teachings of the Assyrian Church are based on Babai the Great and has been proven by them to NOT be Nestorian, but closer in line to orthodox teaching about the nature of Christ.

The split was due to two reasons: 1. Misunderstanding/Linguistic: while the most highly cultured parts of the Roman Empire spoke Greek, the Assyrian Church was NOT part of the Roman Empire, but was initially based in the Parthian (Irani) Empire, so there is evidence that the two sides just didn't understand each other.
2. Political: the moment the Parthians (Zoroastrians by religion) realised that they could split the Church from being a purely Roman Empire religion, to form their own Church that would owe allegiance to Parthia -- they leapt at the opportunity. Post the split with the Roman Empire based Christianity, the Assyrian Church (properly, the Church of The East) spread over all of Iran, Central Asia, Afghanistan, India, China, Mongolia -- there were even Mongol tribes that were Christian. This Church faced the most severest of persecutions: much more than any other Church, facing massacres at the hands of the Parthians, Tang dynasty China, the Arabs, the Turks, etc.

[kosta50]

Much obliged on the detailed background of te Assyrian Church.

[markomalley]

Thanks for the clarification.

[Cronos]

No, worries, CNA got it a bit wrong --> while the Assyrian Church was accused of being Nestorian, they firmly denied it. Recently, both the Orthodox and Catholic Branches of The Church have been moving towards or are in communion with the Assyrian Church and the Assyrian Church has re-iterated that it's belief in the nature of Christ is the same as that of the orthodox (with a small o)

I fully respect this Church as the easternmost outpost of Christianity and their work in spreading the faith. Unfortunately, they were badly decimated byislam and even now face trials in post-Saddam Iraq.

[Kolokotronis]

“More importantly, why would anyone think this report is of interest to Orthodox Christians?

HINT: it isn’t.”

Actually, it has caused quite a stir among Orthodox hierarchs involved in the dialog with Rome with some saying that the acceptance of a disobedient bishop (with a history of disobedience) under discipline of his own Synod into communion with Rome, orders intact, is an example of exactly the sort of interference some say the Orthodox can expect from a reunion with Rome. To an extent of course, Rome has pretty much always acted this way and claimed this power even before the Great Schism and indeed that behavior was one of the many causes for the Schism. Lately Orthodoxy hasn’t seen this side of the Latin Church.