The question, “Is the Greek orthodox church in communion with Rome?” has long been debated, and there are a number of answers to this question. Catholics receive communion four times a week, on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. The other days are days of remembrance.
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Byzantine-rite
The Greek orthodox church has historically rejected many of Rome’s teachings, including Papal Infallibility, Immaculate Conception, and Purgatory. As a result, the Greek orthodox church is not in communion with Rome. It also rejects a phrase in the Nicene Creed known as Filioque, which means “and the Son.”
The Patriarchate of Rome is one of five historic patriarchates of the Church. Other patriarchates include Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Constantinople. Prior to the Great Schism, the Orthodox regarded the Pope of Rome with respect, but they did not recognize the Pope as their head.
However, the word eparchies is ambiguous and has undergone various interpretations. Some consider that it refers to ordinary ecclesiastical provinces. Others argue that it refers to civil dioceses of Alexandria, Antioch, and Thrace.
In the year 451 there were four patriarchates in the Greek Orthodox Church. The patriarchate of Antioch was the oldest of the four patriarchates. In addition to this, there were five autocephalous metropolitans, two exempt bishoprics, and twelve metropolitans. In total, there were one hundred and forty-four dioceses.
The Greek Orthodox Church is a separate entity from the Roman Catholic Church. While both are Orthodox, they use different languages and doctrines. For example, they reject the doctrine of original sin. Furthermore, they reject papal infallibility, the doctrine of purgatory, and papal supremacy. The Greek Orthodox Church also denies the doctrines of papal infallibility and papal supremacy.
While the Greek Orthodox Church is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church, it has a history of union with Rome. In the 1860s, Bulgarians sought union with Rome. However, there were only a handful of Catholics in Bulgaria. And in Thrace and Macedonia, the number of Catholics was only ten thousand. At that time, the Byzantine patriarch, Photius, could not see a way to give all of King Boris’ demands. So, he sought help from Rome.
Another branch of Greek orthodox Christianity is the Italo-Greek Catholic church. It is of Greek and Albanian origin and uses the Byzantine Rite. They are a minority in Italy, with populations of less than fifty thousand. They worship under the care of two Italo-Greek bishops and speak Greek and Italian.
Syriac-rite
Syriac-rite in the Greek orthodox church and rome is a minor branch of the Orthodox Church. It is an Eastern branch of Christianity that has its own patriarchate. There are four such patriarchates in the world: Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Cyprus. Aside from the four main patriarchates, there are also offshoots in the Persian and Armenian Churches. The Syrian Orthodox Church has 13 dioceses and 250,000 souls.
The Syriac rite has several sub-rites. The Armenian Liturgy and the Cappa-doco-Byzantine liturgy are among them. These liturgies have very close resemblance to the Syriac rite.
Before the Council of Nicaea in 325, the Greek Church and Rome were in an unfriendly relationship. Even Greeks were not happy with this situation. The emperors would convene general councils, control the discussions, and depose bishops who did not fall in line with their political agenda. This made the Church a mere pawn of the despotic State.
The Syrian rite in the Greek orthodox church and rome corresponds to the Syriac rite. The Patriarchate of Antioch has twelve metropolitans and five autocephalous metropolitans, as well as two exempt bishoprics. In all, there are one hundred twenty-five bishoprics and forty-four dioceses.
Although there is no specific reference to Antioch in the Nicene Council canon, the eparchies in the Nicaean church have the same jurisdiction. They were assigned the same jurisdiction as the Greek orthodox church and Rome, and they were regarded as patriarchates.
The Patriarchate of Antioch was influenced by Byzantine influence. Byzantine missionaries in the region converted the Servians to Christianity under Basil the Macedonian. In 435, a schism in the Greek Orthodox Church occurred, and the Byzantines took advantage of this opportunity to consolidate their control.
