The Eastern Catholic Churches are churches that belong to the Eastern (Byzantine) or Oriental traditions but are in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. All together, Roman and Eastern, make up the Catholic Church. The church buildings that belong to these particular churches are:
Alexandrine rite (historical)[]
- Santo Stefano degli Abissini (Ethiopian) (In Vatican City, special permission needed to visit.)
- San Tommaso in Parione (Ethiopian) (the main church)
- Sant'Anastasia (Coptic) (Location of Coptic worshipping community -if still extant)
(The Catholic Copts do not have their own church in Rome. The Coptic Orthodox church is San Giorgio, at Via Sante Bargellini 13.)
Note: The Coptic and Ethiopian rites are regarded as distinct.
Antiochene rite (historical)[]
- Sant'Anastasia (Syro-Malabar)
- San Macuto (Maronite)
- Santa Maria della Concezione in Campo Marzio (Syrian)
Note: The Syrian and Maronite rites are regarded as distinct.
Armenian rite[]
- San Biagio della Pagnotta
- San Nicola da Tolentino agli Orti Sallustiani (the main church)
Byzantine rite[]
- Sant'Atanasio a Via del Babuino (Greek, liturgy also celebrated in Albanian.)
- Sant'Antonio Abate all'Esquilino (Russian)
- San Basilio agli Orti Sallustiani (Italo-Greek -2017 leased to Melkites) (N.B. Not Albanian.)
- Sacro Cuore Immacolato di Maria (Romanian)
- San Giosafat al Gianicolo (Ukrainian)
- San Gregorio Magno al Celio -Cappella Salviati (Romanian)
- Santa Maria in Cosmedin (Melkite)
- San Salvatore alle Coppelle (Romanian)
- Santi Sergio e Bacco (Ukrainian)
- Santa Sofia a Via Boccea (Ukrainian, also other Byzantine rites)
Note on status of the Byzantine rite: Before the late 20th century, the policy of the Roman Catholic Church was to divide the Byzantine rite into several distinct rites, based on the language used. This "one language, one rite" was, in retrospect, obviously to protect the status of Latin in the Roman rite. Since the latter can now be celebrated in any vernacular, the Church's view is being revised so as to regard the Byzantine rite as one canonical rite, with different language groups -as is the case now with the Roman rite.
Chaldean rite[]
- No permanent church in Rome yet. (A convent of sisters of the rite have taken over the former parish church of Natività di Maria Santissima a Selva Candida, but theirs is a private chapel and liturgies are not advertised.)
Churches in which liturgies may be celebrated[]
Certain churches in Rome have been designated as places where Mass in the Eastern or Oriental rites may be celebrated. This is especially useful for those worshipping communities without their own church.
- San Bartolomeo all'Isola
- Corpus Domini al Nomentano
- Santa Maria in Trastevere (advertises a Byzantine-rite Mass, although not listed by Diocese.)
- San Clemente (the Chapel of SS Cyril and Methodius has been available for Byzantine rite celebrations in the Slav languages, but not regularly and only on request to the friary.)
Expatriate communities[]
The Diocese has a sympathetic attitude towards expatriate communities with their own languages or rites, who do not have their own church. If your community can obtain the services of a priest with the blessing of his bishop, and be able to guarantee finances, then the Diocese may give recognition and help you to find a place to worship.
The situation of such communities is bound to be fluid, and there have been problems in recent years (2013) which have seen the numbers of communities recognized by the Diocese decline by more than half.
The Scalabrini Missionaries maintain a website called "Baobab" as an information source on such communities (see "External links" below), which includes times of liturgies. However, be aware that it is not being updated as often as it should be. Cross-check it with the Diocesan list, and be aware that those not on the latter might not exist any more.
Churches used by Orthodox[]
Two Catholic churches in Rome have been lent to Orthodox worshipping groups. Although they remain in the possession of the Diocese, Catholics should not receive Communion in them.
San Teodoro (Greek Orthodox, Patriarch of Constantinople. Liturgy Sunday 9:15.)
San Salvatore in Campo (Eritrean Orthodox. Eucharist Sunday 11:00, 18:00; Thursday 17:20. Visitors must remove footwear.)
Another two churches are used by Orthodox worshipping groups, but Mass in the Roman Rite is still celebrated there:
Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Fontana di Trevi (Bulgarian Orthodox. Liturgy Sunday 10:30.)
Santi Gioacchino e Anna ai Monti (Ethiopian Orthodox. Liturgy Sunday 9:30, Thursday 17:00.)