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Priest With Host

The Early Church continued by the Apostles was first open only to the Jewish people and those that converted to Judaism. It is the Church created by God. He chose Abraham and made him the father of many nations. The Jewish Faith was fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah (Messias), Jesus. 

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus opened the Jewish Faith to all people everywhere. 

It quickly began to be called the "Catholic" (meaning "Universal") Church. This Catholic (Universal) Church began in Jerusalem but quickly moved to Rome where Saints Peter and Paul evangelized. Rome was, at the time, the center of the world. The common language of the people was Latin, and the Church spread from Rome to the whole world. In each place, people who accepted Jesus as Lord began to worship within their culture and language, always holding to the leadership of Rome and the Pope ("Holy Father" or "Bishop of Rome" and formerly known as "Bishop of Jerusalem"). 

Other rites were formed that were one with Rome, with some minor differences in worship and the order of the Church. These 23 rites are Catholic in their doctrine but unique in language and ways of worship. One can feel comfortable in any of these rites, as they worship the One God and Savior, Jesus the Christ. 

Here is a list of these rites. They are all a part of the Catholic (Universal) Church.

Latin Rite

  1. Latin (or Roman) Catholic Church

Alexandrian Rite

  1. Coptic Catholic Church

  2. Eritrean Catholic Church

  3. Ethiopian Catholic Church

West Syrian (or Antiochene) Rite

  1. Maronite Catholic Church

  2. Syriac Catholic Church

  3. Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

Armenian Rite

  1. Armenian Catholic Church

East Syrian (or Chaldean) Rite

  1. Chaldean Catholic Church

  2. Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

Constantinopolitan (or Byzantine) Rite

  1. Albanian Catholic Church

  2. Belarusian Catholic Church

  3. Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church

  4. Byzantine Church of Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro (or Križevci Catholic Church)

  5. Greek Byzantine Catholic Church

  6. Hungarian Greek Catholic Church

  7. Italo-Albanian Catholic Church

  8. Macedonian Catholic Church

  9. Melkite Greek Catholic Church

  10. Romanian Catholic Church

  11. Russian Catholic Church

  12. Ruthenian Catholic Church (also known as the Byzantine Catholic Church in America)

  13. Slovak Catholic Church

  14. Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

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