In the same solemn ceremony Nov. 21, 1964, in which Pope St. Paul VI promulgated Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, and the Council’s Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, the Pope also gave his solemn approval to a lesser-known yet significant conciliar document: the decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum, on the Catholic Churches of the Eastern rite.

This latter decree has a profound connection with both Lumen Gentium and Unitatis Redintegratio. The Council’s renewed appreciation for the Church’s mystery, articulated in the former document, strongly drew from the Eastern tradition (The term ‘Eastern’ here indicates that portion of the Church with a particular historical connection to the ancient Church of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.)

The topic of the Eastern Catholic Churches was also closely related to the topic of ecumenism. In fact, some of the preliminary material for Orientalium Ecclesiarum was contained in an early Vatican II draft dedicated to the topic of unity with Eastern Christians.

Given that the Eastern Catholic Churches could at times be a delicate topic for dialogue with the Orthodox, the Secretariat for Christian Unity decided that the subject of these communities would not be part of the Decree on Ecumenism. Rather, the Council — by means of various commissions — would decide to dedicate a specific document to the Eastern Catholic Churches. This desire to honor the Eastern tradition was in continuity with the teaching of Pope Leo XIII’s 1894 encyclical Orientalium Dignitas, which rejected the practice of imposing Latin liturgical rites upon Eastern Catholics.

One of the early Council drafts, aimed at fostering unity with the Orthodox, manifested veneration for the spiritual, liturgical and theological traditions of the East. Several Council Fathers, particularly of the Melkite rite, used the Council debate on this text as an opportunity to express their desires that the Church might appear as less centralized and less Latin in character, so as to better embrace Eastern Christians — both those within the Catholic communion and those outside of it.

Bishop Elias Zoghby, the Patriarchal Vicar of the Melkites for Egypt and an outspoken voice for Orthodox-Catholic ecumenism, asserted that the Eastern Churches, founded by the Apostles and their immediate disciples, are just as much Churches as the Latin Church in the West. He expressed the fear that, without the proper change of attitude, the distinctive identity of Eastern Orthodoxy might be dissolved in ‘Latinism.’ He observed how the Eastern Catholic patriarchs were at that moment being “drowned in this imposing assembly and disappearing behind the sacred purple of the hundred cardinals.” Bishop Elias’ choice to speak in French, rather than the customary Latin, emphasized all the more his desire to counter a perceived tendency toward Latinization on the part of the Church.

With these and other such statements, the representatives of the Eastern Catholic Churches recognized and exercised their special role in the Church. The Melkite Patriarch Maximos IV Sayegh — another outspoken voice for Catholic-Orthodox ecumenism who also spoke in French — stated during the debate on Ecclesiarum Orientalis that these Churches could speak for those who were “absent,” referring to the Eastern Orthodox.

Still another Melkite bishop, Archbishop Joseph Tawil of Damascus, argued that the Eastern Catholic Churches would never reach their fullness within the Catholic Church, unless these Churches were considered, not just for what they are, but also for what they represent — that is, the Orthodox Churches not yet united. He voiced his opinion that, in the early draft of the document on the unity of the Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches were given a “temporary status,” as if they were an “ecclesiastical third world … neither Latin nor Eastern.” To the contrary, he proclaimed the special ecumenical vocation of these Churches, which for the Orthodox are a kind of “mirror,” in which they might see and hear how matters would be for them if they were united to the Catholic Church.

Archbishop Joseph’s forceful words underscored both the distinctive identity of Eastern Catholic Churches and also the broader significance of these Churches for the universal Church as a whole. The Council’s commitment to respect and foster the particular identities of these communities would be a manifestation of the Catholic Church’s earnestness in accepting the entire riches of the Eastern tradition — the Orthodox included — into an ecclesial communion that possessed unity and at the same embraced the diversity of apostolic traditions.

The commission for the Eastern Churches, and later the Council as a whole, would answer these desires to appreciate the Eastern tradition, and the Eastern Catholic Churches in particular, with a draft that was first distributed to the Council Fathers in May 1963. The draft — along with the final text of Orientalium Ecclesiarum — manifests the Church’s awareness of the singular role of the Eastern Catholic Churches in the task of fostering Christian unity, especially with the other Eastern Churches, through their prayer, example, faithfulness to the ancient Eastern tradition, and deeper mutual knowledge and collaboration with separated brethren.

Despite being distinct in scope from the Council’s Decree on Ecumenism, the Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches manifests a vision of the Church that paves the way for greater unity among all Christians, in line with the perspective outlined in Lumen Gentium and Unitatis Redintegratio. Orientalium Ecclesiarum teaches that the Catholic Church, united “by the same faith, the same sacraments and the same government,” possess a variety of rites — a fact that “in no way harms its unity [but] manifests it…” The decree further affirms the right of the Eastern Churches to govern themselves in keeping with their own ancient disciplines.

In addition to this acknowledgment of the rightful autonomy of the Eastern Catholic Churches, the conciliar text goes further to exhort the faithful to conserve and promote the Eastern traditions. The decree goes on to specify the Church’s respect for the Eastern traditions with a section on the ancient figure of the patriarch, and with a renewed recognition of the ancient Eastern practices with regard to the sacraments and worship.

During the Council’s debate on the draft for the decree, some of the Council Fathers were unhappy. They felt that the text did not give sufficient attention to the distinctive identity of the Eastern Churches, or that it did not resolve some of the complex issues regarding the different rites in the Church. Still, the vast majority of Council Fathers were happy with the draft and it was approved with few adjustments. The archbishop of Akka, Israel — the future Melkite Patriarch Maximos V Hakim —speaking in the name of more than 70 Council Fathers, from both the East and West, expressed his pleasure with the text and stated that the Council Fathers should approve it, with the changes they might propose. While recognizing that the text was not ideal, he cited the Arab proverb: “Only God is perfect.”

Regardless of such perceived imperfection, the Patriarch — along with the other Council Fathers — came to realize that the decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches constituted an important, if modest, portion of the Council’s teaching. By showing the Council’s appreciation for the unique and special identity of these ancient communities, the Church could show herself to be a mother who embraces all authentic traditions and cultures, and in which all Christians and peoples might find a home.