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→Orientalium Ecclesiarum (Vatican II) and the Post-Council Period
===Union of Brest (1596)===
===Other Unions===
===''Orientalium Ecclesiarum '' (Vatican II) and the Post-Council Period===
''Orientalium Ecclesiarium'', the Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches, was promulgated at the Second Vatican Council by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964. This decree instructs Eastern Catholics to "preserve their legitimate liturgical rite" and was in many ways a move away from previous episodes of open Latinizations. The Eastern liturgical traditions, at this time often heavily Latinized, was affirmed by the Council. In situations where the Eastern Tradition was lost, it was to be reclaimed. An example of this is the practice of infant Chrismation and communion and the singing of the Divine Office (i.e. Vespers and Matins) which, largely lost in many Eastern Catholic Churches, was slowly reclaimed after the council.
The rights and privileges of Eastern Catholic patriarchs were also emphasized in this document. The Synod as a form of government is given specific autonomous powers to, depending on the Church and territory in question, establish eparchies (dioceses) and exarchates, nominate and transfer bishops, and to legislate other items such as the date for Easter, appropriate liturgical texts, and the formation of clerics.
