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In contrast Another response to this claim, others note that it such criticisms is not a dogmatic principle of the Church that liturgical traditions can neither be revived nor created. After all, there are whole services even within the Byzantine Rite which are not universally practiced (e.g., the [[molieben]]), so they must have been invented somewhere along the way rather than being part vast majority of the [[typikon]] when it first came into the form we now know it. Even then, the rites being used by Western Rite Orthodox Christians are not new, but mainly predate the [[Great Schism]].The ordinary of the [[Liturgy of St. Gregory]], for example, predates the schism. (Many devotions developed after the schism with which critics take issue are in fact paraliturgical.)
Fr. John Shaw Further, a number of ROCOR also argues the littlepre-known Liturgy of St. Peterschism texts (not simply the ordinary but the propers) have been fully restored and translated, a such as the [[liturgySarum Rite]] identical to that , a local use of the Byzantine [[Roman rite with ]] from the ancient Gregorian canon in its placepre-schismatic period[http://books.google.com/books?as_brr=1&id=cyUBAAAAQAAJ&dq=Rouen+Missal&jtp=615#PRA1-PR23, never fell out of use within OrthodoxyM1]. (The Old Believers and others celebrated historicity of thisclaim is disputed by modern Anglican scholars, explicitly endorsing however.[http://anglicansociety.org/corner/sarum_use.html]) Translations of the Sarum rite are currently utilized in [[ROCOR]] as well as the validity [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendarist]] [[Holy Synod of Milan|Milan Synod]], the Western canonlatter also having some Mozarabic rite communities. At presentAs well, the historicity Celtic and Ambrosian rites have been used on occasion by the [[Church of this assertion is not universally acceptedRussia|Moscow Patriarchate]].
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{{westernrite}}
The '''[[Western Rite]]''' in the Orthodox Church is not without its critics. Objections are made in regards to desire for liturgical uniformity within Orthodoxy and fears that the Western Rite vicariates or similar Western Rite practices have produced a para-ecclesiastic organization would produce division within the Church. Some question the sincerity of Western Rite parishes converts, just as all or mostly-convert groupssome question the [[conversion]]s of those within the Byzantine Rite. Finally, some complain about a lack of organic liturgical continuity for , or will not attend a Western Rite Eucharist. However, no Orthodox [[parish]] may deny the [[Eucharist]] to visiting faithful of the canonical Western Rite, regardless of their feelings about the concept of Western Rite troubles some Orthodoxy. There have been no [[schism]]s within the episcopacy of the Orthodox ChristiansChurch regarding the issue of Western Rite parishes.
==Overview==
Whether the Western Rite will survive grow in the its acceptance by Orthodox Church and be accepted by the majority Christians who follow the [[Byzantine ]] Rite remains yet to be seen. In the meantime, the Byzantine Rite [[bishop]]s Orthodox bishops who oversee Western Rite parishes—and many who oversee no Western Rite parishes—continue to declare their Western flocks to be true Orthodox Christians and regard them as fully in communion with the rest of the Church. On the other hand, some Byzantine Rite Orthodox Christians do not recognize the Orthodoxy of those in the Western Rite (despite their being under the jurisdiction of Byzantine Rite bishops with whom they themselves are in communion), and will not attend the [[Eucharist]] at Western Rite parishes, declaring them to be "Roman Catholics," "[[schism]]atics," or "reverse [[Uniates]]." However, no Orthodox [[parish]] may deny the Eucharist to visiting faithful of the canonical Western Rite, regardless of their feelings about the concept of Western Rite Orthodoxy. As yet, there are no schisms within the episcopacy of the Orthodox Church regarding the issue of Western Rite parishes.
==Byzantine only==
Some argue that there is only the Byzantine liturgical tradition can be viable within the Church. The argument's major weakness is that it ignores the wide liturgical variety characteristic of the first millennium of the Church's history. Many Orthodox Christians currently boast of the Church's liturgical homogeneity, claiming that, no matter where one might go in the Orthodox world, the [[liturgy]] will be familiar, even if it's in another language. However, their first millennium counterparts would have been incapable of making such a claim—even if only the Eastern liturgical tradition were taken into account. It wasn't until the 13th century that the tradition of the Great Church (i.e., [[Hagia Sophia (Constantinople)|Hagia Sophia]]) became normative for the whole of Orthodoxy.
==Divisiveness==
Another criticism is that the Western Rite is inherently divisive. Following different liturgical traditions than their neighboring Byzantine Rite Orthodox Christians, those using the Western Rite do not share liturgical unity with them and present an unfamiliar face to the majority of Orthodox Christians. Again, this argument is based on the relatively new notion of liturgical homogeneity. Likewise, divisive differences exist between the various uses of the Byzantine Rite itself, but these are dismissed by claiming that the Western Rite is much more different.
==An Orthodox Unia?==
Related to liturgical division, the question of ongoing administrative division has been raised. The situation of Western Orthodox parishes has been compared with the status of the autonomous [[Uniate]] churches under the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. For centuries, there have been hierarchical churches in [[full communion]] with and in subjection to the Vatican, but which the Pope allows to follow Byzantine liturgical customs and rules. The Uniates, despite usages that more closely resemble the majority of Orthodox Christians, share a common dogmatic requirement belief with Latin Rite Catholics. Analogously, the Western Rite Orthodox share the same faith as their Byzantine Rite Orthodox brethren.
However, unlike the [[Uniates]], Western Rite Orthodox congregations are not the result of large-scale ecclesiastical political machinations and [[schism]] but rather of small-scale genuine conversion to Orthodoxy by individuals and congregations. Also, Western Rite congregations all adhere to the same bishops as their Byzantine brethren; they do not constitute a separate church of their own, unlike the Byzantine Catholics ("Uniates") within Roman Catholicism. Criticism of the Western Rite based on its similarity with the Uniates has been called guilt by association—overplaying a superficial similarity of form. Because the ideas are analogous, the argument goes, they must therefore both be inauthentic developments. Yet the more firmly established criticisms of Uniatism usually have nothing to do with rite but rather with dogma, ecclesiology, and allegedly subversive missionary work.
==Conversion without conversion==
Another criticism often levelled leveled against the Western Rite is based on the mainly [[convert]] makeup of most of its parishes. The argument states that such Christians want to be Orthodox but "not too Orthodox," so they keep their familiar rites under a new bishop. The unstated assumption behind this argument, however, is similar to the argument against all non-Byzantine liturgical traditions: That Orthodoxy includes only the Byzantine Rite, and so if one wants to be truly Orthodox, one must also be Eastern. Again, history shows otherwise.
Additionally, this argument also fails to take into account the longstanding history of some of these parishes. For many of them, the Western Rite with an Orthodox Christian faith (though certainly sometimes outside canonical bounds) genuinely is the faith of their parents, grandparents , and great-grandparents. The argument fails to address the question of substance—that is, it does not address whether and why the Western Rite is or is not actually Orthodox.
It is an accident of history that the Western Rite is not yet firmly established again within the Orthodox Church. That most of its adherents are converts is not germane to the question of its Orthodoxy. One might level the same accusation at predominantly convert Byzantine Rite parishes, that they need to learn to give up everything familiar in order to become Orthodox, whether it's language, culture, or some other facet of life. Oddly enough, some have argued precisely that, saying, for instance, that English is incapable of expressing the Orthodox faith.
Finally, more historically minded criticisms of the Western Rite usually center around the idea that it is untenable to try to revive a liturgical tradition which was lost centuries ago when the West fell away from the [[Orthodox Church]]. This argument essentially states that, because the Western Rite died out in the Church, and because a continuous living tradition is a necessary element of liturgical practice, the Western Rite ought to be abandoned and only developments from the Byzantine Rite ought to be pursued.
Further, the now fairly well-known [[Liturgy of St. James]] once fell out of use throughout most of the Church and has now been revived in many places to be celebrated on [[October 23]].
Also special form of Roman Rite Divine Liturgy, the [[Liturgy Of St. Peter the Apostle]] was used with continuity in Holy [[Mount Athos]], and by some Russian [[Old Believers]].
==External links==
===Apologiae===
*From [http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/ westernorthodox.blogspot.com]:**[http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/2007/05/western-rite-is-not-reverse-uniatism.html The Western Rite is Not "Reverse Uniatism"]** [http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/2006/03/message-from-metropolitan-western-rite.html Met. PHILIP (Saliba)'s Promise]: Western Rite churches will not be Byzantized.**[http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/search/label/Anti-WR%20Criticism Dealing with Anti-WR Criticism], from the Western Orthodoxy blog.*From [http://www.westernorthodox.com/ www.westernorthodox.com]:** [http://www.westernorthodox.com/basil Comments on the Western Rite] by Bishop [[Basil (Essey) of Wichita]]** [http://www.westernorthodox.com/Lux-Occidentalis Lux Occidentalis (PDF)] ''The Orthodox Western Rite and the Liturgical Tradition of Western Orthodox Christianity, with reference to The Orthodox Missal, Saint Luke's Priory Press, Stanton, NJ, 1995'' by the Rev'd John Charles Connely** [http://www.westernorthodox.com/greekdenver Doctrinal Issues: Western Rite Orthodoxy], from the ''Diocesan News for Clergy and Laity'' (February 1995), Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver* [http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/write.htm Western Rite Orthodoxy: Its history, its validity, and its opportunity], by Annette Milkovich, including an interview with Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla, constituting a rough Western Rite "FAQ"* [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/ Occidentalis - A Weblog of Orthodox Catholic Christianity in the Western Rite tradition] (permission required)* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/sergius.html On the Question of Western Orthodoxy], by Patriarch [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow]] in a letter to [[Vladimir Lossky]]*[http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/2007/05/western-rite-is-not-reverse-uniatism.html The Western Rite is Not "Reverse Uniatism"]*[http://http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/search/label/Anti-WR%20Criticism Dealing with Anti-WR Criticism], from the Western Orthodoxy blog.
===Criticism===
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/westernrite.html The Western Rite], by Fr. [[Alexander Schmemann]]*From [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/index.html www.holy-trinity.org/modern]:** [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/schmemann.html Notes and Comments on the "Western Rite"], ibidby Fr.Alexander Schmemann** [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/news-encyclical.html News: Bishop Anthony Issues Encyclical on "Western Rite"]** [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/correspondence.html Correspondence on the Western Rite] between Bishop [[Anthony (Gergiannakis) of San Francisco]] and Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla** [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/ware.html Some Thoughts on the "Western Rite" In Orthodoxy], by Bishop [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia]]** [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/tsichlis.html The Western Rite - Some Final Comments], by Fr. [[Steven Peter Tsichlis]]** [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/johnson.html The "Western Rite": Is It Right for the Orthodox?], by Fr. Michael Johnson
[[Category:Western Rite]]
