APPENDIX II
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY
GUIDELINES FOR ADMISSION TO THE EUCHARIST
BETWEEN THE CHALDEAN CHURCH
AND THE ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST
Given the great distress of many Chaldean and Assyrian faithful, in their motherland and
in the diaspora, impeding for many of them a normal sacramental life according to their own
tradition, and in the ecumenical context of the bilateral dialogue between the Catholic Church
and the Assyrian Church of the East, the request has been made to provide for admission to the
Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East. This request has
first been studied by the Joint Committee for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church
and the Assyrian Church of the East. The present guidelines subsequently have been elaborated
by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, in agreement with the Congregation
for the Doctrine of Faith and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
1. Pastoral necessity
The request for admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the
Assyrian Church of the East is connected with the particular geographical and social situation
in which their faithful are actually living. Due to various and sometimes dramatic circumstances,
many Assyrian and Chaldean faithful left their motherlands and moved to the Middle East,
Scandinavia, Western Europe, Australia and Northern America. As there cannot be a priest for
every local community in such a widespread diaspora, numerous Chaldean and Assyrian faithful
are confronted with a situation of pastoral necessity with regard to the administration of
sacraments. Official documents of the Catholic Church provide special regulations for such
situations, namely the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, can. 671, §2-§3 and the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms of Ecumenism, n. 123.
2. Ecumenical rapprochement
The request is also connected with the ongoing process of ecumenical rapprochement
between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East. With the 'Common
Christological Declaration', signed in 1994 by Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV,
the main dogmatic problem between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church has been
resolved. As a consequence, the ecumenical rapprochement between the Chaldean Church and
the Assyrian Church of the East also entered a further phase of development. On 29 November
1996 Patriarch Mar Raphaël Bidawid and Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV signed a list of common
proposals with a view to the re-establishment of full ecclesial unity among both historical heirs
of the ancient Church of the East. On 15 August 1997 this program was approved by their
respective Synods and confirmed in a 'Joint Synodal Decree'. Supported by their respective
Synods, both Patriarchs approved a further series of initiatives to foster the progressive
restoration of their ecclesial unity. Both the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity support this process.
3. The Anaphora of Addai and Mari
The principal issue for the Catholic Church in agreeing to this request, related to the
question of the validity of the Eucharist celebrated with the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, one
of the three Anaphoras traditionally used by the Assyrian Church of the East. The Anaphora of
Addai and Mari is notable because, from time immemorial, it has been used without a recitation
of the Institution Narrative. As the Catholic Church considers the words of the Eucharistic
Institution a constitutive and therefore indispensable part of the Anaphora or Eucharistic Prayer,
a long and careful study was undertaken of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, from a historical,
liturgical and theological perspective, at the end of which the Congregation for the Doctrine of
Faith on January 17th, 2001 concluded that this Anaphora can be considered valid. H.H. Pope
John Paul II has approved this decision. This conclusion rests on three major arguments.
In the first place, the Anaphora of Addai and Mari is one of the most ancient Anaphoras,
dating back to the time of the very early Church; it was composed and used with the clear
intention of celebrating the Eucharist in full continuity with the Last Supper and according to the
intention of the Church; its validity was never officially contested, neither in the Christian East
nor in the Christian West.
Secondly, the Catholic Church recognizes the Assyrian Church of the East as a true
particular Church, built upon orthodox faith and apostolic succession. The Assyrian Church of
the East has also preserved full Eucharistic faith in the presence of our Lord under the species
of bread and wine and in the sacrificial character of the Eucharist. In the Assyrian Church of the
East, though not in full communion with the Catholic Church, are thus to be found "true
sacraments, and above all, by apostolic succession, the priesthood and the Eucharist" (U.R., n.
15). Secondly, the Catholic Church recognizes the Assyrian Church of the East as a true
particular Church, built upon orthodox faith and apostolic succession. The Assyrian Church of
the East has also preserved full Eucharistic faith in the presence of our Lord under the species
of bread and wine and in the sacrificial character of the Eucharist. In the Assyrian Church of the
East, though not in full communion with the Catholic Church, are thus to be found "true
sacraments, and above all, by apostolic succession, the priesthood and the Eucharist" (U.R., n.
15).
Finally, the words of Eucharistic Institution are indeed present in the Anaphora of Addai
and Mari, not in a coherent narrative way and ad litteram, but rather in a dispersed euchological
way, that is, integrated in successive prayers of thanksgiving, praise and intercession.
4. Guidelines for admission to the Eucharist
Considering the liturgical tradition of the Assyrian Church of the East, the doctrinal
clarification regarding the validity of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, the contemporary context
in which both Assyrian and Chaldean faithful are living, the appropriate regulations which are
foreseen in official documents of the Catholic Church, and the process of rapprochement between
the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, the following provision is made:
1. When necessity requires, Assyrian faithful are permitted to participate and to receive Holy
Communion in a Chaldean celebration of the Holy Eucharist; in the same way, Chaldean faithful
for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister, are permitted
to participate and to receive Holy Communion in an Assyrian celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
2. In both cases, Assyrian and Chaldean ministers celebrate the Holy Eucharist according to the
liturgical prescriptions and customs of their own tradition.
3. When Chaldean faithful are participating in an Assyrian celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the
Assyrian minister is warmly invited to insert the words of the Institution in the Anaphora of
Addai and Mari, as allowed by the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East.
4. The above considerations on the use of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari and the present
guidelines for admission to the Eucharist, are intended exclusively in relation to the Eucharistic
celebration and admission to the Eucharist of the faithful from the Chaldean Church and the
Assyrian Church of the East, in view of the pastoral necessity and ecumenical context mentioned
above.
Rome, July 20th, 2001
[L’Osservatore Romano English Edition, N. 44 (1716) 31 October 2001, 4]
ADMISSION TO THE EUCHARIST IN SITUATIONS OF PASTORAL NECESSITY
PROVISION BETWEEN THE CHALDEAN CHURCH
AND THE ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity recently issued a document entitled “Guidelines for Admission to the Eucharist between the Assyrian Church of the East and the
Chaldean Church”. This document has been elaborated in agreement with the Congregation for
the Doctrine of Faith and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. The purpose of the article
at hand is to clarify the context, the content and the practical application of this provision.
1. The Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East
Since the very early times of Christian missionary activity, a flourishing local Church
developed in Mesopotamia or Persia. As this Church was situated outside the eastern borders of
the Roman Empire, it became commonly called the “Church of the East”. In 1552, after a series
of individual conversions of bishops or provisional unions, part of the “Church of the East”
entered into full communion with the Apostolic See of Rome. Since then, the particular Church
in full communion with Rome has usually been called the “Chaldean Church”, while the other
particular Church took the name of “Assyrian Church of the East”. Both particular Churches,
however, still share the same theological, liturgical and spiritual tradition; they both celebrate the
Sacraments or Sacred Mysteries according to the East-Syriac tradition.
On November 11th, 1994 Pope John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV, Patriarch of the Assyrian
Church of the East, signed a Common Christological Declaration1. This Declaration removed the
main doctrinal obstacle between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East. Both
Church leaders declared: “Whatever our christological divergences have been, we experience
ourselves united in the confession of the same faith in the Son of God who became man so that
we might become children of God by his grace. We wish from now on to witness together to this
faith in the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, proclaiming it in appropriate ways to our
contemporaries, so that the world may believe in the Gospel of salvation. (…) Living by this faith
and these sacraments, it follows as a consequence that the particular Catholic churches and the
particular Assyrian churches can recognise each other as sister Churches.”
In their Common Christological Declaration, Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Mar Dinkha
IV also pledged themselves “to do everything possible to dispel the obstacles of the past which
still prevent the attainment of full communion between our Churches, so that we can better
respond to the Lord’s call for the unity of his own, a unity which has of course to be expressed
visibly”. For this purpose they decided to establish a Joint Committee for theological dialogue
between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East. This Joint Committee started
its regular activities in 1995; during its annual meetings, it mainly dealt with questions of
sacramental theology, in view of a future “Common Statement on Sacramental Life”. The
Common Christological Declaration also paved the way for a process of ecumenical
rapprochement between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East. Since 1994
Mar Dinkha IV and Mar Raphael I Bidawid, Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, supported by their
respective Synods, approved several initiatives to foster the progressive re-establishment of
ecclesial unity between their particular Churches. This process is supported by both the
Congregation for the Oriental Churches and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian
Unity.
Nowadays, many Chaldean and Assyrian faithful are living in a widespread diaspora. Due
to various and sometimes dramatic circumstances, they left their motherlands (Iraq, Iran, Turkey)
and moved towards the West. The great majority of the Assyrian faithful now lives in the Middle
East, Scandinavia, Western Europe, Australia and North America; only a small minority remains
in the motherlands. Although a majority of Chaldean faithful still lives in Iraq, about one third
of them moved to the Middle East, Europe and North America. Both the Chaldean and the
Assyrian Church are thus confronted, in various parts of the world, with a similar pastoral
necessity: namely that many faithful cannot receive the sacraments from a minister of their own
Church.
Given the great distress of many Chaldean and Assyrian faithful, in their motherlands as
well as in the diaspora, impeding for many of them a normal sacramental life according to their
own tradition, and in the ecumenical context of the bilateral dialogue between the Catholic
Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, the request has been made of a pastoral arrangement
for admission to the Eucharist, when necessity requires, between the Assyrian Church of the East
and the Chaldean Church.
2. The Anaphora of Addai and Mari
The principal issue for the Catholic Church in agreeing to this request, related to the
question of the validity of the Eucharist celebrated with the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, one
of the three Anaphoras traditionally used by the Assyrian Church of the East2.
This particular Anaphora must have originated in Mesopotamia, possibly in the region
of Edessa. There is no hard evidence for the dating of its final redaction: some scholars situate
it about the year 200, others in the beginning of the 3th century, others in the course of the 3th century. The Assyrian Church of the East highly respects this Anaphora as an essential element
of the apostolic heritage they received from Addai and Mari, whom they venerate as two of the
72 disciples of Christ and as the founding missionaries of their particular Church. The Anaphora
of Addai and Mari, however, as reproduced in the oldest codices retrieved, as well as in the
uninterrupted liturgical practice of the Assyrian Church of the East, does not contain a coherent
Institution Narrative. For many years, scholars discussed which version of the Anaphora of Addai
and Mari might have been the original one. Some scholars argued that the original formula of the
Anaphora of Addai and Mari was longer and did contain an Institution Narrative. Other scholars
are convinced that the Anaphora of Addai and Mari did not contain a coherent Institution
Narrative and that the short version is consequently the original one. Nowadays, most scholars
argue that it is highly probable that the second hypothesis is the right one. Anyhow, this historical
question cannot be resolved with absolute certainty, due to the scarcity or absence of
contemporary sources. The validity of the Eucharist celebrated with the Anaphora of Addai and
Mari, therefore, should not be based on historical but on doctrinal arguments.
The Catholic Church considers the words of the Institution as a constitutive part of the
Anaphora or Eucharistic Prayer. The Council of Florence stated “The form of this sacrament are
the words of the Saviour with which he effected this sacrament. A priest speaking in the person
of Christ effects this sacrament. For, in virtue of those words, the substance of bread is changed
into the body of Christ and the substance of wine into his blood” (D.H. 1321). The same Council
of Florence also characterised the words of the Institution as “the form of words [forma
verborum] which the holy Roman Church […] has always been wont to use [semper uti
consuevit] in the consecration of the Lord’s body and blood” (D.H. 1352), without prejudice to
the possibility of some variation in their articulation by the Church. Although not having any
authority as to the substance of the sacraments, the Church does have the power to determine
their concrete shaping, regarding both their sacramental sign (materia) and their words of
administration (forma) (cf. CCEO, can. 669). Hence the doctrinal question about the validity of
the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, when used in its short version without a coherent Institution
Narrative. Do the words of administration (forma) correspond to the conditions for validity, as
requested by the Catholic Church? To answer this question, three major arguments have to be
taken into due consideration.
In the first place, the Anaphora of Addai and Mari is one of the most ancient Eucharistic
Prayers, dating back to the time of the very early Church and the first liturgical regulations. It was
composed and used with the clear intention of celebrating the Eucharist in full continuity with
the Last Supper, in obedience to the command of the Lord, and according to the intention of the
Church. The absence of a coherent Institution Narrative represents, indeed, an exception in
comparison with Byzantine and Roman traditions, as developed in the 4th and 5th century. This
exception, however, may be due to its very early origin and to the later isolation of the Assyrian
Church of the East. The validity of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, in fact, was never officially
contested.
The Assyrian Church of the East also uses two other Eucharistic Anaphoras, which are
some centuries more recent: the Anaphora of Nestorius, reserved to five liturgical occasions, and
the Anaphora ofTheodore of Mopsuestia, used from the beginning of the liturgical year till Palm
Sunday, for approximately sixteen weeks. The Anaphora of Addai and Mari, however, is used
during the longest and most important period of the liturgical year, which goes from Palm
Sunday till the end of the liturgical year and covers about two hundred days. Moreover, the use
of these three Anaphoras is not free, as in the Latin tradition, but prescribed by the liturgical
calendar. In conscience of faith, the Assyrian Church of the East was always convinced to
celebrate the Eucharist validly and so to perform in its fullness what Jesus Christ asked his
disciples to do. She expressed this conscience of faith, whether using the Anaphora of Theodore
of Mopsuestia, the Anaphora of Nestorius or the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, independent from
the fact that only the first two Anaphoras, of later origin, contain the Institution narrative.It
should be added that, for the period of the Catholic Patriarchate under Patriarch Sulaka
(1551-1662), no document exists to prove that the Church of Rome insisted on the insertion of
an Institution narrative into the Anaphora of Addai and Mari.
The Assyrian Church of the East also practices the so called sacrament or mystery (Rasà)
of Holy Leaven. From times immemorial, the Assyrian tradition relates that from the bread Jesus
took in his hands, which He blessed, broke and gave to his disciples, He gave two pieces to St.
John. Jesus asked St. John to eat one piece and to carefully keep the other one. After Jesus' death,
St. John dipped that piece of bread into the blood that proceeded from Jesus' side. Hence the
name of “Holy Leaven”, given to this consecrated bread, dipped into the blood of Jesus. Until
this day, Holy Leaven has been kept and renewed annually in the Assyrian Church of the East.
The local bishop renews it every year on Holy Thursday, mixing a remainder of the old Leaven
within the new one. This is distributed to all parishes of his diocese, to be used during one year
in each bread, specially prepared by the priest before the Eucharist. No priest is allowed to
celebrate Eucharist using eucharistic bread without Holy Leaven. This tradition of the sacrament
or mystery of Holy Leaven, which precedes the actual Eucharistic celebration, is certainly to be
seen as a visible sign of historic and symbolic continuity between the present Eucharistic
celebration and the institution of the Eucharist by Jesus.
Secondly, the Catholic Church recognises the Assyrian Church of the East as a true
particular Church, built upon orthodox faith and apostolic succession. The Assyrian Church of
the East also preserved full Eucharistic faith in the presence of our Lord under the species of
bread and wine and in the sacrificial character of the Eucharist. In the Assyrian Church of the
East, though not in full communion with the Catholic Church, are thus to be found “true
sacraments, and above all, by apostolic succession, the priesthood and the Eucharist, whereby
they are still joined to us in closest intimacy” (U.R., n. 15).
Finally, it must be observed that the eastern and western Eucharistic Anaphoras, while
expressing the same mystery, have different theological, ritual and linguistic traditions. The
words of the Eucharistic Institution are indeed present in the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, not
in a coherent way and ad litteram, but rather in a dispersed euchological way, that is, integrated
in prayers of thanksgiving, praise and intercession. All these elements constitute a
“quasi-narrative” of the Eucharistic Institution. In the central part of the Anaphora, together with
the Epiclesis, explicit references are made to the eucharistic Body and Blood of Jesus Christ (“O
my Lord, in thy manifold and ineffable mercies, make a good and gracious remembrance for all
the upright and just fathers who were pleasing before thee, in the commemoration of the body
and blood of thy Christ, which we offer to thee upon the pure and holy altar, as thou hast taught
us”), to the life-giving mystery of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, which is actually
commemorated and celebrated (“that all the inhabitants of the world may know thee ... and we
also, O my Lord, thy unworthy, frail and miserable servants who are gathered and stand before
thee, and have received by tradition the example which is from thee, rejoicing and glorifying and
exalting and commemorating and celebrating this great and awesome mystery of the passion and
death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ”), to the eucharistic offering for the forgiveness
of the sins, to the eschatological dimension of the eucharistic celebration and to the Lord’s
command to 'do this in memory of me' (“And let thy Holy Spirit come, O my Lord, and rest upon
this offering of thy servants, and bless it and sanctify it that it my be to us, O my Lord, for the
pardon of sins, and for the forgiveness of shortcomings, and for the great hope of the
resurrection from the dead, and for new life in the kingdom of heaven with all who have been
pleasing before thee”). So the words of the Institution are not absent in the Anaphora of Addai
and Mari, but explicitly mentioned in a dispersed way, from the beginning to the end, in the most
important passages of the Anaphora. It is also clear that the passages cited above express the full
conviction of commemorating the Lord’s paschal mystery, in the strong sense of making it
present; that is, the intention to carry out in practice precisely what Christ established by his
words and actions in instituting the Eucharist.
A long and careful study was undertaken of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, from a
theological, liturgical and historical perspective, at the end of which the Congregation for the
Doctrine of Faith on January 17th, 2001 concluded that this Anaphora can be considered valid.
Pope John Paul II subsequently approved this decision.
3. Pastoral provision
The Catholic Church provides special regulations for situations of pastoral necessity, such
as those the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Church face today. The Code of
Canons of the Eastern Churches, can. 671, §2 and §3, states: “If necessity requires it or genuine
spiritual advantage suggests it and provided that the danger of error or indifferentism is
avoided, it is permitted for Catholic Christian faithful, for whom it is physically or morally
impossible to approach a Catholic minister, to receive the sacraments of penance, the Eucharist
and anointing of the sick from non-Catholic ministers, in whose Churches these sacraments are
valid.( …) Likewise Catholic ministers licitly administer the sacraments of penance, the
Eucharist and anointing of the sick to Christian faithful of Eastern Churches, who do not have
full communion with the Catholic Church, if they ask for them on their own and are properly
disposed”. The Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms of Ecumenism, n. 123 and
125, gives the same regulations.
This provision of the Eastern Catholic Church Law and the Directory for the Application
of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism, can henceforth be applied between the Chaldean Church
and the Assyrian Church of the East. When necessity requires, Assyrian faithful are permitted
to receive Holy Communion in a Chaldean celebration of the Holy Eucharist; in the same way,
Chaldean faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic
minister, are permitted to receive Holy Communion in an Assyrian celebration of the Holy
Eucharist. In both cases, Assyrian and Chaldean ministers should continue to celebrate the Holy
Eucharist according to the liturgical prescriptions and customs of their own tradition, especially
regarding the use of the Anaphora (cf. CCEO, can. 674, §2).
When Chaldean faithful are participating in an Assyrian celebration of the Holy Eucharist,
the minister of the Assyrian Church is warmly invited to insert the words of the Institution in the
Anaphora of Addai and Mari. This possibility already exists in the Assyrian Church of the East.
Indeed, the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East, assembled in 1978 in Baghdad,
offered ministers in the Assyrian Church the option of reciting the words of the Institution in the
Anaphora of Addai and Mari. Although this option does not affect the validity of the Anaphora
of Addai and Mari, it might have a particular relevance from a liturgical, as well as an
ecumenical viewpoint. From a liturgical viewpoint, this might be an appropriate means to bring
the present use of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari into line with the general usage in every
Eucharistic Prayer both in the Christian East and in the Christian West. From an ecumenical
viewpoint, it might be an appropriate expression of fraternal respect for members of other
Churches who receive Holy Communion in the Assyrian Church of the East and who are used,
according to the theological and canonical tradition of their proper Church, to hear the recitation
of the words of the Institution in every Eucharistic Prayer.
It should be noticed, that the present considerations on the use of the Anaphora of Addai
and Mari and the guidelines for admission to the Eucharist, are exclusively concerned with the
admission to the Eucharist between the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Church.
The Anaphora of Addai and Mari pertains to the liturgical patrimony and ecclesial identity of the
Assyrian Church of the East, since time immemorial, and should remain so. The Assyrian Church
of the East cherished and respectfully transmitted this Anaphora from age to age, avoiding any
alteration or adaptation in its recitation, out of respect for its venerable origin, traditionally
related to the apostolic period. Because each particular Church celebrates the sacraments
according to its own traditions, principles and norms, it would be liturgically improper to transfer
particular elements of one liturgical tradition into another liturgical tradition. Liturgical
traditions, indeed, are like languages, having their particular vocabulary and grammar; essential
elements from one liturgical tradition cannot be transferred into another without taking from the
particularity of the first and harming the coherence of the second.
Conclusion
The present Guidelines have been transmitted to both H.H. Mar Dinkha IV, Patriarch of
the Assyrian Church of the East and H.B. Mar Raphaël I Bidawid, Patriarch of the Chaldean
Church. The promulgation of this provision between the Assyrian Church of the East and the
Chaldean Church belongs to the competence of both particular Churches and their respective
authorities (cf. CCEO, cann. 670, §1; 671, §4.5). Taking into consideration concrete
circumstances and conditions, they will have to establish particular procedures and provide
appropriate pastoral means to implement it.
This provision for admission to the Eucharist in situations of pastoral necessity is not to
be equated with full Eucharistic communion between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian
Church of the East. Although closely related to one another in matters of faith and sacramental
life, both particular Churches are not yet in full communion. They are still traveling, with hope
and courage, towards that blessed day when full and visible communion will be attained and
when it will be possible to celebrate together in peace the Holy Eucharist of the Lord. As Pope
John Paul II wrote in his Encyclical Letter Ut Unum Sint: “From this basic but partial unity it
is now necessary to advance towards the visible unity which is required and sufficient and which
is manifested in a real and concrete way, so that the Churches may truly become a sign of that
full communion in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church which will be expressed in the
common celebration of the Eucharist” (UUS, n. 78).
ENDNOTES
-
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Information Service, 88 (1995/I) 2-3.
Back
to text
-
Cf A. GELSTON, The Eucharistic Prayer of Addai and Mari (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992) 48-55.
Back
to text
|