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''Sui iuris'' ( or ) also spelled ''sui juris'', is a
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
phrase that literally means "of one's own right". It is used in both secular law and the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
's
canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...
. The term church ''sui iuris'' is used in the Catholic '' Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEO) to denote the autonomous churches in Catholic communion. The Catholic Church consists of 24 churches, including the
Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...
and 23 Eastern Catholic churches.


Etymology

The Latin ''sui iuris'' (the individual words meaning 'self' and 'law') corresponds to the Greek 'αὐτόνομος', from which the English word
autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one' ...
is derived.


Secular law


Personal

In civil law, the phrase ''sui juris'' indicates legal competence, and refers to an adult who has the capacity to manage his or her own affairs. It is opposed to ''alieni juris'', meaning one such as a minor or mentally disabled person who is legally incompetent and under the control of another. It also indicates a person capable of suing and/or being sued in a legal proceeding in his own name ('' in personam'') without the need of an ''
ad litem ''Ad litem'' (Latin: "for the suit") is a term used in law to refer to the appointment by a court of one party to act in a lawsuit on behalf of another party such as a child or an incapacitated adult, who is deemed incapable of representing them ...
'', that is, a court appointed representative, acting on behalf of a defendant, who is deemed to be incapable of representing himself.


Canon law

Church documents such as the '' Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' apply the Latin term ''sui iuris'' to the particular Churches that are together the Catholic Church, the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and those in communion with it. By far the largest of the ''sui iuris'' churches is the
Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...
. Over that particular church, the
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
exercises his papal authority, and the authority that in other particular churches belongs to a
Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in c ...
. He has, therefore, been referred to also as Patriarch of the West. The other particular Churches are called
Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
, each of which, if large enough, has its own patriarch or other chief hierarch, with authority over all the bishops of that particular Church or rite. The same term is applied also to missions that lack enough clergy to be set up as apostolic prefectures but are for various reasons given autonomy and so are not part of any diocese, apostolic vicariate or apostolic prefecture. In 2004, there were eleven such missions: three in the Atlantic,
Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...
, Turks and Caicos, and
Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...
, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; two in the Pacific, Funafuti (
Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northea ...
), and Tokelau; and six in central Asia,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
, Baku (
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
),
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
,
Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
,
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...
, and
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
.


Examples of Catholic ecclesiastical use

* "The
Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
are not 'experimental' or 'provisional' communities; these are ''sui iuris'' Churches; One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, with the firm canonical base of the ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' promulgated by Pope John Paul II." * "The hierarchy of the Byzantine Metropolitan Church ''Sui iuris'' of Pittsburgh, in tile United States of America, gathered in assembly as the Council of Hierarchy of said Church, in conformity with the ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'', ..." * "It would likewise be helpful to prepare an Empathetical Directory that would 'take into account the special character of the Eastern Churches, so that the biblical and liturgical emphasis as well as the traditions of each Church ''Sui Iuris'' in patrology, hagiography and even iconography are highlighted in conveying the catechesis' (CCEO, can. 621, §2)"
John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
* "On behalf of the
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
Catholics I would like to express our gratitude to the Holy Father (i.e., the Pope) for his prayers and for all that he has done for us: ... and for the creation of the new 'missioni ''sui iuris''' in
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...
, in a special way — for the trust placed on the 'Minima Societas Jesu', to which he entrusted the mission in
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
." * "... e rays originating in the one
Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage ...
, the sun of justice which illumines every man (cf. Jn), ... received by each individual Church ''sui iuris'', has value and infinite dynamism and constitutes a part of the universal heritage of the Church." "Instruction for Applying the Liturgical Prescriptions of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches", issued January 6, 1996 by the Congregation for the Eastern Churches.


Categories of ''sui iuris'' churches

According to CCEO, the Oriental Catholic churches ''sui iuris'' are of four categories.


Patriarchal churches

A patriarchal church is a full-grown form of an Eastern Catholic church. It is 'a community of the Christian faithful joined together by' a Patriarchal hierarchy. The Patriarch together with the synod of bishops has the legislative, judicial and administrative powers within jurisdictional territory of the patriarchal church, without prejudice to those powers reserved, in the common law, to the Roman pontiff (CCEO 55-150). Among the catholic oriental churches the following churches are of patriarchal status: #
Coptic Catholic Church The Coptic Catholic Church ( ar, الكنيسة القبطية الكاثوليكية; la, Ecclesia Catholica Coptorum) is an Eastern Catholic particular church in full communion with the Catholic Church. Along with the Ethiopian Catholic ...
(1741):
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...
, (163,849), Egypt # Maronite Church (union re-affirmed 1182): Bkerke, (3,105,278), Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Argentina, Brazil, United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico # Syriac Catholic Church (1781):
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
, (131,692), Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United States and Canada, Venezuela #
Armenian Catholic Church , native_name_lang = hy , image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 260px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illumina ...
(1742):
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
, (375,182), Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Palestine, Ukraine, France, Greece, Latin America, Argentina, Romania, United States, Canada, Eastern Europe #
Chaldean Catholic Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...
(1552):
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
, (418,194), Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, United States # Melkite Greek Catholic Church (definitively 1726):
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
, (1,346,635), Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Jerusalem, Brazil, United States, Canada, Mexico, Iraq, Egypt and Sudan, Kuwait, Australia, Venezuela, Argentina


Major archiepiscopal churches

Major archiepiscopal churches are the oriental churches, governed by the major archbishops being assisted by the respective synod of bishops. These churches also have almost the same rights and obligations of Patriarchal Churches. A major archbishop is the
metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...
of a see determined or recognized by the Supreme authority of the Church, who presides over an entire Eastern Church ''sui iuris'' that is not distinguished with the patriarchal title. What is stated in common law concerning patriarchal Churches or patriarchs is understood to be applicable to major archiepiscopal churches or major archbishops, unless the common law expressly provides otherwise or it is evident from the nature of the matter" (CCEO.151, 152). Following are the Major Archiepiscopal Churches: #
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church possessing self-governance under the Code of ...
(1930):
Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
, (412,640), India, United Arab Emirates, United States of America # Syro-Malabar Church (1559):
Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
, (3,902,089), India, Middle East, Europe and America # Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic (1697): Blaj, (776,529), Romania, United States of America # Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (1595):
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...
, (4,223,425), Ukraine, Poland, United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Germany and Scandinavia, France, Brazil, Argentina


Metropolitan churches

A ''sui iuris'' church which is governed by a metropolitan is called a metropolitan church ''sui iuris''. "A Metropolitan Church ''sui iuris'' is presided over by the Metropolitan of a determined see who has been appointed by the Roman Pontiff and is assisted by a council of hierarchs according to the norm of law" (CCEO. 155§1). The Catholic metropolitan churches are the following: # Ethiopian Catholic Church (1846):
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
, (208,093), Ethiopia, Eritrea #
Ruthenian Catholic Church Ruthenian Catholic Church may refer to: * Ruthenian Uniate Church, a historical Eastern Catholic jurisdiction during the early modern period * Belarusian Greek Catholic Church, representing modern branch of the Ruthenian Uniate Church, in Belarus * ...
(1646) – a ''sui juris'' metropolia, an eparchy, and an apostolic exarchate: United States (594,465), Canada, Ukraine, Czech Republic. # Slovak Greek Catholic Church (1646): Prešov, (243,335), Slovakia. #
Eritrean Catholic Church The Eritrean Catholic Church ( la, Ecclesia Catholica Erythraea; ti, ኤርትራዊት ቤተ ክርስቲያን, translit=Chiesa Eritrea) is a metropolitan ''sui iuris'' Eastern particular church headquartered in Asmara, Eritrea. It was esta ...
(2015):
Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The c ...
, Eritrea # Hungarian Greek Catholic Church (2015) –
Hajdúdorog Hajdúdorog () is a town in Hajdú-Bihar county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. In 2001, 80.9% of the population of Hajdúdorog was Greek Catholic. It is located at . Hajdúdorog had a population of 8797 in 2014 (down from ...
, (290,000), Hungary


Other ''sui iuris'' churches

Other than the above-mentioned three forms of ''sui iuris'' churches there are some other ''sui iuris'' ecclesiastical communities. It is "a Church ''sui iuris'' which is neither patriarchal nor major archiepiscopal nor Metropolitan, and is entrusted to a hierarch who presides over it in accordance with the norm of common law and the particular law established by the Roman Pontiff" (CCEO. 174). The following churches are of this juridical status: #
Albanian Greek Catholic Church The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ( la, Ecclesiae Graecae Catholico Albanica; sq, Kisha Katolike Bizantine Shqiptare), also known as the Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church, is an autonomous ('' sui iuris'' in Latin) Byzantine Rite particular ...
(1628) – apostolic administration: (3,510), Albania # Belarusian Greek Catholic Church (1596) – no established hierarchy at present: (10,000), Belarus # Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church (1861) – apostolic exarchate:
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
, (10,107), Bulgaria #
Byzantine Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia sr, Гркокатоличка црква у Хрватској и Србији , native_name_lang = sh , image = Coat of arms of Đura Džudžar.svg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = ...
(1611) – an eparchy and an apostolic exarchate: Eparchy of Križevci for Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and
Byzantine Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia The Eparchy of San Nicola di Ruski Krstur ( sr, Крстурска гркокатоличка епархија) is a Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Serbia. It was foun ...
; (21,480) + (22,653) # Greek Byzantine Catholic Church (1829) – two apostolic exarchates:
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
, (2,325), Greece, Turkey # Italo-Albanian Catholic Church (never separated) – two eparchies and a territorial abbacy: (63,240), Italy # Macedonian Greek Catholic Church (1918) – an eparchy:
Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
, (11,491), Republic of Macedonia #
Russian Greek Catholic Church The Russian Greek Catholic Church (russian: Российская греко-католическая церковь, ''Rossiyskaya greko-katolicheskaya tserkov; la, Ecclesia Graeca Catholica Russica''), Russian Byzantine Catholic Church or simply ...
(1905) – two apostolic exarchates, at present with no published hierarchs: Russia, China; currently about 20 parishes and communities scattered around the world, including five in Russia itself, answering to bishops of other jurisdictions


See also

* List of Latin legal terms *
List of Latin phrases __NOTOC__ This is a list of Wikipedia articles of Latin phrases and their translation into English. ''To view all phrases on a single, lengthy document, see: List of Latin phrases (full)'' The list also is divided alphabetically into twenty pag ...


References


Footnotes


Sources

* * Vere, Pete, & Michael Trueman, ''Surprised by Canon Law, Volume 2: More Questions Catholics Ask About Canon Law'' (Cincinnati, Ohio: Servant Books/St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2007) . * {{Cite book, editor-last=Nedungatt, editor-first=George, editor-link=George Nedungatt, title=A Guide to the Eastern Code: A Commentary on the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1fEkAQAAIAAJ, year=2002, location=Rome, publisher=Oriental Institute Press, isbn=9788872103364


External links


Papal Address to Bishops of Central Asia - 23 September 2001

Overview of the ''sui iuris'' status according to the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church


Latin legal terminology Latin religious words and phrases Canon law of the Catholic Church Catholic particular churches sui iuris Catholic canonical structures Catholic Church legal terminology