''Demandatam coelitus humilitati nostrae'' is an

apostolic constitution An apostolic constitution () is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the Pope.New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, pg. 57, footnote 36. By their nature, apostolic constitutions are addressed to the public. Generic constitutions use ...

promulgated by

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

on December 24, 1743, about the

Melkite Greek Catholic Church The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (, ''Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk''; ; ), also known as the Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catho ...

. It is addressed to the

Patriarch of Antioch The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

Cyril VI Tanas Patriarch Cyril VI Tanas, also known as Cyril VI of Antioch (1680, Damascus – January 10, 1760), became the first Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Alexandria and Jerusalem of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church following the schism o ...

and to all Melkite bishops under his

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

, and is generally not considered ''

ex cathedra Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

''. The subject of this apostolic constitution is the full preservation of the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.

Historical context

In the first part of the 18th century, many

liturgical latinisation Latinisation of liturgy refers to the process by which non- Latin Christian traditions, particularly those of Eastern Churches, adopted elements of the Latin Church's liturgical practices, theology, and customs. This phenomenon was often driv ...

s were introduced in some Melkite Catholic communities, mainly by Euthymios Saifi and Cyril VI Tanas, and supported by many

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

(mainly

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

) against the wishes of the

papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

. These changes led to a division in the Melkite Catholic Church between those who went on following the unmodified

(as the Basilian Chouerite monks) and those who, named "Latinisers" in the

, mixed the Byzantine Rite with Latin practices. Rome had already taken measures against the

uses Use may refer to: * Use (law), an obligation on a person to whom property has been conveyed * Use (liturgy), subset of a Christian liturgical ritual family used by a particular group or diocese * Use–mention distinction, the distinction betwee ...

of the "Latinisers" (e.g., the letters to Saifi in 1723 or the decree of July 8, 1729). However these measures did not resolve the issue, and in 1743, before granting the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

to Cyril VI Tanas, Pope Benedict XIV issued the ''Demandatam'' apostolic constitution to put an end to the mixture of liturgical rites.

Content

The main points of the apostolic constitutionfull text in are: * it is forbidden to any one, including the patriarch, to change, to add or to remove anything from the Byzantine Rite and uses (para. 3); * it is forbidden to have any faithful to pass from the Byzantine Rite churches to the

(para. 15); Concerning the "Latinisers" (who mixed the rites), the apostolic constitution orders that all the faithful baptized in the Byzantine Rite shall return to the Byzantine Rite. An exception is made for the area of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

where the "Latinisers" were numerous: they had to choose between the Byzantine and the Latin Rites, and follow it without later changes or mixtures (para. 16). This letter deals also with the disciplinary issues of the Melkite

religious orders A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their founders, and have a d ...

Notes

External links

Full text available online
{{authoritycontrol Documents of Pope Benedict XIV Melkite Greek Catholic Church Papal encyclicals 1743 in Christianity 1743 works

Historical context

Content

See also

Notes

External links