Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate Explained

The Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate (AWRV) is a Western rite vicariate of parishes and missions "that worship according to traditional Western Christian liturgical forms" within the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.^[1]

Origins

The vicariate began when three schismatic Society of St. Basil parishes, under Bishop Alexander Tyler Turner, were canonically received into the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch by Metropolitan Anthony Bashir in 1961, after an eight-year probation period.^[2]

Current status

The vicariate consists of more than twenty churches and missions in all of the dioceses throughout the United States. Bishop John (Abdalah) of Worcester and New England oversees the vicariate assisted by its Vicar-General, Fr.Edward Hughes. Western Rite parishes are encouraged and expected to be active in the local diocese in which they are located, and episcopal functions are usually performed by the local diocesan bishop.^[3]

The Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate provides various Western-derived liturgies, including the Mass of St. Gregory, the Liturgy of St. Tikhon, and a Traditional Latin Mass.^[4]

Further reading

• Web site: Abramtsov . David . July 1994 . On the Western Rite Edict of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120206010927/http://www.westernorthodox.com/anthony . 2012-02-06 . en. (also includes an excerpt from the report of Metropolitan Antony to the 1958 Archdiocesan Convention)
• Abramtsov . David . The Western Rite And The Eastern Church: Dr. J. J. Overbeck And His Scheme For The Re-Establishment Of The Orthodox Church In The West . 1961 . MA . . en . 2022-03-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211221171650/http://anglicanhistory.org/orthodoxy/abramtsov.pdf . 2021-12-21 . live.
• Web site: Bashir . Anthony . 2012-02-02 . November 1958 . Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir) on the Western Rite . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180727150109/https://www.stgregoryoc.org/article/article-archive/metropolitan-anthony-bashir-on-the-western-rite/ . 2018-07-27 . 2022-03-08 . St.Gregory Orthodox Church . en.
• Web site: Connely . John Charles . Lux Occidentalis: The Orthodox Western Rite and the Liturgical Tradition of Western Orthodox Christianity . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201215201553/https://westernorthodox.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lux-occidentalis.pdf . 2020-12-15 . 2022-03-11 . Saint Mark's Parish of Denver . en . Denver.
• Web site: McCready . David . 2020-03-18 . Western Rite Orthodoxy: An Apologia — Part 1 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211230212255/http://journal.orthodoxwestblogs.com/2020/03/18/western-rite-orthodoxy-an-apologia-part-1/ . 2021-12-30 . 2022-03-11 . The Orthodox West Journal . en.
• Medici . Francesco . January 2010 . Un abito per il Profeta. Lettere inedite di Khalil Gibran a Antony Bashir . live . Kervan: International Journal of African and Asiatic Studies . 7 . 11 . 10.13135/1825-263X/985 . 1825-263X . https://web.archive.org/web/20201126053236/https://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/kervan/article/view/985/806 . 2020-11-26 . 2022-03-08 . it.
• Book: Overbeck, Julian Joseph . Liturgia Missæ Orthodoxo-Catholicæ Occidentalis . 1871 . Taylor & Co. . . The Liturgy of the Western Orthodox-Catholic Mass . Julian Joseph Overbeck . la,en.
• Book: Russian Orthodox Church: Holy Governing Synod (Русская православный церковь: Святиейший правительствующий синод) . Russian Observations upon the American Prayer Book . 1917 . A. R. Mowbray & Sons . Frere . Walter Howard . Alcuin Club Tracts . . Barnes . Wilfrid J. . 18001884 . 1109519081 . Russian Orthodox Church . https://web.archive.org/web/20211221171658/http://anglicanhistory.org/alcuin/tract12.html . 2021-12-21 . live . XII . en.
• Schneirla . P.W.S. . Spring 1958 . The Western Rite in the Orthodox Church . St. Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly . . . 2 . 2 . 23–24 . 0360-6481 . 64009393 . 819011566 . en.
• Schneirla . P.W.S. . April 1962 . The Significance of the Western Rite . The Word . . . 6 . 4 . 2 . 0043-7964 . 1950817 . en.
• Schneirla . P.W.S. . May 1993 . The Twain Meet . dead . The Word . . . 37 . 5 . 0043-7964 . 1950817 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120206010954/http://www.westernorthodox.com/twain . 2012-02-06 . 2022-03-11 . en.
• Schmemann . Alexander . Alexander Schmemann . Fall 1958 . Notes and Comments: The Western Rite . live . St. Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly . . . 2 . 3 . 37–38 . 0360-6481 . 62027241 . 1896389 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210516025003/https://www.schmemann.org/byhim/westernrite.html . 2021-05-16 . en.
• Book: Thomann, Günther . The Western Rite in Orthodoxy: Union and Reunion Schemes of Western and Eastern Churches with Eastern Orthodoxy: a Brief Historical Outline . 1995 . Anglican Theological Seminary in California . 3rd . . 499959152.
• Turner . Jack . 2012 . Western Rite Orthodoxy as an Ecumenical Problem . live . Journal of Ecumenical Studies . . . 47 . 4 . 541 . 0022-0558 . 64009393 . 470182041 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151005160609/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Western+rite+orthodoxy+as+an+ecumenical+problem.-a0316663857 . 2015-10-05 . 2022-03-11 . en.
• Web site: 2012-02-01 . Theological Issues and Concerns: Preparing the St. Ambrose Hymnal . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20171228200322/http://www.stgregoryoc.org/article/article-archive/theological-issues-and-concerns-preparing-the-st-ambrose-hymnal/ . 2017-12-28 . 2022-03-08 . St. Gregory Orthodox Church . en.
• Web site: Western Rite Edict and Directory . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201101011957/https://antiochianprodsa.blob.core.windows.net/websiteattachments/western_rite_edict_and_directory.pdf . 2020-11-01 . . en . 2015.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Andersen . Benjamin Joseph . A short history of the Western Rite Vicariate . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150326153030/http://antiochian.org/sites/default/files/wrv_history.pdf . 2015-03-26 . 2015-06-05 . . Englewood, New Jersey.
2. Book: Anson, Peter F . [{{GBurl|lTD_PAAACAAJ}} Bishops at large ]. Apocryphile Press . 2006 . 978-0-977146-18-5 . 1st Apocryphile . Independent Catholic Heritage . . 504–506 . 72443681 . Peter Anson . 1964 . en.
3. Web site: Western Rite . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220114221408/https://www.antiochian.org/dashboard?name=Western%20Rite%20Vicariate . 2022-01-14 . 2022-03-08 . . . en.
4. Web site: Kowalick . Claire . June 2, 2023 . Returning to the Roots: Orthodox Church to Celebrate Latin Mass . January 30, 2024 . Times Record News.