St. Sophia Mission

Byzantine Catholic and Greek Catholic mean the same thing.

You will hear our Church called by several names—Byzantine Catholic, Greek Catholic, or Romanian Catholic. These terms are interchangeable. "Greek Catholic" is the historic name used across Eastern Europe for Catholics who follow the Byzantine (Greek) liturgical tradition rather than the Latin (Roman) one. "Byzantine Catholic" describes that same tradition by its origin in the Christian East centered on Constantinople (Byzantium). Either way, it means a Catholic who worships in the Eastern rite while remaining in full communion with the Pope.

The Romanian Greek Catholic Church (also called the Romanian Church United with Rome) is one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Pope. It traces its origins to the Union of Alba Iulia, formalized by a synod in 1700, when a large portion of the Orthodox Christians of Transylvania entered into communion with the See of Rome while preserving their Byzantine liturgy and Eastern traditions.

A Church of Martyrs

When the Communist regime seized power in Romania after World War II, the Greek Catholic Church was outlawed by decree in 1948. Its churches and property were confiscated, and all of its bishops were arrested. Offered freedom if they would renounce communion with Rome, the bishops refused—every one of them. Most died in prison. For 41 years the faithful kept the faith alive underground, in homes and prison cells, until the fall of Communism in 1989 restored the Church to open life.

In 2019, Pope Francis traveled to Blaj, the heartland of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church, and beatified seven of these martyred bishops. Their witness remains at the heart of our identity: a Church that chose communion with the universal Church even at the cost of life itself.

In the United States

Romanian Greek Catholics began arriving in America in the early 20th century, founding their first parish in 1905. Today the faithful in the United States and Canada are served by the Eparchy of St. George in Canton, Ohio—the only Romanian Byzantine Catholic diocese outside of Romania.