Many western Christians are baffled by the complexity of the Christian East, which can appear to be a bewildering array of national churches and ethnic jurisdictions. In his book, The Eastern Christian Churches: A Brief Survey , Ronald G. Robertson, C.S.P., provides a clear overview of the Eastern Churches for the non-specialist by furnishing basic information about each of them and indicating the relationships among them. Each Church is placed in its historical, geographical, doctrinal, and liturgical context. Because his book is primarily intended for an English-speaking audience, details are also provided regarding the presence of each of these churches in North America, Britain, and Australia.
The book is hosted at the website of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a papal agency that provides funds to ensure the Eastern Churches, and the devoted religious sisters who run the clinics, schools and other social services for the common good, have the resources to conduct their vital work. As one of thier partners explains, “We don’t help people because they’re Christian. We help because we are.”
Byzcath.org recommends this book as an excellent primer on the organization of the Christian Eastern Churches. The Byzantine Catholic (Greek Catholic) Churches in North America have their roots mostly in the Middle East and Central Eastern Europe. After the growing split between the Eastern and Western Churches that hardened in A.D. 1054, the now Eastern Catholic Churches kept their communion with the Ecumenical Patrichate in Constantinople (today's Istanbul), Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and other Eastern Patriarchates while eventually drifting away from their communion with Rome. In the 16th-18th centuries parts of these Churches re-established full communion with Rome. This site is maintained by the descendents of these people.
Links at the CNEWA site for this book:
The Eastern Christian Churches: A Brief Survey (7th Edition) by Ronald Roberson (Book will open in a new page. Click “Read the Book” to find the Table of Contents.)
Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:27)
The photo shows the ongoing relief effort in Western Ukraine for the people affected by the war. Taken from Мукачівська Греко-Католицька Єпархія - МГКЄ (mgce.uz.ua). The text was adapted from the book introduction.