Particular church

The particular churches and liturgical rites of the Catholic Church are closely related yet distinct. The term church refers to a hierarchically ordered assembly of the faithful, whereas the term rite refers to a liturgical, theological, and spiritual heritage. Therefore, even though particular churches and liturgical rites are often closely interrelated, churches and rites must for the sake of clarity be listed separately.

In Catholic canon law, a particular church (Latin: ecclesia particularis) is an ecclesiastical community headed by a bishop or someone recognised as the equivalent of a bishop. There are two kinds of particular churches:

In Catholic ecclesiology, a church is an assembly of the faithful, hierarchically ordered, both in the entire world – the Catholic Church, or in a certain territory – a particular church. To be a sacrament (a sign) of the Mystical Body of Christ in the world, a church must have both a head and members (Col. 1:18). The sacramental sign of Christ the head is the sacred hierarchy – the bishops, priests and deacons. More specifically, it is the local bishop, with his priests and deacons gathered around and assisting him in his office of teaching, sanctifying and governing (Mt. 28:19–20; Titus 1:4–9). Thus, the church is fully present sacramentally (by way of a sign) wherever there is a sign of Christ the head, a bishop and those who assist him, and a sign of Christ's body, Christian faithful. Each diocese is therefore considered a particular church. On the worldwide level, the sign of Christ the head is the Pope, and, to be Catholic, particular churches, whether local churches or autonomous ritual churches must be in communion with this sign of Christ the head, Through this full communion with Saint Peter and his successors the church becomes a universal sacrament of salvation to the end of the age (Mt. 28:20).

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