Byzantine Church
In his 2001 apology, John Paul said he would ask for God's forgiveness for "sins of action and omission" by Roman Catholics against Orthodox Christians, including "painful memories" of the Crusades--such as the April 13, 1204 sacking of Constantinople. The city was subject to three days of looting, in which many of the city's treasures were taken or destroyed.
The Greek Orthodox Byzantine Empire ultimately collapsed when the Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered the city in 1453, but the Patriarchate remained. Bartholomew is considered "first among equals" among Orthodox patriarchs and directly controls several Greek Orthodox churches around the world, including the Archdiocese of America.
http://beliefnet.com/story/144/story_14438_1.html
Chaldean Catholic Church
Semi-autonomous Christian church, which is affiliated to the Roman Catholic Church through the Eastern Rite. By this, the Chaldean branch is allowed to retain its customs and rites, even when these differ from the traditions of the Roman church. There are historical ties with the Nestorian Church in Iraq, but these 2 branches split 450 years ago.
The head of the church is based in Baghdad, Iraq, and his title is Catholicos Patriarch. Presently this position is held by His Holiness Mar Rophael 1 Bidawid. Below him, there are 4 archdioceses (2 in Iraq and 2 in Iran) and 7 dioceses.
http://i-cias.com/e.o/chaldean.htm
Armenian Catholic Church
Semi-independent Christian church that is affiliated to the Roman Catholic Church through the Eastern Rite regime. The church has about 72,000 members in the Middle East. Outside the region of this encyclopaedia there are about 400,000 adherents, mainly living in Armenia, the USA and France.
In Lebanon their centre is in Beirut, but the church is spread all over the central parts of the country. In Syria the majority lives in Aleppo. In Iraq they are centred to Baghdad. The Iranian centre is in Esfahan.
The Armenian Catholic Church has retained its identity distinct from the Roman Catholic Church, and the liturgy is performed in Classical Armenian. Today, the leader of the church, the Patriarch of the Catholic Armenians and Katholikos of Cilicia resides in Beirut, Lebanon.
There are 3 archdioceses: Aleppo (Syria), Baghdad (Iraq) and Istanbul (Turkey); 3 dioceses: Alexandria (Egypt), Esfahan (Iran) and Qamishle (Syria).
Ethiopian
The Portuguese in Ethiopia were accompanied by Jesuit missionaries, who began an effort to bring the Ethiopian Orthodox Church into union with Rome. They focused their activity on the political elite of the country including the Emperor himself. Largely through the efforts of Fr. Peter Paez, Emperor Susenyos converted and declared Catholicism the state religion in 1622. The following year Pope Gregory XV appointed another Portuguese Jesuit, Affonso Mendez, as Patriarch of the Ethiopian Church. A formal union was declared when Mendez arrived in the country in 1626. But this union was to last only ten years. Mendez imposed a series of latinizations on the Ethiopian liturgy, customs, and discipline, which Susenyos then tried to enforce with cruelty and bloodshed. This led to a violent public reaction. Susenyos died in 1632. In 1636 his successor expelled Mendez, dissolved the union, and either expelled or executed the Catholic missionaries. The country was closed to Catholic missionary activity for the next 200 years.
In 1839 limited activity was resumed by the Lazarists and Capuchins, but public hostility was still very strong. It was only with the accession of King Menelik II to the throne in 1889 that Catholic missionaries could again work freely in the country. Catholic missionary activity expanded in Ethiopia during the Italian occupation from 1935 to 1941, as it had earlier in Eritrea which had been under Italian control since 1889.
The present ecclesiastical structure of the Ethiopian Catholic Church dates from 1961, when a metropolitan see was established at Addis Ababa with suffragan dioceses in Asmara and Adigrat. The largest concentrations of Ethiopian-rite Catholics are in Addis Ababa and Asmara. After Eritrea achieved independence on May 24, 1993, about half the faithful found themselves within that new country. Two new dioceses were created in Eritrea in 1995, at Keren and Barentu, from territory taken from the diocese of Asmara. The Catholic bishops of Ethiopia and Eritrea compose a single episcopal conference which is headquartered in Addis Ababa.
The Ethiopian Catholic Church maintains seminaries in Addis Ababa and Adigrat in Ethiopia, and in Asmara and Keren in Eritrea. In 1919 Pope Benedict XV founded an Ethiopian College within the Vatican walls and restored St. Stephen’s Church directly behind St. Peter’s Basilica for the use of the college.
LOCATION: Ethiopia and Eritrea
HEAD: Archbishop Berhane-Yesus Demerew Souraphiel (born 1948, appointed 1999)
TITLE: Archbishop of Addis Ababa of the Ethiopians
RESIDENCE: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
MEMBERSHIP: 203,000
http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-ethiopian-catholic.htm
Maronite Catholic Church
The followers of St. Maron, both monks and laity, were always faithful to the teaching of the Pope. The Maronite Church is the only one among the Eastern Churches that has always maintained its bonds with Rome and the Successor of St. Peter. In fact, in 517, as controversy continued to rage over the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon (451) regarding Christ as “true God and true Man,” persecution of the Maronites broke out which resulted in the martyrdom of 350 Maronite monks on account of their defense of the Council’s decrees. Because of this, the Maronites were also known as the “Chalcedonians.” Even today, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, our liturgy prays: “O Lord, preserve your children from all error or deviation, grant us to live and die proclaiming: ‘Our faith is the faith of Peter, the faith of Peter is our faith!’” During the seventh century, the Maronites again suffered persecution and fled for refuge to the mountains of Lebanon. There they maintained and grew in their Christian faith and culture. At the time of the Crusades, close bonds were established by the Maronites with the West which have endured to this day. Later on, the Holy See sent missionaries to Lebanon, and in 1584, Pope Gregory XIII established the Maronite Seminary in Rome. Thus throughout history, there have been continuous and close relations between the Maronites in the East and western countries in Europe.
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-religion/1092698/posts