AHC: Western Rite Orthodoxy a majority in at least one country/major region before 19th century

Lechat57

After reading about Greco-Catholics I was left wondering: is that possible for some sort of Orthodoxy but with Latin rites to exist? Apparently, it is. I haven't read more than just a page on Wikipedia, though. But it seems that the Western Rite Orthodoxy originated/developed in 19th century. So the question is: any ways for Latin-Orthodoxy to develop and survive before 19th century in at least one country or major region? I define "major region" as something like Normandy or Bohemia.

I propose something like alt-Reformation. Maybe England somehow ends up having Orthodoxy instead of Anglicanism? Or some sort of alt-Great Schism?
 
Tomislav Addai

Tomislav Addai

Perhpas ome pan-Slavists develop it in former Asutria-Hungary as a means of opposing the Catholic Habsburgs? Likely candidates are countries, where Catholicism doesnt form as distinct a apart in national identity as in e.g. Poland or Croatia. So potential candidates are Czechs, Slovaks and Slovenes.
 

Terço

The Catholic Orthodox Church of France develops earlier, in the second half of the XIX century and becomes strong enough that by the end of the Great War most of the Levantine Christians that are not part of some Eastern Catholic Particular Church ( Maronites, Melkites, Western and Eastern Catholic Assyrians), had moved from the Byzantine Rite to the Western Rite, at least in the French Mandate.
 
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Odinson

Odinson

Perhaps a more aggressive Russian colonization effort of Alaska or even Oregon could result in a portion of the United States/Canada having a significant majority?
 
Witteric of the West

Witteric of the West

Have the English break with Rome and seek reunion with Constantinople upon learning that the Pope gave his assent to William of Normandy's campaign, then have William be defeated (as well as the Norwegians) and you get a Western Rite Orthodox Church as early as a decade after the schism. Although the break wasn't as total until at least the 1200s so there's that...

Actually, an alt-reformation England is an interesting way of doing so, you'd probably need the alternate Anne Boleyn, or otherwise, someone who holds Henry VIII's confidence introducing him to the idea of a union between the Church of England and Constantinople whenever he gets excommunicated, he might even get away, depending on how things go, with gaining Autocephaly for this Orthodox Church of England (with or without a Patriarch of England).

EDIT: An even faster rise of Muscovy, assuming it doesn't butterfly the situation in the HRE and Western Europe in the 1530s, might also lead to some of the Protestant Princes instead looking at Russia as an eastern balance on Poland and the Habsburgs, even one or two seeking a reunion.
 
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kholieken

Banned
Very difficult. For country with Latin Rite to be attracted to Orthodoxy needs collapse of Papacy and simultaneous success of Constantinople. It needs POD before 14th century.
 

Wendell

Maybe in a timeline wherein Imperial Russia holds Lithuania but not Poland a western rite Orthodoxy might gain support in a bid to assimilate the Balts?
 

marcinL

kholieken said:
Very difficult. For country with Latin Rite to be attracted to Orthodoxy needs collapse of Papacy and simultaneous success of Constantinople. It needs POD before 14th century.
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Try other way around, with some Catholic country with a number of diverse Orthodox people. Let's say alt-Poland that has a number of Ruthenian, but also Armenian, Greek and various Balkan Orthodox, and gets a ruler who likes to tinker with that kind of stuff, and forces creation of autocephaleous Polish Orthodox Church with latin rite.
 
AlternateEagle

AlternateEagle

I'd say this is almost impossible, also the Western Rite was started in the 20th century. Perhaps Russia conquers all of Poland and in an attempt to convert Poles they do Latin Rites but with Orthodox things (married priests, right to left, prostrations)
 
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