Yesterday, I learned that there was such a thing as Western Rite Orthodoxy, that is churches that are communion with the other Eastern Orthodox churches but which follow the Latin Rite (with modifications), similar to how Eastern Catholic Churches are part of the Roman Catholic Church as a whole but follow their own rites and have their own episcopal structures rather than simply being another archbishopric or the like.
Now, unlike the Eastern Catholic Churches, these Western Rite churches historically only arose in the late 19th and early 20th century as the result of Roman Catholic and Protestant groups that wanted to convert to Orthodoxy but retain their liturgical traditions, and are therefore a rather minor element in Christianity as a whole. However, it did make me wonder whether there was any series of events which might have led to a much older "Western Rite" movement within the Orthodox communion, with autocephalous "Western" churches following the Latin Rite or some other "western" rite like the Ambrosian or Mozarabic standing alongside the "Eastern" churches following the Byzantine and other "eastern" rites.
One possibility that I thought of might be to avert the Norman conquest of Sicily and maintain Byzantine control over the area, at least for a time. From what I read, there were churches in the area that followed the Latin Rite but were in communion with Constantinople instead of Rome, and perhaps these could eventually become a properly organized autonomous part of the church in that area. If and when Constantinople loses control over the area, some might agree to follow Rome, but there would doubtlessly be some that disagreed with Roman theological positions (e.g., the infamous filioque...) and would organize to stay out (I am assuming that Sicily would be conquered by some Catholic country, obviously). Although it would surely not be a very large church, I could see an autocephalous or functionally autocephalous "Sicilian Latin Orthodox Church" surviving to the modern day, analogously to the Italo-Albanian Greek Catholic Church. Perhaps this might lead to interest in joining the church during the later 19th century and a spread of the church into the Americas through migrations and conversions?
Are there are other possibilities to create a proper "Western Orthodox" church that is not in communion with Rome, but rather Constantinople? And what would the effects of having such a church, however modest in size, be in the longer run?
Now, unlike the Eastern Catholic Churches, these Western Rite churches historically only arose in the late 19th and early 20th century as the result of Roman Catholic and Protestant groups that wanted to convert to Orthodoxy but retain their liturgical traditions, and are therefore a rather minor element in Christianity as a whole. However, it did make me wonder whether there was any series of events which might have led to a much older "Western Rite" movement within the Orthodox communion, with autocephalous "Western" churches following the Latin Rite or some other "western" rite like the Ambrosian or Mozarabic standing alongside the "Eastern" churches following the Byzantine and other "eastern" rites.
One possibility that I thought of might be to avert the Norman conquest of Sicily and maintain Byzantine control over the area, at least for a time. From what I read, there were churches in the area that followed the Latin Rite but were in communion with Constantinople instead of Rome, and perhaps these could eventually become a properly organized autonomous part of the church in that area. If and when Constantinople loses control over the area, some might agree to follow Rome, but there would doubtlessly be some that disagreed with Roman theological positions (e.g., the infamous filioque...) and would organize to stay out (I am assuming that Sicily would be conquered by some Catholic country, obviously). Although it would surely not be a very large church, I could see an autocephalous or functionally autocephalous "Sicilian Latin Orthodox Church" surviving to the modern day, analogously to the Italo-Albanian Greek Catholic Church. Perhaps this might lead to interest in joining the church during the later 19th century and a spread of the church into the Americas through migrations and conversions?
Are there are other possibilities to create a proper "Western Orthodox" church that is not in communion with Rome, but rather Constantinople? And what would the effects of having such a church, however modest in size, be in the longer run?