The Maronite cross
Eastern Catholicism is a rite of the Roman Catholic Church which consists of 23 autonomous churches in full communion with the Pope in Rome. The Eastern Catholic churches are united with the Latin Church, recognizing the primacy of the Pope, but the Eastern Catholic churches are each headed by autonomous patriarchs, metropolitans, and major archbishops, and each of the churches have their own canons. By 2017, the churches had 18 million members, making up 1.5% of the Roman Catholic Church. The Maronite Church, Melkite Greek Catholic Church, and Italo-Albanian Catholic Church have been in perpetual communion with the Roman Catholic Church, but most other Eastern Catholic churches were formerly Orthodox or Miaphysite churches before rejoining the Roman Catholic Church due to theological concerns. The largest Eastern Catholic denominations are the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar Church, the Maronite Church, the Melkite Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, and the Armenian Catholic Church, which together make up 85% of Eastern Catholics.