Are the Western Rite Orthodox churches a peculiar way of expression inside the orthodox church or do they happen to be reversed uniates? Not so many Christians are informed about the existence of these communities. This article will deal with the historical development, the situation of the specific parishes and the critics on this issue. Joseph Julian Overbeck a former catholic and protestant converted to Orthodox Christianity, was the first man, attempting to restore the Western Orthodox Catholic church as it was before the Great Schism. Moreover, influential persons such as saint Tikhon and John Maximovic accepted and encouraged many Western Rite Orthodox schemes, which exist until today. Some of them are united to the canonical orthodox Churches and some others are not. Modern theologians such as Kallistos Ware and Alexander Schmemann eye the rite critically, while some others recognize the right of liturgical multiculturalism inside the Church.