Posted on 11/22/2011 12:28:26 PM PST by marshmallow
The first reaction of visitors to my lovely parish church is generally one of bewilderment, as they anoint themselves with air after reaching out for a holy water font inside the door and coming up empty. No statues, either. No stations of the cross. No confessionals or Rosary group either, for that matter. The first question visitors usually ask is, “Is this a Catholic Church?” Why, yes, it is. But not in the way most Catholics would expect.
A young man in my parish once summed up the prevailing assumption when he told me that he hadn’t been able to make it to our place the previous Sunday, “so I went to the regular Catholic Church.” If the Roman Catholic Church is the Regular Catholic Church, that would make my Melkite Greek Catholic Church and its twenty-two sister Eastern Churches in full communion with Rome Irregular Catholics – and so, for many, we are.
Most Catholics remain unaware that there are Eastern Churches in communion with Rome at all, or that there is any way to be Catholic other than in the Latin Roman tradition. When interacting with Roman Catholics, Eastern Catholics often spend much of their time explaining that yes, we are Catholic; yes, we are “under the Pope”; yes, we share the same faith; yes, you can receive Holy Communion here; yes, coming here on Sunday fulfills your Sunday obligation; and so on. We don’t generally call ourselves “Roman Catholic” — not because we are not in communion with Rome (we are), but because we are not of the Roman Rite. Many (but by no means all) Eastern Churches are “Greek Catholic,” i.e., not ethnically Greek any more than all Roman Catholics are Italian, but Greek in taking our worship traditions from Constantinople.
The lack of...........
(Excerpt) Read more at crisismagazine.com ...
bump for later read
When the Church changed in the 60s and 70s, my mom dragged me to both Russian and Greek masses. We sometimes had to travel long distances but it was worth it.
Excellent article. I’m not one of the irregular Catholics, I’m quite happy to be one of the Latins. :)
Thanks for posting!
No confessionals? Is there even a crucifix in this “Catholic” church?
Yes, there is typically an ICON of the Crucifixion in Eastern-rite parishes. Also, at least in the Byzantine rite tradition, confessions are made to the priest in front of an icon of Jesus outside the sanctuary of the church.
Catholic ping!
Those scare quotes are really out of bounds.
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The second question should then be "Is this church in communion with the Holy See?"
I read further ... nevermind previous post.
That’ll teach me to read before posting.
St. Alexis Toth?
He might be in heaven, but unless you’re a Carpatho-Rus Orthodox you probably wouldn’t call him “St. Alexis Toth”.
Although it is not widely known in our Western world, the Catholic Church is actually a communion of Churches. According to the Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, the Catholic Church is understood to be "a corporate body of Churches," united with the Pope of Rome, who serves as the guardian of unity (LG, no. 23). At present there are 22 Churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, uses the phrase "autonomous ritual Churches" to describe these various Churches (canon 112). Each Church has its own hierarchy, spirituality, and theological perspective. Because of the particularities of history, there is only one Western Catholic Church, while there are 21 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Western Church, known officially as the Latin Church, is the largest of the Catholic Churches. It is immediately subject to the Roman Pontiff as Patriarch of the West. The Eastern Catholic Churches are each led by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, or Metropolitan, who governs their Church together with a synod of bishops. Through the Congregation for Oriental Churches, the Roman Pontiff works to assure the health and well-being of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
While this diversity within the one Catholic Church can appear confusing at first, it in no way compromises the Church's unity. In a certain sense, it is a reflection of the mystery of the Trinity. Just as God is three Persons, yet one God, so the Church is 22 Churches, yet one Church.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this nicely:
"From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them... Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions. The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity" (CCC no. 814).
Although there are 22 Churches, there are only eight "Rites" that are used among them. A Rite is a "liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony," (Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 28). "Rite" best refers to the liturgical and disciplinary traditions used in celebrating the sacraments. Many Eastern Catholic Churches use the same Rite, although they are distinct autonomous Churches. For example, the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Melkite Catholic Church are distinct Churches with their own hierarchies. Yet they both use the Byzantine Rite.
To learn more about the "two lungs" of the Catholic Church, visit this link:
The Vatican II Council declared that "all should realize it is of supreme importance to understand, venerate, preserve, and foster the exceedingly rich liturgical and spiritual heritage of the Eastern churches, in order faithfully to preserve the fullness of Christian tradition" (Unitatis Redintegrato, 15).
A Roman rite Catholic may attend any Eastern Catholic Liturgy and fulfill his or her obligations at any Eastern Catholic Parish. A Roman rite Catholic may join any Eastern Catholic Parish and receive any sacrament from an Eastern Catholic priest, since all belong to the Catholic Church as a whole. I am a Roman Catholic practicing my faith at a Maronite Catholic Church. Like the Chaldeans, the Maronites retain Aramaic for the Consecration. It is as close as one comes to being at the Last Supper.
Welcome to FR.
What part of Virginia do you live in? If you’re in NoVa, you might profit from a respectful visit to Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek Catholic Church in McLean.
And the answer was: "Hmm, I reckon it's neither. At my parish we worship felt banners..."
+{{{]:o\
(Papal Smiley with Optional Cringe)
marshmallow, this was an excellent article. Thank you very much for posting it.
In the 80s and 90s when lots of Latin Rite churches were still going whole hog with Liturgical Committees and dancing girls and such, whenever I was out of town on Sunday, which was often, I looked for an Eastern Rite church for mass. I knew that I would not meet any unpleasant surprises. The emcee, possibly a woman with the priest sitting passively on the back of the dais, wouldn’t open the mass with a nongendered Sign of the Cross. Girls in flowing skirts would not dance down the aisle. The congregants wouldn’t be loudly greeting each other from 40 feet away.
Makes sense to me! I know of a great many "Irregular Catholics" who could use a good laxative.
We confess to Christ in the presence of the priest who pronounces Christ’s absolution typically in front of an icon of Christ. It reminds us that Christ is the one forgiving us and not the priest in himself.
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